Mahāyāna Sūtra of Revealing Consciousness (41)

Original text:佛告贤护。当知皆是。作业之力。作业无形。但智运耳。如是身之机关。以识之力。作诸事业。仙通乾闼婆龙神人天阿修罗等。种种趣业。咸悉依之。识能生身。如工作机关。

Explanation: The Buddha told Xianhu (Bhadrapāla) that the wooden automaton's mechanisms are all operated by a force of karmic activity, and this force of activity is formless and without mark; it merely operates the wooden automaton through wisdom, accomplishing the automaton's tasks. The physical body of sentient beings is likewise like a wooden automaton; the operation of the body's mechanisms follows the same principle as the operation of a wooden automaton's mechanisms—there is a force of wisdom causing the mechanisms to operate and perform all kinds of tasks. The operation of the physical body's mechanisms relies on the power of the Ālayavijñāna, enabling the physical body to perform all tasks; all these tasks are the tasks of the five aggregates, including all bodily, verbal, and mental actions. "Karma" here refers to karmic activity, not to worldly entrepreneurship or career undertakings. Whatever the five aggregates operate is called a task or undertaking.

The tasks performed by the various beings of the six realms—ascetics with supernatural powers, gandharvas, nāgas, spirits, humans, devas, asuras, and so on—all depend on the Ālayavijñāna to exist. The Ālayavijñāna can produce the physical body, just like a mechanism that performs work; this work is its operation, just like the work of a robot or a washing machine, which starts operating at the press of a button.