八識規矩補註 2.31

2.31

Below this explains the line "birth-and-death, conditioning, depending on food." The sūtra states that when sentient beings take rebirth and die, they must abide in distracted mind, not in the mindless attainment; if this consciousness did not exist, the mind at the time of birth-and-death could not exist. That is to say, at the time of birth-and-death, body and mind are dim and confused, like when sleeping without dreams or in extreme fainting; clear manovijñāna certainly does not manifest, and the mental modes and cognitive objects of the six evolving consciousnesses are definitely unknowable; this distracted mind that exists is called the mind of birth-and-death. Other schools also maintain that at the stage of birth-and-death there is a separate kind of subtle manovijñāna whose mental modes and cognitive objects are both indiscernible; one should know that this is just this eighth consciousness. Furthermore, when about to die, through wholesome or unwholesome karma, cold sensation gradually arises from below or above in the body; if this consciousness did not exist, this matter could not occur, because the evolving consciousnesses cannot appropriate the body. This proves that the mind at the time of birth-and-death is just the eighth. It also says that consciousness conditions name-and-form, and name-and-form conditions consciousness; these two phenomena mutually depend on each other, just as a bundle of reeds stands together simultaneously; if this consciousness did not exist, the substance of that consciousness could not exist; furthermore, because the various evolving consciousnesses have interruptions and fluctuations, they lack the capacity to constantly hold name-and-form and constantly serve as conditions for name-and-form; therefore the word "consciousness" there clearly refers to the eighth: this explains the character "conditioning" (yuan). Furthermore, the sūtra states that all sentient beings abide by depending on food; if this consciousness did not exist, the substance of that consciousness-food could not exist. From this it is definitively known that, distinct from the various evolving consciousnesses, there is a maturation consciousness that is uniform, constantly and pervasively holding life and body so that they are not destroyed or broken; based on this, the World-Honoured One uttered these words: "All sentient beings abide by depending on food." Therefore one knows that only the maturation consciousness is the nature of superior food; that consciousness is just the eighth consciousness: this explains the two characters "depending on food" (yi shi). The explanation of the third line, "birth-and-death, conditioning, depending on food," is concluded above.