As Long as Consciousness Exists, Manas Will Not Depart from the Five Aggregates

Consciousness emerges in the womb around four to five months of gestation. Until birth, a fetus cannot be born without consciousness, as the birthing process itself involves consciousness; a birth devoid of consciousness is death. Even anencephalic infants possess a faint consciousness, or they would be stillborn and unable to be born. Similarly, individuals in a vegetative state retain a weak consciousness, or they too would die. As long as consciousness exists, the mind-root (manas) does not depart from the five-aggregate body. It is profoundly attached to the functions of the six consciousnesses, because the mind-root itself cannot act independently; it must utilize the six consciousnesses to act, employing the body to carry out actions.