The Feeling at the Moment of Death

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says that all worldly beings continue in birth and death: birth follows habitual inclinations, and death follows the flow of transformation. At the time of approaching the end of life, before the tactile sensation of warmth is relinquished, all the wholesome and unwholesome deeds of one's entire life suddenly appear simultaneously; death is resisted while birth is welcomed, and these two habitual tendencies intersect. Here it says "before the tactile sensation of warmth is relinquished at the time of approaching the end of life"—"approaching" means getting close but not yet past, that is, not yet dead. Since one has not yet died, at least the mind consciousness and the manas still exist. And since the Buddha said the warmth has not been relinquished, that means the tactile sensation of warmth is still present, and there is still the feeling of warmth, so the body consciousness also exists. At this time the four great elements have not yet disintegrated, or have only just begun to disintegrate; all the sensations of the material body still exist and can still be perceived, and the six consciousnesses are all still present, not yet extinguished. What is the feeling at this time? The Buddha compared the disintegration of the four great elements of sentient beings to a live turtle having its shell peeled off—how much suffering and pain would that be?

Since there is perception at this time and the mind consciousness has not ceased, the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) can also manifest. What does the solitary consciousness do at this time? It exclusively receives the information emitted by the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha broadcasts all the wholesome and unwholesome karmic actions that one has performed in this lifetime, like playing a movie—and it is played rapidly, at extremely fast speed, finished in an instant, because the tathāgatagarbha exports it extremely quickly. To the mind consciousness, it is like a rapid recollection; the solitary consciousness has no leeway to think about anything—it only needs to receive it. Then the mind consciousness immediately understands, knowing where it will go in accordance with these karmic actions, but it can no longer inform the people around it. At the time of approaching the end of life, although the mind consciousness is somewhat drowsy and muddled, it can still very clearly discern the video content that the tathāgatagarbha forcibly stuffs into it, with complete clarity, and it can even judge which realm it will go to in order to undergo retribution. No one needs to explain the principle of karmic cause and retribution—it is entirely unnecessary.

At the time of approaching the end of life, the mind consciousness and the manas have no choice but to accept the retribution of the next life. This is the power of karma—the force of a lifetime's karmic actions—which allows no resistance from the mind consciousness and no resistance from the manas. Both must submit to the arrangement and summons of karmic power, without complaint. Even if one is judged by Grandpa Yama in the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), one will not argue, complain, or cry out grievances. Why? Because the facts are right there, plainly visible to everyone; King Yama does not need to investigate and gather evidence. In the face of the facts, what is there left to say? One obediently submits to King Yama's arrangement, submits to the arrangement of fate. How is fate formed? Fate is created by oneself. Since the karma was created by oneself, of course one must bear it oneself—otherwise what? Who would bear it in your place? Even your own father, mother, or son cannot bear it in your place. Each person's karma is borne by that person; no one can bear it for another.