宗鏡錄 66.10

66.10

Answer: 'From past defilements and actions, one obtains the present body and sense faculties. From the present life, one further creates actions; by these causes and conditions, one obtains a future body and sense faculties. For example, when a grain seed combines with multiple conditions, a sprout is able to grow. Yet this seed does not actually pass into the sprout; because the seed perishes, the sprout then grows. Because the seed perishes, it is not permanent; because the sprout arises, it is not severed. The Buddha's explanation of receiving a body is also like this: although there is no self, karmic retribution is not lost.'