The Reason for Suffering Life After Life

After a person dies, the manas and the tathāgatagarbha do not perish; together they carry karma into the womb and are reborn, giving birth to another you in the next life. The manas continues without interruption from past lives to future lives, so there is something that connects life after life—and that is you. Because in past lives you did not understand cause and effect, you paid no heed to your future self and acted willfully and recklessly, creating bitter karma, causing the present you to suffer endlessly. If in this life you continue to act willfully and recklessly without understanding cause and effect, then in future lives your afflictions will still be unceasing. The one who suffers is always yourself, not anyone else—creating karma life after life, regretting life after life, yet never learning the lesson.