At the end of life, what determines rebirth in the good destinies or the three evil destinies?

Some people say: when a person dies, the tathāgatagarbha will naturally guide them into a wholesome destination. But if the tathāgatagarbha could naturally guide beings into wholesome destinies, then why is it that, since beginningless kalpas, all sentient beings have spent far more time in the three evil destinies than in the three wholesome destinies? On what basis would the tathāgatagarbha guide the manas of sentient beings into wholesome destinies? Some say that as long as one has been cultivated with wholesome dharmas, the tathāgatagarbha can guide one into a wholesome destination. But there are very many people who have been cultivated with wholesome dharmas, very many who have been cultivated with the Buddha-dharma, and equally very many who have been cultivated with correct dharmic principles—so how many of them, at the time of death, can be guaranteed not to fall into the three evil destinies and be led by the tathāgatagarbha into the three wholesome destinies?

On what basis does the tathāgatagarbha guide the manas into wholesome destinies? It relies on the seeds of wholesome karma stored within the tathāgatagarbha. But the tathāgatagarbha also contains countless seeds of unwholesome karma, left behind from the unwholesome karma committed since beginningless kalpas—karmic seeds that have not yet manifested to this day. On exactly which karmic seeds will the tathāgatagarbha base itself to guide the manas into rebirth? This question is extremely important and extremely crucial. The conditions the Buddha guaranteed in the sūtras for beings to avoid falling into the three evil destinies after death number six: first, the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and the severing of the three fetters as taught in the Āgama sūtras; second, seeing the mind and seeing the nature as taught in the Mahāyāna sūtras; third, the meditative concentration (samādhi) of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) with single-minded non-distraction at the time of death as taught in the Amitābha Sūtra; fourth, cultivating the third of the sixteen contemplations or above as taught in the Contemplation Sūtra, together with the causal conditions that should be fulfilled for rebirth through the nine grades; fifth, the conditions for rebirth taught in the other Pure Land sūtras; sixth, the seeds of wholesome karma that non-Buddhists must possess in order to be reborn in the heavens after death.

These conditions show that it is not the case that merely being cultivated with wholesome dharmas and the Buddha-dharma suffices to avoid the three evil destinies and be reborn among the three wholesome destinies. Rather, it depends on whether the force of the wholesome karma created in this lifetime is greater or the force of the unwholesome karma is greater, and on whether the seeds of major unwholesome karma from before beginningless kalpas have been eliminated, or whether the causal conditions for the seeds of major unwholesome karma to manifest are complete; and at the time of death, which is stronger—the force of the wholesome karmic seeds or the force of the unwholesome karmic seeds? The stronger one pulls first, and the tathāgatagarbha draws sentient beings along according to the stronger karma. Where one goes after death is determined by the contest between the force of wholesome karma and the force of unwholesome karma, or is determined by the power of vows—not determined by the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha merely accords with the force of the karmic seeds; He fundamentally has no intention of guiding the destinations of sentient beings.

Countless people have had the karmic affinity to be cultivated with the true Dharma and wholesome dharmas, yet their afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion remain fully intact—not eradicated in the slightest, nor even subdued. This clearly shows that the force of afflictive karma is still very strong, and at the time of death they are of course drawn by afflictive and unwholesome karma toward the three evil destinies. The facts also show that among Buddhists, eighty to ninety percent or more still fall into the three evil destinies after death to undergo evil retribution. Countless people, although cultivated with wholesome dharmas, during the process of that cultivation also committed the unwholesome karma of slandering the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. The force of this unwholesome karma is enormous, and all the cultivation of wholesome karma cannot withstand the power of the unwholesome karma of slandering the Three Jewels. Thus at the time of death, the tathāgatagarbha naturally guides the manas into the three evil destinies in accordance with the seed-force of the slandering karma. Even if in this life one has not committed any particularly major unwholesome karma, if the karmic conditions of unwholesome karma from beginningless kalpas have ripened, and the force of the wholesome karma from cultivating wholesome dharmas in this life is not strong enough—the conditions not mature enough to alter the conditions and force of the unwholesome karma—then the tathāgatagarbha will guide the manas into the three evil destinies according to the powerful force of the unwholesome karmic seeds.

If in this life the force of one's cultivation of wholesome dharmas is still not strong enough and is rather weak and inferior—such that only the mind consciousness understands and comprehends the wholesome dharmas, without the cultivation reaching the manas so that the manas realizes the wholesome dharmas—then this cultivation of wholesome dharmas cannot be stored in the tathāgatagarbha as powerful seeds. Lacking strong force, it cannot play much of a role, is insufficient to contend with the force of afflictive karma, and is insufficient to change the fate of falling into the three evil destinies in future lives. All the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five-aggregate body must be stored in the tathāgatagarbha as seeds. Countless people, although cultivated with wholesome dharmas, have not changed their bodily, verbal, and mental actions and still commit unwholesome karma of greed, hatred, and delusion. What is stored in the tathāgatagarbha, then, are the karmic seeds of greed, hatred, and delusion. At the time of death, the force of afflictive karma is very great, and it will draw the manas into the three evil destinies, preventing rebirth among the three wholesome destinies.

Who is the master that creates and performs the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five-aggregate body? Of course it is the manas that acts as master and creates them. If the wholesome dharmas a sentient being cultivates in this life do not enter the mind of the manas, and the manas does not personally realize the Buddha-dharma so as to eliminate ignorance and afflictions, then the manas remains unwholesome and will not act as master to create wholesome karma, and the seeds of wholesome karma will not be stored in the substance of the tathāgatagarbha mind. How, then, could the tathāgatagarbha guide the manas to be reborn in wholesome destinies? In summary, no matter who cultivates wholesome dharmas, if the manas is not successfully cultivated and transformed, if its afflicted and defiled nature is not changed, if the mental actions of the manas are not altered, then the manas will continue to act as master and create defiled karma; the seeds of defiled karma will be stored in the substance of the tathāgatagarbha mind, causing the tathāgatagarbha to bring forth the evil karmic retribution of future lives, and such a person, at death, cannot go to wholesome destinies to receive wholesome retribution.