A Commentary on the Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Manifestation of Consciousness

Original text: 贤护白佛言。世尊。众生虽知有识。如宝闭在箧中。不显不知。世尊。不知此识。作何形状。何故名识。众生死时。手足乱动。眼色变异。制不自由。诸根丧灭。诸大乖离。识迁于身。去至何所。自性如何。作何色相。云何舍离此身。更受余身。

So is the ālayavijñāna the first to arrive in the material body? No, it is not. The ālayavijñāna cannot sustain the material body on its own, nor does It have any intention to sustain it. It is influenced by the mental faculty's mental factor of volition (cetanā), and in accordance with the manas, It enters the fertilized egg in an instant to sustain it, entering the mother's womb together with the manas at the same time. Because the manas and the ālayavijñāna are inseparable—never apart for even an instant—the ālayavijñāna and the manas are likewise inseparable, unable to part even for a single moment. Therefore, when the two enter the mother's womb, and when they leave the material body, there is no sequence of one before the other. If there were a sequence, it would mean the two could separate from each other; then the manas could exist independently, and the ālayavijñāna could also operate on its own. But this would violate the intrinsic nature of both the ālayavijñāna and the manas.

The seeds of the four great elements emerge from the ālayavijñāna. When the ālayavijñāna is about to leave the material body, It certainly must withdraw all the seeds of the four great elements, so that the seeds within the ālayavijñāna neither increase nor decrease, and can, upon encountering conditions, continue to be transmitted outward to give birth to all dharmas. Before a sentient being dies—even long before—the ālayavijñāna already knows, because It can discern karmic seeds and knows the time of death, even the exact time. It will gradually alter the seeds of the four great elements, causing the body to emit a foul odor and its functions to weaken. Only when the person is about to breathe their last does the true dissolution of the four great elements begin, with the seeds being withdrawn. When all have been withdrawn, the material body becomes a corpse.

The first five consciousnesses no longer arise or manifest, and the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna) subsequently also disappears and ceases. Due to the dissolution of the four great elements in the supreme faculty (rūpa-prasāda), the solitary mental consciousness also gradually fades away. At this point, one is in the actual stage of dying. The process of death may be relatively short for those who have performed wholesome karma, and without suffering; for those who have committed unwholesome karma, the dying process may take longer, and they endure more death-agony. This process may take several hours—six or seven hours, eight hours—and for some people it takes more than ten hours.

The process by which the six consciousnesses gradually disappear is also the process by which the four great elements gradually separate. At this time, one feels intense suffering. The seeds of the four great elements separate one by one, and after separating, they return to the ālayavijñāna. Since the ālayavijñāna no longer outputs the seeds of the four great elements, the body gradually loses its warmth, because the fire element among the seeds of the four great elements has separated out, and the body slowly becomes ice-cold. The earth, water, and wind elements also separate out one after another, returning to the ālayavijñāna.

However, those who have done wholesome deeds feel no pain at this time; this is the retribution brought about by their wholesome deeds. Perhaps in the snap of a finger, they are already reborn in the heavenly realms. But if they have not eliminated the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), they still remain attached to the three realms; it is only because they have done wholesome deeds and have the retribution of goodness that they go to the heavens to enjoy blessings. At this time, celestial music may sound, and the parents in the heavenly realm are awaiting him. For those who receive wholesome retribution, the eight consciousnesses do not take so long to leave the material body—in the snap of a finger they ascend to the heavens, so they do not experience suffering. For those reborn into the human realm, the time of their last breath is relatively longer, not so short, and the dying process is not too brief either, but there is not much suffering.

Original text: 贤护白佛言。世尊。众生虽知有识。如宝闭在箧中。不显不知。世尊。不知此识。作何形状。何故名识。众生死时。手足乱动。眼色变异。制不自由。诸根丧灭。诸大乖离。识迁于身。去至何所。自性如何。作何色相。云何舍离此身。更受余身。

The more unwholesome karma a person has committed, the more pain they feel when the four great elements dissolve at the end of life. At the time of death, their hands and feet thrash about wildly, showing that they are struggling in agony. But by then they can no longer express this suffering: the mouth cannot move; the tongue, mouth, and teeth all belong to the body faculty, and since the body faculty is failing, they cannot speak. If someone touches them at this moment, they will feel extreme pain and agony, and may give rise to a mind of anger and resentment. Once the mind of resentment arises, they may follow that resentment and fall into hell. Therefore, during the period right after a person dies, do not touch them; you must not bathe them or change their clothes at that time. Wait until they are completely dead before handling these matters. How long does it take for a person to be completely dead? Perhaps eight hours, perhaps more than ten hours—the time is not fixed. Generally, those bound for the three evil destinies have bodies that are stiff and cold after death, and their complexions look bad. The complexion of hell beings is blackish, while that of hungry ghosts is bluish.

Finally, when the six consciousnesses are all completely extinguished, with the six consciousnesses gone there are no more five aggregates (pañcaskandha). The manas can no longer make use of the body of the five aggregates; when It can no longer command or control anyone, It feels there is no more hope in the material body, and has no choice but to abandon it and go seek rebirth anew, to find itself another body. Thus the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava) arises. This is the process of the extinction of the faculties.

There is also the "dissociation of the great elements," which refers to the dissolution of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind (in fact, there is also the space element). This is the process by which the seeds of the four great elements disperse one from another. Originally, earth, water, fire, and wind were combined together to form the material body; now they all break apart, and the life-function of the material body disappears. Although the flesh body still exists, it can no longer move—the material body is like a piece of wood.

After the four great elements of a sentient being's material body have dissolved, the ālayavijñāna, together with the manas, leaves the material body and goes to be conceived in the next material body. It will also manifest another material body; as for what kind of body it will be, that is determined by the karmic seeds—karmic power has the final say. In most cases, there is first the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), and then one goes to the various other destinies. If one is reborn in the heavens, there is no antarā-bhava; if one falls into hell, there is also no antarā-bhava. Where the ālayavijñāna goes depends on which karmic conditions ripen at the time of that person's death. For example, if we committed unwholesome karma in past lives, and in this life we do not study Buddhism or learn wholesome dharmas, then following the unwholesome karma we have created, we may fall into the three evil destinies. But if in this life we have created wholesome karma, and the conditions for that wholesome karma ripen, and the wholesome karma outweighs the unwholesome karma, then following the conditions of that wholesome karma we are reborn into a good destiny. The ālayavijñāna migrates in accordance with the karmic conditions of sentient beings. At the time of death, it depends on which karmic condition ripens first. If the wholesome karma we have created in this life is small and cannot withstand the conditions of that unwholesome karma—even though we have studied Buddhism, when the conditions of unwholesome karma manifest, we will still go to the three evil destinies to undergo retribution.