Seeds. The term originally refers to the seeds of plants， but is used in Buddhism in a metaphorical sense. （1） First， in a religion which relies so much on "cause and effect" theory， seeds are a metaphor for the causes 因 of things， but especially as causes of the afflictions. （bi^ja， bi^ja-dharma）. ［瑜伽论， T 1579.30.364a］ （2） The potentiality for something to be produced. ［T 1558.29.22c］ （3） In Yoga^ca^ra Buddhism 瑜伽行派， the 'seeds' are one phase of the latent potentialities of all mental and physical elemental constructs which are stored in the a^laya consciousness 阿赖耶识. Coming into existence as the result of present activities and conditions， the seeds result in new potentialities， giving rise to continued existence which has a direct relationship to prior causes and conditions. ［成唯识论T 1585.31.8， 瑜伽论T 1579.30.363c ］（Tib. sa bon）. Seeds are explained as having six characteristics.