The Dharma-Transmission Verse of Kāśyapa Buddha

Original text: 一切众生性清净，从本无生无可灭；即此身心是幻生，幻化之中无罪福。

Explanation: Sentient beings are the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), and the five aggregates are illusorily manifested by the eighth consciousness (ālayavijñāna), standing in a relationship of non-duality with the eighth consciousness; their essence is in every case the true suchness of the eighth consciousness. And the true suchness of the eighth consciousness is the self-natured pure mind, intrinsically pure from the very beginning, without any defilement. Therefore, in terms of the self-substance of true suchness, the five aggregates of sentient beings that He gives birth to are pure in nature—that is, the tathāgatagarbha nature of true suchness.

However, if one sets aside the eighth consciousness of true suchness and looks separately at each individual five aggregates of a sentient being, they are defiled, subject to arising and ceasing, subject to change, impermanent, and without self. This is because the eighth consciousness of true suchness has existed naturally so (dharmatā) since beginningless kalpas; it was not born, has never ceased, and will never cease. Therefore, in terms of the eighth consciousness, the five aggregates of sentient beings are also unborn and unceasing, because in essence they are all attributes of the eighth consciousness.

Because the seeds of the five aggregates are stored in the eighth consciousness, when conditions are encountered, the five aggregates of sentient beings will be produced; and since the eighth consciousness endures without ceasing, it will forever be able to give rise to the five-aggregate body without interruption. Thus, viewed as a whole over long kalpas, the five aggregates are permanently existing and unceasing, continuing even until buddhahood is attained; after attaining buddhahood they will cease even less, and the buddhas use these five aggregates of body and mind to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings without end. Only when each individual five aggregates is viewed separately are they subject to arising and ceasing.

For sentient beings composed of the five aggregates, the body of the aggregate of form (rūpa) and the mind consciousnesses of the four aggregates of feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), formations (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna) are all illusorily manifested by the eighth consciousness of true suchness in accordance with various conditions, just like the illusory persons conjured by a magician in empty space. And no matter what unwholesome or meritorious karma an illusory person performs, their unwholesome and meritorious karma is also illusory and unreal, with no real retribution of sin or reward of merit. It is the same with the five aggregates of sentient beings: for illusorily manifested sentient beings, whatever unwholesome or meritorious karma they perform, that karma is illusory and unreal. If it is done by the body, the body is illusory; if it is done by the mind consciousness, the consciousness is also an illusion without real substance. Since they are illusory manifestations without real substance, the unwholesome and meritorious karma they perform is likewise illusory and unreal; there is no real retribution of sin or reward of merit, and without an owner, there is no karmic action.