Selected Discourses on the Father and Son Compendium Sutra (46)

King. Consciousness acts as the master. Karmic actions serve as the supporting conditions. These two factors interact dependently. The initial consciousness arises. [The being] may descend into hell, fall into the animal realm, enter Yama’s realm, or be reborn among asuras, humans, or gods. Once the initial consciousness arises, each being receives its corresponding retribution. Similar mental factors persist and continue to function within the same body. When the final consciousness ceases, it is called the aggregate of death. When the initial consciousness arises, it is called the aggregate of birth.

Explanation:** The Buddha said: “O King, the Ālaya-vijñāna, as the master of sentient beings, is the cause for the birth of the next life’s physical body. Karmic actions are the conditions for the birth of the next life’s physical body. When causes and conditions converge, the initial consciousness appears, and the next life’s physical body is born. This being may fall into a hell body, an animal body, the ghost realm, an asura body, a human body, or a heavenly body. When the initial consciousness of the next life arises, sentient beings begin to receive their respective karmic retributions. Thereafter, the consciousness within this physical body continues to function without interruption until the final consciousness ceases. This is called the ‘aggregate of death,’ and the body becomes a corpse. When the initial consciousness first arises, it is called the ‘aggregate of birth,’ signifying a living being.”

The Ālaya-vijñāna (Tathāgatagarbha) is the master of sentient beings. The karmic actions of body, speech, and mind created by the six consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) serve as supporting conditions. When causes and conditions come together, the six consciousnesses of the next life arise, and the retribution of the next life begins. As soon as the initial consciousness arises, one immediately knows whether one has been born in hell, in a heaven, among animals, in the ghost realm, or in the asura realm. For example, if one is to be reborn as a human, the initial consciousness arises again, sensations emerge, and the human retribution manifests. Without consciousness, there is no experiencer; one cannot feel pleasure or pain, and thus does not truly receive retribution. In the human womb, before four or five months, there is no conscious mind, and one cannot feel pain or pleasure. Strictly speaking, this is not considered true retribution—yet it is still retribution, because that physical body is the karmic retribution body, merely lacking a mind to perceive pleasure or pain.

Within the same physical body, consciousness continuously flows and functions. Throughout a single lifetime, the six consciousnesses (such as eye-consciousness) continuously function within the same body; this is called ‘similar mental factors.’ When the final consciousness ceases, the physical body becomes like lifeless wood, called the ‘aggregate of death.’ The arising of the initial consciousness is named the ‘aggregate of birth,’ and the six consciousnesses are called the ‘aggregate of consciousness.’