Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (147)

Original text: 大王。识为其主业为攀缘。二种相因初识生起。或趣地狱。或堕傍生琰摩罗界及阿修罗若人若天。初识生已各受其报。同分心品相续随转。最后识灭名为死蕴。最初识起名为生蕴。

Explanation: Great King, the ālayavijñāna is the master that gives rise to the five aggregates of the next life, with karmic seeds as its object-condition. When these two causes and conditions come together, the first consciousness of the next life arises. Sentient beings may proceed to the hells, or fall into the realm of hungry ghosts and the Yama-loka, or be reborn among the animals—these three evil destinies; or they may be reborn in the three good destinies: the asura destiny, the human destiny, and the heavenly destiny. After the first consciousness has arisen, sentient beings each begin to receive their karmic retribution, and then the consciousness on the same physical body continues to operate without interruption. When the consciousness ceases at the end of life, the physical body becomes a corpse—this is called the aggregates of death. The consciousness that first arises on the physical body is called the first consciousness, and the five aggregates of the physical body are called the aggregates of birth.