Commentary on the Sutra of the Gathering of Fathers and Sons (143)

Death Aggregate and Birth Aggregate

Original text: O King, consciousness is the master, karma is the condition. These two are interdependent causes. The initial consciousness arises. Either heading to hell, or falling into the animal realm, Yama's realm, and Asura, or human or deva. Once the initial consciousness has arisen, each receives their retribution. The same mental continuum continuously revolves. When the last consciousness ceases, it is called the death aggregate. The arising of the initial consciousness is called the birth aggregate.

Explanation: Alaya-vijnana is the master that gives birth to the five-aggregate body of the next life, karma-seeds are the object-condition. When these two causes and conditions combine, the initial consciousness of the next life is born. Sentient beings either head to hell, or fall into the hungry ghost realm, or are reborn in the animal realm among the three evil realms; or are reborn in the Asura realm, human realm, and deva realm among the three good realms. Once the initial consciousness-mind is born, sentient beings begin to each receive their karmic retribution, 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 death aggregate. 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 birth aggregate.