The Karmic Cause of Samsara Is Craving

At the time of death, if one's final thought is one of greed—whether attachment to family and loved ones, attachment to worldly life, craving for wealth, or clinging to emotions—one will be reborn in the ghost realm. If the final thought is one of hatred—hatred toward anything—especially if it is severe, one may be reborn in hell.

Therefore, placing all hope solely on the moment of death, believing that one can recite the Buddha’s name and maintain a pure mind at that time, is highly unreliable. Who can guarantee that for you? Who knows what circumstances might arise at death? Who can be certain of one’s state of mind then? If one cannot even manage their thoughts in ordinary life, when the four great elements disintegrate at death and karmic obstacles reappear, it is almost certain that they will follow their karmic tendencies and thoughts straight to the three evil destinies. There is no guarantee of avoiding the three evil destinies. The only way to ensure not falling into them is to strive to sever the view of self and awaken the mind, or to achieve the third contemplation (contemplation of the earth) as described in the Contemplation Sutra. Even predicting the time of death through Buddha-recitation is not reliable. If, at that moment, one’s recitation lacks single-mindedness or sincerity is insufficient, the Buddha will not come to receive them.

Over ninety percent—perhaps even more—of Buddhist practitioners end up being reborn in the three evil destinies at death. Most of them go to the ghost realm because absolutely everyone has greed and has not eradicated desire. The state of eradicating desire occurs only after severing the view of self, when one attains the first dhyāna and eliminates greed and hatred within that concentration. Apart from this, all beings possess greed. However, even if stream-enterers (first fruition) and once-returners (second fruition) still have greed, because they have severed the three fetters, they will no longer be reborn in the ghost realm. They can only be reborn in the heavens of the desire realm or among humans to continue grappling with desire, gradually eradicating it.

The cycle of rebirth in the six realms is precisely this merciless—it shows no favoritism. Without genuine cultivation and realization, at life’s end, one is abruptly swept away by karmic obstacles to wander in transmigration, following greedy thoughts into rebirth, with no choice in the matter. This is because one has neither trained in ordinary 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 falsely claim to have awakened the mind still belong to the category of those who have not succeeded in training. They still have not severed the three fetters and will still follow greedy thoughts to be reborn in the ghost realm—this is unavoidable.

Countless Buddhist practitioners remain unaware, still greedily clinging to food, clothing, and shelter day after day, indulging in pleasures, chasing so-called freedom, craving prestige, and seeking comfort. These attachments are the fetters of affliction, binding one to the six realms. They are mental afflictions and the karmic causes for future lives. In each lifetime, everyone enjoys whatever they are meant to enjoy—but what about the next life? Is present enjoyment more important, or is avoiding the suffering of the three evil destinies in future lives more crucial?

There are also some lofty-sounding cultivation methods that claim one should not think of eating meat while eating it. But how many people besides Monk Jigong, who had truly transformed his mind, can genuinely avoid thinking of meat while eating it? If one is no longer interested in meat, why insist on eating it? Wouldn’t it be better to spare one less animal from death? And when death approaches, if the master of that meat comes to collect a debt, will one have the ability to avoid repaying it?