The Principle of Recollection of Past Lives

A person with supernatural powers can know events of future lives, and the karmic seeds of events in future lives certainly have not yet matured. The tathāgatagarbha can certainly discern karmic seeds that have not yet matured; can the manas likewise discern karmic seeds that have not yet matured? If the manas could not discern mature and immature karmic seeds, then how would the mind consciousness know events of future lives and events that have not yet occurred? How, then, does the mind consciousness's recollection of past lives (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti) manifest? All dharmas that the mind consciousness knows are first contacted, first known, and first perceived by the manas; only then does the manas direct attention (manaskāra) so that the mind consciousness makes subtle discernments, and only then can the mind consciousness know the dharmas contacted and known by the manas. The mind consciousness's recollection of past lives, as well as the mind consciousness's knowing in dreams of events that will occur afterward, both come from the manas, being known through being drawn by the manas. Therefore it is said that the manas can contact and know events that have not yet occurred and events of future lives, and this it does by making its own discernment in reliance upon the eighth consciousness's discernment of karmic seeds.

There are many examples of the mind consciousness knowing in advance events that are about to happen. For instance, before an earthquake is about to occur, some animals know it in advance, and after knowing it they display restlessness and agitation. The earthquake has not yet occurred, and the karmic seeds have not matured and become manifest; how is it that the animals know a disaster is about to happen and become panic-stricken? If the manas did not follow the tathāgatagarbha in taking karmic seeds as its object, how could the mind consciousness take karmic seeds as its object? Before a person is about to die, or just before an accident is about to happen, there is always a premonition. The event has not yet happened, and the karmic seeds have not become manifest—why can there be a premonition? If the manas did not take karmic seeds as its object, why would the mind consciousness have such a feeling? When dreaming, one dreams of events that will happen several days or several months later, and upon waking one feels that something unusual is about to happen. If the manas did not take karmic seeds as its object, how could there be precognitive dreams? These future events are all first perceived by the manas, which then alerts the mind consciousness to perceive them, so that countermeasures may be taken.