amitabha!
In the theravada tradition, it is true that it like a immediate rebirth, and in the mahayana tradition it is a 49 days in a state of awaiting for his/her rebirth. For theravada tradition they believe when someone is dying no matter what deeds done when healthy so long you help that person to maintain a happy and calm mind state he/she will reborn in a peaceful and well environment, but if he/she is in a confusing, worried, unhappy mind state he/she will reborn in an unpleasant environment. So regardless whether what deeds he/she had done, a peaceful mind reborn in good place and a confusing mind will in bad place. But this doesn't mean he/she will not need to repay for the deeds that done if so buddha will not preach on the cause and effect teachings. He/she will need to repay it after he/she were reborn to that particular places. Example: Human reborning on this mother earth each individuals have different deeds to repay, just like some may be rich but thay need to put in a lot efforts to maintain his wellness but some rich in a way that they do not need to work hard for it, and also some maybe poor but friends and relatives are helping him so though he is poor but is still smoothly in his life and some are poor that they were worrying and indeed suffer mentality and physically.
In the mahayana tradition, there is this sutra called 地藏经 in this sutra it did say that there is this 49 days period ehich they are awaiting for they good and bad deeds to be accounted and posted to accordingly to their karma resulting in different state of rebirth. For this case, ppl will start wondering that buddha teaches us that everything will be going according to the three karma body, speech and mind to whether good or bad deeds we have done, it is the karma that actually effecting but why they still got this that there is
this like gods that is judging everything; 阴司? This is just like a human world, example there is the court, police, law that are maintaing the order in the society, for these somtimes are not yet perfect for all are physically, man-made, but still there is a need for all this for the order in society.(For judges god they are impartial and are more accurate for they are divine beings). Karma will be effecting on everyone regardless of race , age and everything so karma will be the unseen miraculously power that are acting protocols of 'cause and effect' 因果定律, so for this protocols they are acting in a way that we human intelligence cannot think of or theories on. Just like some bad guys may be escaping from the hands of laws or police but when all the good deeds that are done previously before or in the past life expires then will the bad start effecting maybe got caught or maybe not but suffer a lot of unexpected incidence of the human life.So that is this "unseen miraculously power of protocols" working in e'ry thing in e'ry body that are truly effecting accordingly to one deeds done, which sometimes evidently physically be seen as unfair unjustice but truly to its working ways of protocols it is fair and justice to e'ry body karma that are done.Chinese has this saying,"不是不报，时辰未到。“
Author
