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Seeds of Form: Alaya-Vijñāna as the True Cause
It’s not the current mind of practice but the seed in ālaya-vijñāna that gives rise to the mind of the realm of form. Because the mind of practice and the form-consciousness never coexist, they cannot “impregnate” each other—just as jasmine and tea must meet simultaneously for scent to transfer. Past minds of form and non-form have been displaced by the desire-realm mind and thus no longer serve as seeds.
Key points:
- The mind of practice acts only as a secondary condition (regent), like soil and water for a sunflower.
- The main condition (hetu pratyaya) is the seed already stored in ālaya-vijñāna (the “store consciousness of all seeds”).
- Even previous lives in form or non-form cannot supply that seed, so without ālaya-vijñāna the birth of form-realm consciousness cannot be explained.
