Who Is Reborn?

The inverted thinking of the manas lies in taking the false as true, regarding the images manifested by the tathāgatagarbha as real, treating the images in the mirror of the tathāgatagarbha as substantially real objects existing outside—passing off the false as genuine, deceiving oneself and others life after life. The manas controls and directs the six consciousnesses to continually manipulate the people, matters, and things inside the mirror, engaging in ceaseless activity on the surface of the mirror. When this activity becomes severe and the karmic seeds accumulate in great quantity and magnitude, it eventually affects the actual entities outside the mirror, thereby altering the substantial object realm, and cause and effect then change.

After the manas has eradicated ignorance, it knows that all dharmas are illusory manifestations, yet it still carries out activities within the six realms and the three realms; however, it no longer attaches its mind to the people, affairs, and things of the three realms. In this way, one can escape the suffering of birth-and-death and saṃsāra in the three realms and six paths, and the mind is no longer inverted.

But at the level of ultimate reality, is there such a thing as saṃsāra? Is there anyone who transmigrates? No. Because at the time of death, the body faculty ceases and no longer exists—the body faculty does not transmigrate; the mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses also cease and vanish at the time of death, so they certainly do not transmigrate either. As for the manas, it never ceases life after life, having no former life and no later life, so naturally it cannot be said to transmigrate or not transmigrate. The eighth consciousness even more does not transmigrate; likewise it has no former or later lives. Moreover, the six paths have nothing to do with Him, and He does not undergo suffering either. Then who is it that transmigrates? There is no one who transmigrates.