"Explanation of the Mahāyāna Vijñāna Sutra"

Bhadrapāla addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, although sentient beings know that consciousness exists, it is like a treasure locked in a box—unrevealed and unknown. World-Honored One, what is the form of this consciousness? Why is it called consciousness? When sentient beings die, their hands and feet thrash about, their eyes change appearance, and they lose control. The faculties perish, the elements disintegrate, and consciousness departs from the body. Where does it go? What is its inherent nature? What form does it take? How does it abandon this body and take another?"

Is the ālaya-vijñāna the first to enter the physical body? No, it is not. The ālaya-vijñāna cannot sustain the physical body alone, nor does it have the intention to sustain it. Influenced by the mental faculty (manas) and its volitional mental factor (cetanā), it follows the manas and enters the fertilized egg instantaneously to sustain it, co-residing in the mother’s womb simultaneously with the manas. Because the manas and ālaya-vijñāna are inseparable—truly inseparable, not even for an instant—when they enter the womb or leave the physical body, there is no sequence. If there were sequence, it would imply they could separate, meaning the manas could exist alone and the ālaya-vijñāna could function independently. This would contradict the intrinsic nature of both the ālaya-vijñāna and the manas.

The seeds of the four great elements (mahābhūta) emerge from the ālaya-vijñāna. When the ālaya-vijñāna is about to leave the physical body, it must withdraw all the seeds of the four great elements. Only then can the seeds within the ālaya-vijñāna remain neither increased nor decreased, ready to be projected outward when conditions arise, giving rise to all phenomena. Long before sentient beings approach death—even well in advance—the ālaya-vijñāna knows, because it discerns karmic seeds. It knows the time of death, the exact time. It gradually alters the seeds of the four great elements, causing the body to emit foul odors and bodily functions to weaken. When the final breath approaches, the true disintegration of the four great elements begins, and the ālaya-vijñāna withdraws all the seeds. Once fully withdrawn, the physical body becomes a corpse.

The first five consciousnesses cease to arise or manifest, and the sense-centered consciousness (mano-vijñāna) that accompanies them subsequently vanishes. As the subtle material basis (indriya) disintegrates, the solitary mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) gradually fades. At this point, one enters the stage of actual death. For those who have performed virtuous deeds, the dying process may be relatively brief and painless. For those who have committed unwholesome deeds, the dying process may be prolonged, involving greater suffering. This process may last several hours—six or seven hours, eight hours, or even over ten hours for some.

The process of the six consciousnesses vanishing one after another coincides with the gradual separation of the four great elements. At this time, one experiences extreme suffering. The seeds of the four great elements separate one by one. Once separated, they return to the ālaya-vijñāna, which ceases to project them outward. The body gradually loses warmth because the fire element (tejas) within the four great elements has separated. The body slowly turns icy cold. The earth element (pṛthivī), water element (ap), and wind element (vāyu) also separate successively, returning to the ālaya-vijñāna.

However, those who have performed virtuous deeds feel no suffering at this time. This is the karmic fruit of their wholesome actions. In the snap of a finger, they may be reborn in the heavenly realm. Yet, as long as they have not eradicated the view of self, they still cling to the three realms. It is simply because they performed virtuous deeds and have wholesome karmic retribution that they go to the heavens to enjoy blessings. At this moment, heavenly music may resound, and heavenly parents may await them. For those attaining wholesome karmic results, the departure of the eight consciousnesses from the physical body does not take so long—it happens in a snap, so they experience no suffering. Those reborn in the human realm take relatively longer to breathe their last—not so brief. Their dying process is not very short, but they suffer little pain.

Bhadrapāla addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, although sentient beings know that consciousness exists, it is like a treasure locked in a box—unrevealed and unknown. World-Honored One, what is the form of this consciousness? Why is it called consciousness? When sentient beings die, their hands and feet thrash about, their eyes change appearance, and they lose control. The faculties perish, the elements disintegrate, and consciousness departs from the body. Where does it go? What is its inherent nature? What form does it take? How does it abandon this body and take another?"

The more unwholesome karma one has created, the more pain one feels during the disintegration of the four great elements at death. At the moment of dying, one may thrash hands and feet, indicating a struggle against suffering. However, one can no longer express this pain—the mouth cannot move, as the tongue, mouth, and teeth belong to the body faculty, which has failed. Thus, speech is impossible. If someone touches the dying person at this time, it may cause extreme pain and suffering, potentially arousing anger. Once anger arises, one may fall into hell realms driven by that hatred. Therefore, one should not touch a person immediately after death—do not bathe or change their clothes. Wait until they are fully deceased before handling such matters. How long does it take to be fully deceased? Perhaps eight hours, perhaps over ten hours—the time varies. Generally, those bound for the three lower realms have rigid, cold corpses with unpleasant complexions after death. Beings destined for hell have blackish complexions; those for the hungry ghost realm, bluish.

Finally, when the six consciousnesses completely cease, the five aggregates vanish with them. The mental faculty (manas) can no longer utilize the aggregate-body. Unable to command or control anything, it loses hope for the physical body and must abandon it to seek rebirth, finding a new body. Thus, the intermediate state (antarābhava) arises. This is the process of the perishing of the faculties.

There is also the disintegration of the elements, referring to the separation of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind (actually, space is also an element). The seeds of the four great elements, once harmoniously combined to form the physical body, now disperse. The life functions of the physical body cease. Though the fleshly body remains, it can no longer move and becomes like wood.

After the disintegration of the four great elements in the sentient being’s physical body, the ālaya-vijñāna departs the body together with the manas to take rebirth in the next physical body. It will also manifest another physical body—what kind depends on the karmic seeds, determined by karmic force. In most cases, an intermediate state body arises first, then one proceeds to the various destinies. If reborn in the heavens, there is no intermediate state; if falling into hell, there is no intermediate state. Where the ālaya-vijñāna goes depends on which karmic conditions ripen at the time of death. For example, if we created unwholesome karma in past lives and do not study the Buddha-Dharma or wholesome teachings in this life, we may descend to the three lower realms driven by that unwholesome karma. But if in this life we create wholesome karma, and if that wholesome karma ripens and outweighs the unwholesome, we will follow the wholesome karma to a favorable rebirth. The ālaya-vijñāna migrates according to the karmic conditions of sentient beings. At the moment of death, it depends on which karmic condition ripens first. If the wholesome karma created in this life is insufficient to counteract the ripening of unwholesome karma, even if one studies the Buddha-Dharma, when the unwholesome karmic condition manifests, one will still fall into the three lower realms to undergo retribution.