We have billions upon billions of seeds in our minds, planted there by hurting or taking care of those around us. When the time is right, individual seeds sprout up in our minds at about the speed of the individual frames in a movie, and we watch the stream of our life unfold.

The seeds that are still waiting to sprout are called “unripe” seeds. The factor that makes harmful seeds sprout is simply seeing things the wrong way. When we practice well—that is, when we learn how to avoid meditation traps and use our meditation in this other way, the right way—then we can keep bad seeds from ever sprouting.

Death itself comes from a bad seed sprouting. The body only gets old because bad seeds are sprouting. Herein lies the secret of the water of life.

When bad seeds are about to sprout, we call it “becoming.” This is triggered by staying in our same old nature or state, seeing things the wrong way. These seeds are what gave us a mortal body in the first place, and we can change that—if we change the seeds.