法苑珠林 14.65

14.65

又問。幽冥所感俗中常有。神去形朽如何重來。或經七日多日。如生不異。答曰。人稟七識。識各有神。心識為主。主雖前去餘神守護。不足怪也。如五戒中一戒五神。五戒便有二十五神。一戒破五神去餘者仍在。如大僧受戒。戒有二百五十神。亦戒戒之中。感得二百五十防衛比丘。若毀一重戒。但二百五十神去。餘者常隨。

It was also asked: "That which is evoked through the unseen realm is common among the worldly. When the spirit departs and the form decays, how can it return again, sometimes after seven days or many days, no different from being alive?" It was answered: "A person is endowed with seven consciousnesses, and each consciousness has its spirit. The mental consciousness is the master. Though the master has departed first, the remaining spirits guard and protect [the body]; it is not to be wondered at. Just as among the five precepts each precept has five spirits, the five precepts have twenty-five spirits. When one precept is broken, five spirits depart while the remainder still stay. It is like when a fully ordained monk receives the precepts: the precepts have two hundred and fifty spirits, and within each and every precept, two hundred and fifty [spirits] are evoked to guard the bhikṣu. If he violates one major precept, only two hundred and fifty spirits depart, while the rest constantly follow him."