維摩經略疏 9.9

9.9

Question: If buddha-nature has three kinds, are seeds also threefold? Answer: It is as you have asked. Therefore, in this chapter Mañjuśrī states, "Having a body is the seed"; the six sense bases being the seed is a different designation for the direct-cause seed-nature of the path of suffering. "Ignorance, greed, and anger are the seed" is a different designation for the revealing-cause seed-nature of the path of afflictions. "The ten unwholesome actions are the seed" is a different designation for the contributory-cause seed-nature of the path of karma. Seed-nature and nature genuinely reflect one another in meaning; hence the Lotus Sūtra says: "Only the Tathāgata knows the seeds, marks, essences, and natures of these living beings," which is precisely this meaning.