Rebirth Is Governed by the Karma or Vow of Manas

The Tathāgatagarbha never acts as a sovereign ruler. It does not conceive the intention to take rebirth. It is solely the manas (mental faculty) that determines rebirth, and only then does the Tathāgatagarbha cooperate with the manas to enter the womb. When the manas decides on rebirth, it does so entirely in accordance with its habitual tendencies (vāsanā) and karmic forces, or in alignment with the power of vows (praṇidhāna). At that moment, it depends on whether karmic forces or the power of vows are stronger. If the manas has not severed the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi) and has not eradicated the three fetters (trīṇi saṃyojanāni), its karmic forces remain extremely potent. It inevitably descends to the three lower realms (durgati), most frequently the realm of hungry ghosts (preta), because one hundred percent of beings harbor substantial greed. With greed, one is destined for the realm of hungry ghosts. Once the karma for the preta realm is exhausted, one is reborn in the animal realm (tiryagyoni). After the karmic conditions for the animal realm conclude, one returns to the human realm as a person.

Therefore, the severance of the view of self and the realization of the mind's nature (seeing one's true nature), and indeed the attainment of any Dharma, are achieved jointly by consciousness (vijñāna) and the manas. If the manas does not attain realization, the binding fetters of birth and death in the three lower realms will compel the manas to be born there. Consequently, the manas utilizes the five aggregates (pañca skandhas) and six consciousnesses (ṣaḍ vijñānāni) specific to those lower realms. These five aggregates and six consciousnesses differ significantly from those of a human, due to the difference in karmic forces. Regarding the matter of rebirth, consciousness is completely powerless. At the moment of rebirth, consciousness ceases; it cannot serve as an advisor to the manas. The manas acts entirely on its own, which is equivalent to karmic forces acting as the sole sovereign. If the manas neither severs the view of self nor realizes the mind's nature, how can it attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death karma?