Explanation of the Mahayana Vijñapti Sūtra

Original Text: O Bhadrapāla, when the body of a sentient being dies, the consciousness carries and upholds the dharma-realm of sensation and perception, reaching the next life. Due to the cause and condition of parents, the consciousness entrusts itself to them. The dharma-realm of sensation and perception all follow the consciousness, and it is also thus. Just as from the superior power of a flower, the nose gains the faculty of smell; from the superior power of smell, the fragrant object is obtained. Again, just as from the superior power of the wind-body, the touch of wind and color is attained; due to the superior power of the wind, the fragrance travels afar. Similarly, from consciousness arises sensation; from sensation arises perception; from perception arises dharmas. Thus, one becomes able to discern the wholesome and the unwholesome.

Explanation: The Buddha said, O Bhadrapāla, when the material body of sentient beings dies, the ālaya-vijñāna carries the seeds of the dharma-realm of sensation and perception to the next life. Within the intermediate state (antarābhava), due to the cause and condition of parents, the ālaya-vijñāna entrusts itself to the fertilized egg, giving rise to name-and-form (nāmarūpa). The dharma-realm of sensation and perception all migrate with the ālaya-vijñāna into the next material body, and it is also thus. It is like how, because of the superior power of a fresh flower, the nose gains the faculty of smelling; because of the nose's superior power of smelling, one can perceive the fragrant object. Again, it is like how, because of the superior power inherent in the wind-body, the contact between wind and the colored form is obtained; further, due to the wind's conveying power, the flower's fragrance drifts to distant places. By the same principle, because of the ālaya-vijñāna, sensation arises; because of sensation, perception arises; because of perception, the manifestation of dharmas arises, and sentient beings become able to discern the wholesome and unwholesome nature of dharmas.

The ālaya-vijñāna contains the seeds of the dharma-realm of sensation and perception. When conditions mature, it outputs the karmic seeds of sensation and perception and the seeds of the six consciousnesses; sensation and perception then appear, and sentient beings gain the functional capacity for sensation and perception. The seed of the body faculty first arises depending on the cause and condition of the parents, giving rise to the body faculty. Then, the seeds of consciousness also gradually arise and function. The seeds of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue faculties arise depending on the body faculty. Depending on the causes and conditions of the six faculties and six objects, the seeds of the six consciousnesses also begin to function. In this way, the dharma-realm of sensation and perception arises again.

Because the flower has fragrance, the nose faculty possesses the olfactory function. Depending on the smelling nature of the nose faculty and the power of nose consciousness, we are able to perceive the fragrant object of the flower. The nose faculty apprehends the fragrant object-smell. When faculty and object contact, nose consciousness arises to discern the smell object, apprehending the characteristic (form) of the smell object, thus perceiving the flower's fragrance. Through the function of nose consciousness and the mind consciousness, the characteristic of the smell object is apprehended, and the fragrant object is obtained. There must be consciousness to obtain; without consciousness, it cannot be obtained. 'Obtain' means the meaning of apprehending the characteristic, the meaning of grasping.

Because the wind element itself possesses the power of conveyance, it causes wind and color to contact. When wind and flower contact, the flower's fragrance drifts to other places. Similarly, the ālaya-vijñāna also has the functional capacity to convey seeds. After a person dies, the ālaya-vijñāna contacts the karmic seeds and carries the five aggregates to another material body in another world. Because there is wind pushing it, the flower's fragrance can drift to faraway places. Likewise, because there is the ālaya-vijñāna, the seeds of the dharma-realm of sensation and perception can be migrated to another material body. The wind element metaphorically represents the ālaya-vijñāna; the flower represents the body faculty; the flower's fragrance represents the seeds of the dharma-realm of sensation and perception and the five aggregates. The nose faculty possesses the faculty of smell because of the function of nose consciousness; we can smell the fragrance and have perception. This illustrates that sensation and perception are the function of the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses can apprehend the six objects: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas (mental objects). The six objects can manifest upon the mind consciousness.

Original Text: O Bhadrapāla, when the body of a sentient being dies, the consciousness carries and upholds the dharma-realm of sensation and perception, reaching the next life. Due to the cause and condition of parents, the consciousness entrusts itself to them. The dharma-realm of sensation and perception all follow the consciousness, and it is also thus. Just as from the superior power of a flower, the nose gains the faculty of smell; from the superior power of smell, the fragrant object is obtained. Again, just as from the superior power of the wind-body, the touch of wind and color is attained; due to the superior power of the wind, the fragrance travels afar. Similarly, from consciousness arises sensation; from sensation arises perception; from perception arises dharmas. Thus, one becomes able to discern the wholesome and the unwholesome.

Why can the six consciousnesses apprehend the six objects: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas? Because there is a material body, there are six faculties; and because there is the Tathāgatagarbha, there is the ālaya-vijñāna. The ālaya-vijñāna can convey the six objects; the six consciousnesses arise depending on them, sensation and perception then appear, and the objects manifest. This illustrates that the ālaya-vijñāna can manifest the six objects and can also manifest the six consciousnesses; thus, the six consciousnesses can apprehend the six objects. From the ālaya-vijñāna, sensation arises; from sensation, perception arises; with perception, phenomena manifest. For example, the ālaya-vijñāna conveys sound; faculty and object contact, giving rise to ear consciousness; ear consciousness hears the sound and has sensation; with sensation, there is feeling, and the sound manifests upon the ear consciousness. Because there is nose consciousness, the smell object can be discerned and manifested. "From perception arises dharmas" means that because there is perception, the six objects (dharmas) appear. "Dharmas" represent the six objects; "perception" represents the six consciousnesses.

The perception of the six consciousnesses means: eye consciousness can see, ear consciousness can hear, nose consciousness can smell, tongue consciousness can taste, body consciousness can feel, mind consciousness can know – this is called perception. What dharmas arise from eye consciousness? The form object appears. Without eye consciousness, could you know there is a form object? Eye consciousness apprehends the form object, and the form object appears. For example, with eye consciousness, one can apprehend the form of a cup on the table. Without eye consciousness, could the form of the cup be apprehended? Then one would not know there is a cup. Only with the arising of eye consciousness can the cup be discerned; eye consciousness apprehends the form of the cup – this is eye consciousness apprehending the form object.

Again, for example, because there is ear consciousness, one can hear sound; ear consciousness apprehends the sound object. Without consciousness, could it be apprehended? This process of apprehension is the process of conception (saṃjñā). One is the function of discernment, the other is the function of apprehending the characteristic. Conception (saṃjñā) is the mental factor of conception, which can also be called the aggregate of conception (saṃjñā-skandha). The aggregate of conception first discerns; after discernment, knowing what this is, that is apprehending; after discrimination, it is apprehending the characteristic; then a name is applied – this is the complete process of conception. With nose consciousness, the smell object can be apprehended; with body consciousness, the warmth of sunlight, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and other touch objects can be apprehended. Because there is mind consciousness, apprehending mental objects (dharmas), one can discern all dharmas, thus knowing good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad.