The Relationship Between Karmic Seeds and Vasanas

The relationship between karmic seeds and habitual tendencies is profoundly abstruse, falling within the scope of the wisdom of consciousness-only regarding seeds. Habitual tendencies arise when long-practiced dharmas become fully formed, turning into habits, and these habits then dominate body, speech, and mind. After performing karmic actions, they are stored as seeds, thereby deepening and intensifying the karmic seeds, leading to heavier habitual tendencies in the future.

Habitual tendencies also originate from karmic seeds. Since they form habits over time, there must be karmic seeds present. Habitual tendencies are actualized by the manas (mind-root). The manas dominates the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. After these actions are performed, they are stored as karmic seeds, which manifest in future lifetimes; this is called habitual tendencies. Karmic seeds are formed through karmic actions dominated by the manas. The manas is entirely in accord with the karmic seeds; the nature of the manas determines the nature of the karmic seeds, and the nature of the karmic seeds determines the nature of the karmic actions manifested by the manas. How then can one leave behind karmic seeds of non-self? How should one practice to cultivate habitual tendencies of non-self? If one wishes to be born in a future life already seeing the emptiness of the five aggregates and the mundane world, how should one practice in this present life?

Subhūti knew the emptiness and stillness of the world while still in his mother's womb. What depth of habitual tendencies was that? The duration of his realization of emptiness through practice exceeded measureless kalpas. For such a long time, his mind was empty; naturally, the wholesome habit of emptiness continued for measureless kalpas. Subhūti's habitual tendency of mental emptiness had no connection whatsoever to the conditioning of his present-life consciousness. Before consciousness even arose, his manas was already empty. How light, free, and liberated such an empty mind must be!

Theoretical emptiness becomes non-empty when faced with worldly dharmas; it becomes non-empty at the time of death; it becomes even more non-empty after death; and in future lives, it becomes utterly impossible to be empty. Therefore, theoretically abiding in notions like "like a dream, like an illusion" or "the true suchness of the Dharma-nature" is merely self-deception; it is utterly useless when it comes to practical matters. When situations arise, one acts as one always would; at the end of life, one dies as one always would; it cannot resolve the problem of birth and death. This theoretical understanding reveals its true nature when encountering events; it exposes itself, hence it is said to be useless. Only after realization is attained by the manas, forming karmic seeds, can one benefit from it life after life. When encountering events, one does not revert to one's original state; when taking rebirth, one is not deluded. If one is not deluded while dwelling in the womb, not deluded upon exiting the womb, and not deluded during the process of growth, then one is eternally liberated.