Dharma Master Jingjie
The eighth consciousness (alaya-consciousness) is usually inactive, however, it begins to manifest as we are dying. This vast storehouse (of your deepest consciousness) that holds immeasurable afflictions and karmic forces accumulated over countless eons only appears at two times: at the time of dying and at the moment of rebirth.
When the eighth consciousness appears, it does not “hold back”. It does two things: inwardly, it produces afflictive thoughts in your mind; outwardly, it manifests as karmic appearances.
Some people are perfectly fine in ordinary times but become confused and afflicted at the moment of death. This is not really their fault because the eighth consciousness is inactive during daily life. But, it is activated when we are dying and manifests the things we have been most deeply attached to over countless lifetimes.
These thoughts repeatedly arise and you clutch to them, afflictions and deluded thoughts surface from the depths of the eighth consciousness at the moment of death. Also, karma (within our eighth consciousness) that is near maturation will manifest a kind of bardo body which misleads us.
Therefore, a dying person is said to face both inner and external disturbances.
If you have not prepared well during ordinary times, many people who recite Amitabha well in daily life fail to pass this critical hurdle at the moment of death because it is an entirely different situation.
Everyone should understand that mindfulness of Amitabha in daily life and mindfulness of Amitabha at the moment of death are two completely different situations, because the states are very different.
In daily life, you are dealing with only a small portion of life’s suffering. At death, you are facing a total upheaval of your life. Naturally, these are not the same.
Many pureland practitioners mistakenly think that reciting Amitabha in daily life is exactly the same as when dying. They just go along practicing but when the final moment comes, they cannot get through it.
Therefore, we must prepare ourselves well. No matter what happens at the moment of death, the key is that you must develop the inner mental strength to overcome obstacles on your own.
