From What Is the Body of the Five Aggregates Born?

The physical body of every sentient being is structured in such an intricate and complex way, the nervous system is so refined, and its functions are even more subtle. The tathāgatagarbha is truly a master craftsman—what kind of design blueprint does He use? Who designed it for Him? And how does He construct the physical body according to the blueprint? It is truly marvelous beyond words!

Why is there the birth of the five-aggregate body? What was the initial cause for the arising of the world and the five-aggregate body? The Śūraṅgama Sūtra points out a key point: the manas wanted to discern something, and so it reached outward in search, and only then did the undifferentiated world come into being. Prior to this, there was only the tathāgatagarbha and the manas, in vast, unfathomable darkness. The birth of the five-aggregate body can only be traced back to the tathāgatagarbha, leading to the conclusion: nāma-rūpa is conditioned by consciousness (the eighth consciousness), and consciousness (the eighth consciousness) conditions nāma-rūpa.