From What Is the Body of the Five Aggregates Born?

The physical body of every sentient being has such an intricate organizational structure, the nervous system is so refined, and its functions are even more subtle. The tathāgatagarbha is truly a master craftsman—what kind of design blueprint does He use? Who designed it for Him? How does He construct the physical body according to the blueprint? It is truly marvelous beyond words!

Why is there the birth of the five aggregates body? What was the initial cause for the arising of the world and the five aggregates body? The Śūraṅgama Sūtra speaks of a key point: the manas wanted to discern something, and so it reached outward in search, and thus the undifferentiated world came into being. Before that, there was only the tathāgatagarbha and the manas, in vast, unfathomable darkness. The birth of the five aggregates body can only be traced back to the tathāgatagarbha, leading to the conclusion: name-and-form is conditioned by consciousness (the eighth consciousness), and consciousness (the eighth consciousness) conditions name-and-form.