Discourses on the Scripture of the Father and Son Collection (185)

The subject of creating karma and receiving retribution is the mind-consciousness.

Original text: Great King, consciousness is the master; karma serves as the condition. These two are mutually dependent. When the initial consciousness arises, it engages in actions and receives retribution, all without being lost or destroyed. It may descend to hell, fall into the animal realm, Yama's realm, or the realm of asuras; whether in the human or heavenly realm, within the same category of beings, it continues without interruption.

The Buddha said: Great King, the ālaya-vijñāna is the master that creates karma. Created karmic actions serve as karmic conditions. The ālaya-vijñāna conditions karmic actions, which become the cause for the birth of the physical body in the next life. When the initial mind-consciousness of the physical body arises, the karma created in the previous life begins to yield retribution in the present life. Both karma creation and retribution remain intact and do not dissipate. This being will inevitably descend to hell, the ghost realm, animal realm, asura realm, as well as the human and heavenly realms. The five aggregates corresponding to the karmic actions will continue to operate without cease.

When the ālaya-vijñāna combines with karmic conditions, the initial consciousness of the next life arises. Once consciousness emerges, suffering is experienced, and karmic retribution manifests. Only with sensation does formal retribution occur. Is retribution received by the body or the mind? Primarily, it is the mind that receives retribution, for it is through the mind's sensations that retribution is experienced. If the physical body lacks mind-consciousness, even when subjected to various sufferings, the body does not feel pain—there is no experience of suffering. Therefore, retribution is primarily received by the mind. Only with a mind can pleasure and pain be felt; without a mind, there is no perception of pleasure or pain.

Just as a wooden table has no karmic retribution—no matter what actions are performed upon it, the table has no sensations and thus receives no retribution—it is because there is a mind that sensations exist. Hence, retribution is received by the mind. The mind creates karma; the mind receives retribution. The creator is the receiver. Can the body create karma? If the body could create karma, then a table could also create karma, and a clay figurine could create karma. But a clay figure has no mind; it cannot create karma nor receive retribution. A dead person creates no karma and receives no retribution. However, this mind that creates karma is subject to birth and cessation, impermanent, and can be extinguished; thus, it is not real. The mind-consciousness depends on external conditions; only when the ālaya-vijñāna delivers seeds does the mind-consciousness function. If the ālaya-vijñāna does not deliver seeds, there is no mind-consciousness, and nothing can be accomplished. For those who understand this teaching, if their conditions and merit are sufficient, they will not only realize the fruit of the Hinayana but fully realize the Mahayana fruit, attaining awakening to the Tathāgatagarbha.

After the mind-consciousness arises, both karma creation and retribution remain intact and will not vanish without cause. Once karma is created, retribution will inevitably manifest; it is not that after creating karma, nothing happens. If one receives a hellish body, that body will continue uninterrupted in hell. For as long as the lifespan in hell lasts, the mind-consciousness functions for that duration, experiencing suffering for that length of time. The eye-consciousness functions within the same body; the ear-consciousness functions within the same body; the mental-consciousness functions within the same body. When the body changes, these consciousnesses change as well. Events from past lives become unknown and unrecoverable—this is amnesia. Because the mind has changed, there is no recognition of past life events.