The Five Aggregates and Eighteen Realms Are All Transformations of the Eighth Consciousness

Question: Do the six elements—earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness—exist simultaneously with the eighth consciousness, or does the eighth consciousness exist first and later give rise to the six elements?

Answer: The seeds of the six great elements, or the seeds of the seven great elements, are seeds inherently possessed by the eighth consciousness; they are not produced after birth. Wherever there is the eighth consciousness, there are the seeds of the seven great elements. When causal conditions are complete, the eighth consciousness outputs these seeds, thereby producing the world of sentient beings' five aggregates and eighteen realms. The eighth consciousness exists at every moment without interruption. When the karmic seeds of sentient beings mature, He first outputs the seeds of the five great elements—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—to form the material universe (the vessel-world) in which sentient beings are about to live. After the living environment has been created, He then outputs the seeds of the great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space to fashion sentient beings' material bodies. He then outputs the seeds of the mind consciousness, producing sentient beings' mind consciousness, and then outputs the seeds of the five sense consciousnesses, producing the first five consciousnesses. In this way, sentient beings' seven consciousnesses and five aggregates are complete, and sentient beings can emerge from the womb and live the life of the world of the five aggregates. The manas participates in all of these activities of the eighth consciousness, and they are also brought about by the eighth consciousness in accordance with the manas.