What carries over from one life to the next? There is no physical body, no true or eternal self. What determines the next life and what carries over to the next life is karma. There is karma with outflows and karma without outflows. Karma with outflows is created because of attachment to a self. It is governed by desire, anger and ignorance, and encompasses good, bad and neutral karma. Ordinary sentient beings create karma with outflows because they are attached to a self. Therefore, they will continuously experience karmic effects, life after life. Karmic seeds reside in the eighth, the alaya, consciousness. After death, karmic seeds continue to ripen, and the most powerful karmic seeds will influence where one is reborn. The being will be drawn to a set of parents like a magnet.

Karma without outflows is created when there is no attachment to self. It is the power of wisdom, or prajna. Such karma is created by great practitioners, and the consequences of such karma are also without outflows. This karma will not be attached to a self; therefore it will not be attached to samsara. Such karma will not enter the eighth consciousness. Enlightened sages are not controlled by karma with outflows. What carries over from one life to the next is their power of wisdom. They are reborn because they respond to the needs of sentient beings.

On the other hand, one who clings to an illusory self will still be controlled by the power of karma. In fact, the illusory self is the power of karma. Therefore, one can say that the power of karma carries over from one life to the next. One can also say that the attachment to an illusory self carries over from one life to the next.

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