Dharma Master Jingjie
According to the Mind-Only school, if I once committed the karmas of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying but I truly repented, and from this point on, I no longer perform these acts, then this karma lies dormant in the deep ocean of the ālaya-consciousness. This karma doesn't disappear. As long as you do not stimulate it again, it will not ripen into a result.
We can deal with this karma after we attain Buddhahood or become a first Bhumi Bodhisattva. The concept of bringing karma to the pureland (Chn, 带业往生）is similar.
You can bring the dormant karmic seeds to the pureland but not the active karma (ie, karma that you are still habitually creating and have not truly repented). If you are still creating this karma, then this type of karma cannot be brought to the pureland.
When we say bringing karma to the pureland, we mean carrying only the dormant karmic seeds, not the active deeds. Therefore, If you are still creating negative karma right now, it will become an obstacle at the end of your life.
This is why upholding the precepts is so important. When you no longer commit a certain action, it becomes a karmic seed, which is called "non-increasing karma," and this can be brought to the pureland.
However, if you are still committing the karma, you need to be careful at the end of your life. At that time, two forces will be at play: the power of chanting the Amitabha’s name and the power of the karma you've created.
The force of your karma may be stronger than the force of your pureland practice, because the karma is your habitual action—it’s a familiar state of being.
Therefore, people who want to take rebirth in the pureland must not only uphold the precepts but also repent. Repentance is what causes the karmic flow to be cut. You cut the continuity of that negative inclination.
Venerable Śāriputra is an example of someone who cut off this type of mind-stream. He used to have the thought pattern of a poisonous snake (in a past life)—being greedy, stingy, and attached. Later, he transformed this into a heart of generosity and compassion. This is why his life changed.
What is taking rebirth after rebirth in samsara? It is your momentary thought. Your physical body is merely the karmic result, just like a house. Once you’re done with it, you discard it. The person inside the house is most important. When the house is ruined, this person goes to another house. If this person doesn't change his habitual patterns, then there is no hope (for a better future).
If your way of thinking doesn't change, the history of your life will keep repeating. If you are poor in this life, you will be poor in the next. If you are ugly in this life, you will be ugly in the next, because your thoughts haven't changed, and thus the karmic result will not change.
From this, we can understand that when we want to attain Buddhahood or be born in the pureland, we must begin by changing our thoughts. Thoughts are the master of our life and the one who dictates our life. All other karmic forces are just secondary.
