Family， clan， blood lineage; especially a clan in the pre-modern sense of a large group of related people having the same surname. （Skt. gotra; Pali gotta） Etymologically， gotra is derived from go， which means "cattle" and √trai， which means "to protect." Thus the word originally referred to a fence which surrounded cattle. Applied to human beings， it refers to family boundaries of blood lineage， etc. Also translated into Chinese as 种性. In Yoga^ca^ra Buddhism 瑜伽行派 this term often refers to the spiritual predisposition one possesses based on the quality of the "seeds" in one's a^laya consciousness 阿赖耶识. In this sense， the term is even synonymous with "seeds" 种子. ［瑜伽论T 1579.30.396a， 478c］