Commentary on the Sutra of the Compendium of Fathers and Sons (173)

How to recognize and understand the illusory and unreal nature of the five aggregates, like a dream?

This must be understood and contemplated through two aspects: the physical body and the conscious mind. The physical body is a fleshly form, constantly arising and ceasing like a piece of wood. Without the conscious mind operating within it, the physical body would have no activity or function. The first seven consciousnesses functioning within the physical body ceaselessly arise and perish, perish and arise, like a revolving torch flame wheel. These seven consciousnesses are not real; it is only because the tathāgatagarbha delivers seeds of consciousness one after another that the seven consciousnesses can function. If the tathāgatagarbha does not deliver seeds, the seven consciousnesses cease to function, and thus the functions of the five aggregates vanish. The body of the five aggregates would then be nothing more than an inert piece of wood.

As a whole, the body of the five aggregates is a composite, formed by the aggregation of form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. It is not real; if any one component is missing, it becomes incomplete. This life form, assembled through various causes and conditions, is itself an illusory phenomenon. Moreover, it is illusory in the present moment; there is no need for us to deliberately conceive of it as illusory.

In any momentary activity of the five aggregates, if the ālaya consciousness ceases to deliver seeds of consciousness, the activities of the five aggregates immediately halt, and all signs of life vanish. Such is the illusory nature of the physical body. The body of the five aggregates is like a robot, controlled by the ālaya consciousness. If the storehouse of seeds does not continuously supply raw materials, the machine stops functioning. If the mental faculty (manas), acting as the power switch, is not activated, the raw materials cannot be delivered to the physical body, and the body of the five aggregates still cannot operate. Such an illusory physical body possesses no reality whatsoever; its apparent existence merely deceives the eyes and deludes the mind.

These ceaselessly arising and perishing illusory appearances, though cherished by ordinary beings and even bodhisattvas, cannot truly be grasped or possessed, just like the illusions within a dream. The notions of self, others, sentient beings, and life span — these four notions similarly lack any real form, like objects in a dream. Real life is identical to a dream: there is no real "I," no real "you," no "him," no sentient beings, and no life span. All of these are merely illusory, false appearances. When one genuinely recognizes and realizes this within the mind, one attains the fruit of enlightenment.

Why is so-called "real life" identical to a dream? To realize this principle, one must cultivate to the bodhisattva stage of the ten stages of dedication.