Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume 9: Explanation of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination (4)

Original text: 云何从中际。后际诸行缘起生。谓中际已生补特伽罗。受二种先业果。谓受内异熟果。及境界所生受增上果。此补特伽罗或闻非正法故。或先串习故。于二果愚。

由愚内异熟果故。于后有生苦。不如实知。由迷后有。后际无明增上力故。如前于诸行。若作若增长。由此新所作业故。说此识。名随业识。

Explanation: How is it that, due to the conditions of the present life, the volitional formations of the future life arise through dependent origination? This means that sentient beings who have already been born in the present life must undergo two kinds of karmic retribution from past lives: one is to undergo the karmic retribution brought about by one's own volitional formations in past lives, and the other is to undergo the further retribution brought about by the conditioning of the present surrounding environment. This sentient being has either heard teachings that are not the right view, or due to prior habituation, is ignorant and does not understand either the inner vipāka-fruit or the present intensified fruit.

Because of ignorance regarding the vipāka-fruit brought from past lives, one does not truly know that the five-aggregate body of the future life will thereby give rise to suffering. Due to delusion about future existence, the ignorance of the future life will further increase through successive conditioning, and just as in past lives, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions will continue to be performed, or performed with even greater intensification. Because of these newly created karmic actions, the consciousness that follows karma is said to be the consciousness that follows karma (karma-anuvartana-vijñāna).

Both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have ignorance and delusion; both can perform volitional formations, and both can follow karmic force; therefore both are called consciousnesses that follow karma. But the seventh consciousness, the manas, follows karmic force without a moment's interruption, complying with the karmic force of ignorance, whereas the sixth consciousness follows karmic force intermittently, complying with karmic force and performing volitional formations. At the time of entering the womb and taking birth, it is the seventh consciousness that enters the womb following karmic conditions; only afterward, because of karmic force, does the sixth consciousness arise to undergo karmic retribution and comply with karmic force.

Original text: 即于现法中。说无明为缘故行生。行为缘故识生。此识于现法中名为因识。能摄受后生果识故。又总依一切识。说名六识身。又即此识。是后有名色种子之所随逐。此名色种子。是后有六处种子之所随逐。

Explanation: In all actually existing dharmas, it is said that because ignorance serves as the condition, volitional formations arise, and because volitional formations serve as the condition, consciousness arises. This consciousness, among the dharmas existing in the present, is called the causal consciousness, meaning that this consciousness is the cause which, after karmic actions are performed, can draw forth the retributive consciousness of the future life. Taking the six consciousnesses of past lives together with the six consciousnesses of the present life, this consciousness is also called the six-consciousness body.

This six-consciousness body is pursued by the seeds that can give rise to the nāma-rūpa (name-and-form) of the future life, meaning that the seeds of the future life's nāma-rūpa are what the six-consciousness body of this life leaves behind after performing karmic actions; after the six-consciousness body performs karmic actions, the seeds of the future life's nāma-rūpa come into existence, and from these seeds there will be the nāma-rūpa of the future life. This seed of nāma-rūpa is in turn pursued by the seeds of the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) of the future life, meaning that the seeds of the six sense bases upon the future life's nāma-rūpa exist in dependence on the seeds of nāma-rūpa.

This passage clarifies the relationship between the six consciousnesses of past and future lives: the six consciousnesses of past lives created karma and left behind the seeds of nāma-rūpa; the seeds of nāma-rūpa can give rise to the nāma-rūpa and six consciousnesses of the future life; and the seeds of nāma-rūpa are also that upon which the seeds of the future life's six sense bases depend. Because the seeds of nāma-rūpa can give rise to nāma-rūpa, and where there is nāma-rūpa there will be the six sense bases upon that nāma-rūpa.

Original text: 此六处种子是后有触种子之所随逐。此种子触是后有受种子之所随逐。如是总名于中际中后有引因。应知由此能引识。乃至受一期身。

Explanation: And the seeds of the six sense bases are in turn pursued by the seeds of contact of the future life, meaning that the seeds of contact upon the future life's nāma-rūpa exist in dependence on these seeds of the six sense bases. The seeds of contact are in turn that upon which the seeds of feeling of the future life's nāma-rūpa depend; the seeds of feeling exist in dependence on the seeds of contact. Speaking of this in summary: when the six consciousnesses exist in the present life, they become the attracting cause for the arising of the future life's nāma-rūpa; therefore one should know that because of this six-consciousness that can attract the arising of the future life's nāma-rūpa, there can be the physical body that undergoes one period of life.