Explanation of the Mahāyāna Vijñapti Sūtra

Original text: Virtuous Protector, when consciousness abandons this body to receive rebirth elsewhere, at the time of sentient beings' death, consciousness is bound by the hindrances of karmic actions. When the retribution is exhausted and life ends, it is like the cessation concentration of an Arhat. The consciousness of an Arhat, as when an Arhat enters the cessation concentration, the Arhat's consciousness withdraws from the body. Similarly, the consciousness of the deceased abandons the body and the realms, carried by the power of mental faculty (manas). Thus it is known that in such a manner, all deeds I have performed in this life manifest at the time of death, recollected clearly and distinctly. Both body and mind endure intense suffering.

When the first six consciousnesses of a dying person cease, the mental faculty (manas) becomes aware and simultaneously observes the condition of the physical body, realizing it is beyond hope and unusable. The volitional mental factor (cetanā) then resolves to leave the physical body and seek a new one. The ālaya-vijñāna gradually withdraws from the body in accordance with the mental faculty, both departing together. When an Arhat enters the cessation concentration and further resolves to transcend the three realms and enter the remainderless nirvāṇa, this is determined by the volitional mental factor of the mental faculty. Thus, the consciousness of the deceased abandons both the physical body and the eighteen realms, carried by the power of the mental faculty's recollection, because all such actions are driven by the mental faculty and directed by its volitional mental factor.

Afterward, the mental faculty still desires to take rebirth and possess a physical body. The ālaya-vijñāna, in accordance with this recollective power of the mental faculty, either manifests an intermediate state body (antarābhava) for its use or directly leads to rebirth in a heavenly realm. The mental faculty does not wish to extinguish itself because it has not severed attachment to selfhood, always seeking continued existence with another five-aggregate body to utilize. The ālaya-vijñāna complies with it, manifesting the intermediate state body, carried by the power of the mental faculty's recollection. When an Arhat extinguishes both the physical body and the eighteen realms, this too is the ālaya-vijñāna carried by the power of the mental faculty's recollection. The Arhat's mental faculty recollects transcending the three realms and leaving birth and death behind, so the ālaya-vijñāna accordingly departs from the physical body and ceases to produce any further phenomena. Ordinary sentient beings at the point of death also have their mental faculty resolve to leave the physical body, recollecting rebirth into the next life's body. The ālaya-vijñāna accordingly manifests the intermediate state body, carried by the power of the mental faculty's recollection.

When sentient beings approach death, they know their life is ending. All good and evil deeds performed throughout their lifetime manifest entirely, recollected with utter clarity and without the slightest confusion. This is the recollection arising within the mind of consciousness.

At this moment, the being has not yet breathed their last. Before departing, the entire process of their lifetime flashes by rapidly, like a movie. The consciousness mind then knows what they have done in this lifetime, where they are going, whether to a good destiny or a bad one—they know all this. Afterward, the consciousness mind ceases. The mental faculty, knowing there is no hope, leaves the physical body, carrying attachment to self and craving. Consequently, an intermediate state body appears.

Before consciousness has completely vanished, both body and mind endure intense suffering. The body suffers due to the dissolution of the four great elements. The mind suffers from despair over life, separation from loved ones, and the inability to crave worldly things any longer. Thus, body and mind are tormented by suffering.

Original text: Virtuous Protector, what is the meaning of consciousness (vijñāna)? Consciousness is called the seed. It can give birth to all kinds of diverse karmic retribution bodies. The sprout of the body, perception, thought, and recollection are all contained within consciousness. Knowing suffering, knowing pleasure, knowing evil, knowing good, and knowing the realms of good and evil—therefore it is called consciousness. As you asked, how does consciousness leave this body to receive other retribution?

Explanation: The Buddha said, "Virtuous Protector, what is the meaning of consciousness? Consciousness is called the seed—the seed-consciousness, the mind-essence containing seeds. It holds the seeds of actions created by sentient beings and the innate seeds giving rise to the five-aggregate world. The ālaya-vijñāna, based on these seeds, gives birth to the various complex karmic retribution bodies of sentient beings. The knowing nature, perceiving nature, recollecting nature, and thinking nature of sentient beings are also simultaneously contained within the essence of the ālaya-vijñāna. After sentient beings are born, they can know suffering and pleasure, know evil and good, and know the various realms of good and evil. Because it contains these seeds, it is called the ālaya-vijñāna. As you asked, how does the ālaya-vijñāna abandon this body to receive the remaining karmic retribution bodies?"

Because the ālaya-vijñāna contains the seeds of the five-aggregate body, it can give rise to the sprout of the five-aggregate body. "Seed" signifies the capacity to produce; it can produce all kinds of karmic retribution bodies—any kind of retribution is possible because every kind of karma has been created. "Bodily sprout" generally refers to the sprout of the body-faculty, typically meaning the body-faculty within the embryo. Simultaneously, the seeds of sentient beings' knowing nature, thinking nature, perceiving nature, and recollecting nature are contained within the ālaya-vijñāna. When the seed-consciousness within the mind-essence is projected, sentient beings possess the knowing, thinking, perceiving, and recollecting natures. The functions of these consciousnesses arise, enabling them to know suffering and pleasure, know good and bad, know the realms of good and evil. The knowing nature belongs to the six consciousnesses, not the ālaya-vijñāna. The ālaya-vijñāna does not know suffering, pleasure, good, evil, or the realms of good and evil. These two natures of consciousness are easily confused. When reading the sutras, we must distinguish whether the sutra refers to the six consciousnesses or the ālaya-vijñāna to correctly understand its meaning.

The Buddha said, "As you asked, why does the ālaya-vijñāna leave the physical body to receive other karmic retribution bodies?" The physical bodies of sentient beings in the six destinies are all karmic retribution bodies. The physical bodies of the four types of saints are also karmic retribution bodies, albeit fortunate ones. The ālaya-vijñāna itself does not experience retribution; it is the bodies of the six consciousnesses that it gives rise to which experience retribution. The ālaya-vijñāna only manifests and bears the retribution of sentient beings. Actually, it is the mental faculty that experiences retribution, but the mental faculty has no feeling of suffering or pleasure—it has neutral sensation. If it were the six consciousnesses experiencing retribution, the six consciousnesses cease at death. The six consciousnesses of the next life are new; the original six consciousnesses do not experience the retribution. The ālaya-vijñāna certainly does not experience retribution; it feels no suffering or pleasure and is entirely of neutral sensation. It does not become an animal, hungry ghost, human, deva, etc.—it becomes nothing at all. Therefore, it does not experience retribution.