Where Is the Merit from Past Lives' Fruition Manifested?

Once the manas affirms a certain principle, it does so with absolute certainty and without hesitation at all times. Conversely, whatever is derived from the deliberation of the conscious mind is invariably marked by doubt, hesitation, and vacillation. It is akin to riding a bicycle: the state of knowing how to ride and merely believing one knows how to ride are entirely different. The former is executed without hesitation, while the latter lacks complete inner conviction and certainty. Some harbor doubt within yet remain unaware of it, mistakenly believing they harbor no uncertainties. This stems from a coarse mind, weak introspective power, and insufficient concentration. Therefore, failing to perceive the truth results in self-deception.

If only the conscious mind severs the view of self, while the manas remains unsevered and unimbued, it remains the manas of an ordinary being. When consciousness extinguishes upon entering the womb in the next life, and one is reborn as a human, both consciousness and manas will still harbor the unsevered view of self. The manifestation of the manas will be identical to that of an ordinary being in the previous life, with no distinction. If so, from where would the merit of attaining the fruition in the previous life manifest?

In reality, those who genuinely attained fruition or illuminated the mind and perceived the true nature in their previous life, because their manas was imbued, upon being reborn as humans, their mental activities are decisively distinct from those of ordinary beings. The longer the duration of their cultivation in the previous life, the purer their mental activities become, and the greater the difference from ordinary beings. Before studying Buddhism, even their conscious minds did not understand why they were different from others. When scolded as fools by others, their conscious minds still felt distressed. Sometimes they wished to be like others, to keep pace with society, and similarly engage in some greed, hatred, and delusion, yet their manas remained unwilling.