What Determines the Destination of Rebirth at the Time of Death

When sentient beings go to heaven, to hell, to the land of bliss (Sukhāvatī), or take rebirth, is it the manas that carries the eighth consciousness along, or the eighth consciousness that carries the manas along? Whose manas would be willing to carry the eighth consciousness to hell?

The matter of receiving rebirth at the time of death is both determined by the manas and not determined by the manas; both determined by the eighth consciousness and not determined by the eighth consciousness; both determined by karmic force and not determined by karmic force. What, then, actually determines it? If it were determined by the manas, the manas would be unwilling to go to the three evil destinies; if it were determined by the eighth consciousness, the eighth consciousness makes no decisions and takes charge of nothing; if it were determined by karmic force, since karma can be as massive as Mount Sumeru, one would inevitably fall into the three evil destinies, the wholesome dharmas one cultivated would be useless, and even the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would be helpless; if it were determined by the power of vows, many people's power of vows is insufficient to resist their karma.

The destination in future lives is determined by a combination of factors: karmic force plus the power of mindfulness of the manas. Karmic force can be fixed, and it can also be unfixed. Cultivating wholesome dharmas can change karma; pure power of vows can resist some karma; and the powerful mindfulness of the manas at the time of death can also resist karmic force. Both the manas's power of mindfulness and its power of vows can be cultivated through practice and through the gradual edification of the Buddhadharma. Accumulating seeds of wholesome karma can ward off a portion of karmic force. As long as wholesome karma outweighs unwholesome karma, or wholesome karma ripens at the time of death, and the manas's power of mindfulness is strong and merit manifests, rebirth in a wholesome destiny can be assured. To edify and nurture a wholesome mind through practicing the Buddhadharma, one must strictly uphold the precepts and not let one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions overstep the bounds. And sufficient merit can block the appearance of adverse conditions, allowing wholesome karma to ripen and take effect.