Tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with conditions, uses the four great elements to manifest material form.

The tathāgatagarbha relies on conditions—that is, karmic conditions—to manifest the five-aggregate body, or to transform the physical body. If it relied solely on the seeds of the four great elements within the tathāgatagarbha, then the conditions of parents would not be needed, nor any conditions at all; in that case, all sentient beings would be completely identical, and all worlds and material forms would also be completely identical. The tathāgatagarbha's manifestation of the five-aggregate body in the three-realm vessel world would not require the manas or the six consciousnesses either; then the world would be uniform, and there would be no talk of differences in karmic power among sentient beings. The tathāgatagarbha would then be the master consciousness—the world would be generated with the tathāgatagarbha as its master, and the tathāgatagarbha would possess a self-nature, and would no longer be selfless.