The Relationship Between the Perceiving Aspect and the Great Seeds of Perception

The six consciousnesses and the seventh consciousness are both the seeing part and the appearance part. The appearance part refers to the dharmas discerned by the mental consciousness and the manas, while the mental consciousness and the manas constitute the seeing part. The mental consciousness itself and the manas are also appearance parts. Any dharma that is discerned belongs to the appearance part, and the conscious mind that actively discerns is the seeing part.

The "seeing" of the seven great seeds of the Tathagatagarbha refers to the seeing-element seed, not the seeing part. The seeing-element seed forms the seeing nature of the Tathagatagarbha. When the seeing nature of the Tathagatagarbha functions together, the seeing part of the seven consciousnesses manifests, enabling the perception of the dust realms of worldly dharmas, that is, seeing appearances, which then leads to the discrimination of those dust realms. The seeing part of the Tathagatagarbha operates through the functioning of the five universal mental factors: attention, contact, sensation, perception, and volition, with perception being the primary factor. This operation must occur in relation to all dharmas. Subsequently, the Tathagatagarbha discerns all dharmas. The seeing part of the Tathagatagarbha is likewise inseparable from the seeing-element seed. It is through the functioning of the seeing nature endowed by the seeing-element seed that the Buddha-nature becomes active, allowing the seeing part of the Tathagatagarbha to perceive all dharmas.