What Determines the Destination of Rebirth at the Moment of Death?

When sentient beings go to heaven, to hell, to the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), or take rebirth in the womb, 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 power and not determined by karmic power. What, in the end, 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 no part in affairs; if it were determined by karmic power, then since karmic power is greater than 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, the power of most people's vows would be insufficient to withstand their karmic power.

The destination in future lives is determined by a combination of factors: karmic power plus the power of mindfulness of the manas. Karmic power can be fixed and can also be unfixed; cultivating wholesome dharmas can change karmic power, pure power of vows can resist some karmic power, and a powerful mindfulness of the manas at the time of death can resist karmic power. Moreover, both the power of mindfulness and the power of vows of the manas can be cultivated through practice and the gradual permeation of the Buddha-dharma; accumulating seeds of wholesome karma can ward off a portion of karmic power. 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 permeate and nurture a wholesome mind through practicing the Buddha-dharma, one must strictly observe the precepts, and one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions must not transgress the bounds. And sufficient merit can ward off the appearance of adverse conditions, allowing wholesome karma to ripen and take effect.