Mahāyāna Sūtra of Revealing Consciousness (47)

Original text:佛言：贤护，譬如乌麻。薝卜花熏。其油香美。名薝卜油。与凡麻油。好恶殊隔。油先无香。以花熏种。油遂成香。香不破麻而入。亦不破麻而出。复无形质。留止油内。但以因缘力故。香迁油内。油成香泽。鸡鹅子识。入出于卵。亦复如是。如薝卜香。迁于油内。

Explanation: The Buddha said, "Bhadrapāla, for instance, take sesame seeds fumigated with campaka flowers; the oil pressed from them is fragrant and fine, and is called campaka oil. Compared with ordinary sesame oil, the difference in quality is enormous. The oil originally had no fragrance, but after the seeds were fumigated with the flowers, the oil became fragrant. The fragrance did not break open the sesame seeds to enter, nor did it break them open to come out; nor did it have any form or substance remaining within the oil. It was only through the power of causes and conditions that the fragrance migrated into the oil, and the oil became fragrant. In the same way, the consciousness of chicks and goslings enters and exits the eggs, just like the campaka fragrance migrating into the oil."

The Buddha said that the fragrance of the flowers did not break open the sesame seeds and bore its way into them, nor did the fragrance break or bore through the sesame seeds to come out of them. The fragrance neither entered nor exited, nor did it destroy the sesame seeds, nor did it leave any form or color in the oil; yet the oil pressed out was fragrant. This is like the Ālayavijñāna, which, without opening the eggshell, without entering the eggshell, and without coming out, still holds and sustains the chicken egg and the goose egg — the same principle as fumigating sesame seeds with fragrance.

It is all due to the power of the convergence of various causes and conditions that such a marvelous transformation occurs: the fragrance migrated into the oil, and the oil acquired a fragrant luster. Because of this causal nature, the two combined together and perfumed one another, and so the sesame oil became fragrant oil. The fragrance migrated into the oil, and the oil became fragrant oil. The Ālayavijñāna's entering and exiting chicken eggs and goose eggs also has its causes and conditions: when the causes and conditions are complete, the Ālayavijñāna enters into the chicken eggs and goose eggs; when the causes and conditions cease, the Ālayavijñāna exits from the chicken eggs and goose eggs.

When the causes and conditions for a sentient being's birth are complete, the Ālayavijñāna can manifest the sentient being's body of the five aggregates. With cause and condition present, the chicken egg and goose egg in the worldly realm break open, and the chick and gosling hatch out. When the causes and conditions cease, the chicken egg and goose egg in the worldly realm are destroyed, there is no life force within, and the Ālayavijñāna no longer personally holds and sustains the chicken egg and goose egg. Moreover, the chicken egg and goose egg cannot exist independently of the Ālayavijñāna; an egg without life is held and sustained jointly by the Ālayavijñānas of sentient beings with common karma; when there is life within the egg, it is the individual Ālayavijñāna within that egg that alone holds and sustains that egg, and thus the egg has life. After the Ālayavijñāna exits from the egg, the egg becomes held and sustained jointly by the Ālayavijñānas of sentient beings with common karma — still transformed by consciousness alone, manifested by mind alone.