Lectures on the Sutra of the Collected Teachings of Fathers and Sons (108)

Death Aggregate and Living Aggregate

Original: O King, consciousness is the master, karma is the clinging cause. These two are mutually dependent. The initial consciousness arises. It may go to hell, fall into the animal realm, Yama's realm, or Asura realm; whether human or deva. Once the initial consciousness arises, each receives its retribution. With the same mental factors, it continues sequentially. When the last consciousness ceases, it is called the dead aggregate. When the initial consciousness arises, it is called the living aggregate.

Explanation: O King, Alaya consciousness is the master that gives birth to the five aggregates of the next life, and karma seeds and karma force are the object of clinging. With these two causes and conditions combined, the initial consciousness of the next life arises. Sentient beings may go to hell, fall into the hungry ghost realm, or be reborn in the three evil paths of animals; or be reborn in the three good paths of Asura, human, and heaven. Once the initial consciousness arises, sentient beings begin to receive their respective karmic retributions, and then the consciousness on the same physical body continuously operates. When the consciousness ceases at the end of life, the physical body becomes a corpse, called the dead aggregate; and the consciousness that initially arises on the physical body is called the initial consciousness, and the five aggregates of the physical body are called the living aggregate.