Explanation of the Mahayana Vijnana Sutra

Original Text: Xianhu, when consciousness abandons this body to receive another existence, at the time of sentient beings' death, consciousness is entangled by karmic obstacles. When the retribution is exhausted and life ends, it is like the nirodha-samāpatti (cessation attainment). The consciousness of an Arhat is like that of an Arhat entering nirodha-samāpatti. As the Arhat's consciousness departs from the body upon cessation, so too does the consciousness of the deceased abandon the body and the eighteen realms (dhātus), carried by the power of mental formations (manas). Thus, it is known that at that moment, all deeds performed by this individual throughout their life manifest at the approach of death. Recollections become utterly clear and distinct, while both body and mind endure intense suffering.

Explanation: The Buddha said, Xianhu, after the ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness) discards the physical body (rūpa-kāya) of this life, it proceeds to the physical body of the next life, accepting another physical existence ("another life" refers to the next existence). When sentient beings die, the ālaya-vijñāna is enveloped by the karmic obstacles created by the activities of the seven consciousnesses. When this lifetime's karmic retribution is exhausted and life approaches its end, it is identical to the ālaya-vijñāna of an Arhat entering nirodha-samāpatti. When an Arhat enters nirodha-samāpatti and is about to enter parinirvāṇa (final nirvana) from that state, their ālaya-vijñāna departs from the physical body and enters the state of cessation (nirodha). Sentient beings' death is likewise: the ālaya-vijñāna abandons the sentient being's physical body and the eighteen realms (dhātus). The ālaya-vijñāna abandons the body in accordance with the mental power (manobala) of manas (the mental faculty, the seventh consciousness), cooperating with the function of the volition (cetanā) mental factor (caitta) of manas. At this moment, the dying person knows this life has ended. All deeds performed in this life appear in their mind in the final moment before death; each can be recalled distinctly, with mental objects (dharma-dhātu) clear and vivid. Simultaneously, both body and mind experience intense suffering and pressure.

Because the karmic activities created by the deceased throughout their life leave karmic seeds (bīja), at the time of death, the ālaya-vijñāna will follow these karmic seeds and flow into the next life. If they created animal karma, they are bound by animal karma, and the ālaya-vijñāna accepts an animal body. If they created hungry ghost karma, they are bound by hungry ghost karma, and the ālaya-vijñāna goes to a hungry ghost body. The karmic retribution experienced in this life thus concludes. At the end of life, it is like the ālaya-vijñāna of a fourth-stage Arhat (who has attained the fruit of Arhatship) in nirodha-samāpatti: it abandons the physical body and departs.

When an Arhat, having cultivated the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis, enters nirodha-samāpatti, the first six consciousnesses cease. Only the seventh consciousness (manas) and the ālaya-vijñāna remain. Among the five universal mental factors (sarvatraga) associated with the seventh consciousness manas, the feeling (vedanā) and perception (saṃjñā) mental factors cease. Thus, manas lacks the vedanā and saṃjñā mental factors and has no cognitive function. It retains the three mental factors: attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā). It can still direct attention (manaskāra) towards the physical body and material world (rūpa-kāya and bhājana-loka) manifested by the ālaya-vijñāna; it can still be attentive to and make contact with the condition of the physical body, then generate the volition (cetanā) mental factor, enabling it to make decisions. For example, it can generate the determination to manifest the six consciousnesses to emerge from samādhi, or it can determine to extinguish the physical body to enter nirvana. These are all determined by the volition (cetanā) mental factor of manas. When sentient beings die and the ālaya-vijñāna departs from the body, it is identical to the situation when the manas and ālaya-vijñāna of an Arhat in nirodha-samāpatti depart from the body to enter parinirvāṇa (complete nirvana).