What happens to us after death? Buddhism teaches that we remain for some time in the state of intermediate existence (chū-u) in this world after death, and when this time is over, in accordance with the karma that we have accumulated in our previous life, we are reborn in another appropriate world. Buddhism also divides this other world into the following ten realms: hell (jigoku), hungry spirits (gaki), animals (chikushō), demons (shura), human beings (ningen), heaven (tenjō), śrāvakas (shōmon), pratyekabuddhas (engaku), bodhisattvas (bosatsu), and buddhas (butsu).

If we die in an unenlightened state, our souls will return to the former state of ignorance, will be reborn in the six worlds (rokudō) of illusion and suffering, and will finally reach old age and death through the twelve stages discussed above. And we will repeat this round to the end of time. This perpetual repetition of birth and death is called transmigration (rinne). But if we purify our souls by hearing the Buddha’s teachings and practicing the bodhisattva-way, the state of ignorance is annihilated, and our souls can be reborn in a better world. The expression “to cut the causes” applies to this state.