The Karmic Cause of Samsara is Craving

At the moment of death, if one's thoughts are dominated by greed—whether attachment to family and loved ones, worldly life, wealth, or emotional ties—one will be reborn in the ghost realm. If the final thought is one of hatred or resentment, regardless of the object, and it is relatively severe, one may be reborn in the hell realm.

Therefore, placing all hope on the moment of death, assuming one can recite the Buddha's name and maintain a pure mind then, is highly unreliable. Who can guarantee it? Unforeseen circumstances may arise at death; one cannot be certain of one's own state of mind. If one cannot even control their thoughts in ordinary times, when the four elements decompose at death and karmic obstacles reappear, it is almost certain they will follow their karmic tendencies and thoughts into the three lower realms. There is no assurance of avoiding the three evil paths.

The only way to ensure not falling into the three evil realms is to strive to sever the view of self and realize the true mind, or to accomplish the third visualization (the visualization of the earth) as described in the Contemplation Sutra. Even foreknowledge of the time of death through Buddha-recitation is unreliable; if the mind is not single-minded and sincere enough when reciting, the Buddha will not come to welcome one.

Ninety percent or more of Buddhist practitioners are reborn in the three evil realms at death, with the majority entering the ghost realm. This is because everyone has greed and has not eradicated desire. The eradication of desire occurs only after severing the view of self, when one attains the first dhyāna and eliminates greed and hatred within that meditative state. Apart from this, all possess greedy minds. However, even if Stream-Enterers (Srotāpanna) and Once-Returners (Sakṛdāgāmin) still have greed, having severed the three fetters, they will no longer be reborn in the ghost realm. They can only be reborn in the desire realm heavens or among humans to continue confronting and gradually eradicating greed.

The cycle of rebirth in the six realms is this merciless—it shows no favoritism. Without genuine practice and realization, at life’s end one is abruptly swept away by karmic obstacles to wander through rebirth, following greedy thoughts into new existence, with no choice in the matter. This is because one has neither trained in life nor succeeded in that training. Only those who have severed the view of self are truly successful in their training.

Yet those who falsely claim to have severed the view of self or realized the true mind remain untrained. They have not severed the three fetters and will inevitably follow their greedy thoughts into rebirth in the ghost realm.

Countless Buddhist practitioners remain unaware, still clinging daily to food, clothing, shelter, and comforts—indulging in pleasures, so-called freedom, admiration, and ease. These attachments are the fetters of affliction, binding one to the six realms. They are mental afflictions, the karmic causes for future lives. In this lifetime, everyone enjoys what they are meant to enjoy—but what of future lives? Is present enjoyment more important, or is avoiding the suffering of the three evil realms in future existences?

There are also lofty-sounding cultivation methods, such as claiming to eat meat without thinking of it as meat. Those who can truly eat meat without such thoughts—whose minds have undergone genuine transformation—are exemplified by figures like Monk Jigong. How many others can actually achieve this? If one is no longer interested in meat, why insist on eating it? Would it not be better to spare the life of one less animal? And when death approaches, if the owner of that meat comes to collect a karmic debt, will one have the capacity to refuse repayment?