The Function of the Seeds of the Seven Great Elements

The seven great seeds: the great seeds of earth, water, fire, wind, space, seeing, and consciousness. The first five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are used to constitute material form, while the great seeds of seeing and consciousness are used to constitute mind. The seed of the consciousness element constitutes the mind-dharmas of the seven consciousnesses, and the seed of the seeing element forms the tathāgatagarbha's function of seeing all dharmas. In this way, all dharmas of the entire five-aggregate world are complete; material form and mind encompass all dharmas, and the tathāgatagarbha uses the seed of the seeing element to bring all dharmas together under one unified whole, forming a complete and systematic worldly dharma.