諸經要集

Chief Editor: Thích Nguyên Chơn

XXII. RECEIVING RETRIBUTION

Comprising nine sections: Introduction, Types of Retribution, Retribution in the Present Life, Retribution in the Next Life, Retribution in Later Lives, Fixed Retribution, Unfixed Retribution, Wholesome Retribution, and Unwholesome Retribution.

XXII.1. Introduction

[119b] The operation of wholesome and unwholesome karma manifests precisely as the three kinds of retribution. Both follow like a shadow following its form, as is clearly demonstrated by the six realms. The three kinds of retribution are:

1- Retribution in the present life: because one brought joy to the celestial queen^[1], the profound kindness of the Nine-Colored Deer^[2] was proclaimed; the bird that alighted in the king’s bosom had its life preserved, while another’s body suffered the five cruel punishments^[3].

2- Retribution in the next life: sentient beings sink into places of darkness, their consciousness wandering ceaselessly in cyclic existence; throughout many lives their bodies undergo death and suffering, yet they do not understand the anguish of the prince’s blindness^[4].

3- Retribution in later lives: a non-Buddhist practitioner sowed the seeds of calamity in the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, and, deluded regarding the Dharma, remained forever mistaken throughout one lifetime^[5]. In the end, he had to become a vicious winged fox, enduring boundless suffering, flying into the sky to catch birds and diving into the water to catch fish.

Clearly examining how sentient beings have sunk throughout the three periods of time, and fully comprehending the suffering of the snake species as they change form and appearance, one may awaken to the abode of the Four Noble Truths and the Three Knowledges, and thereby hope to pass beyond the dark veil of the three retributions and the five sufferings.

XXII.2. Types of Retribution

The Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts records: “The Buddha taught: Good man! The karma created by sentient beings is of four kinds:

1. Retribution in the present life: if, in this present life, one creates extremely wholesome or extremely unwholesome karma, one will receive its retribution in this very life.

2. Retribution in the next life: if, in this present life, one creates wholesome or unwholesome karma, one will receive its retribution in the immediately following life.

3. Retribution in later lives: if, in this present life, one creates wholesome or unwholesome karma, but does not receive its retribution in the immediately following life, one will receive it after two, three, or many subsequent lives.

4. No retribution: none of the three kinds of retribution above occurs.

There are also four kinds:

1. The time is fixed, but the retribution is not fixed. For this kind, its occurrence within one of the three periods of time is fixed and does not change; however, because the karma can be transformed, the retribution is not fixed.

2. The retribution is fixed, but the time is not fixed. Because the karmic force is fixed and cannot be changed, the retribution is fixed; however, because the time can change, the time is not fixed.

3. Both the time and the retribution are fixed. Because the karma is fixed, both the time and the retribution are also fixed.

4. Neither the time nor the retribution is fixed. Because the karma is not fixed, neither the time nor the retribution is fixed.

Among sentient beings who create karma, some create karma completely, while others create it incompletely. If one first deliberates and then acts, this is called the complete creation of karma. If one does not deliberate but merely acts, this is called incomplete creation.

Again, some have created karma, but not completely: for example, the karma created is already fixed, but its retribution is not yet fixed. Again, some have created karma completely, meaning that the karma created is already fixed and its retribution will be received. Again, some have created karma, but not completely: for example, although the retribution is already fixed, its time is not fixed.

Again, some have created karma completely, with both the time and the retribution fixed. Again, some have created karma, but not completely, as in the case of those who observe the precepts and possess right view. Again, some have created karma completely, as in the case of those who violate the precepts and hold wrong views.

Again, some have created karma, but not completely, namely, those who give rise to remorse during the three periods. Again, some have created karma completely, namely, those who feel no remorse during the three periods. As it is with unwholesome karma, so it is no different with wholesome karma.”

[119c] XXII.3. Retribution in the Present Life

The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on Practicing the Seven Practices and Receiving Retribution in the Present Life records: “At that time, the Blessed One addressed the bhiksus:

‘Bhiksus! There are seven kinds of persons worthy of reverence, who are the foremost fields of merit in the world: one who cultivates loving-kindness, one who cultivates compassion, one who cultivates sympathetic joy, one who cultivates equanimity, one who cultivates emptiness, one who cultivates signlessness, and one who cultivates wishlessness. If any sentient being cultivates these seven dharmas, that being will obtain blessed retribution in the present life!’

Venerable Ananda said to the Buddha:

‘Blessed One! Why do you not mention stream-enterers, once-returners, non-returners, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas, but speak only of these seven kinds of persons?’

The Buddha taught:

‘In terms of practice, these seven kinds of persons resemble stream-enterers and so forth, up to Buddhas, but in terms of actual realization they are not the same. Therefore, although one makes offerings to stream-enterers and the like, one does not obtain blessed retribution in the present life; yet if one makes offerings to these seven kinds of persons, one will obtain blessed retribution in the present life. Therefore, Ananda, strive courageously and vigorously to perfect those seven dharmas!’”

Furthermore, the Sutra of the Miscellaneous Treasures records: “Long ago, in the kingdom of Gandhara, a butcher was about to castrate five hundred calves. At that time, a palace eunuch used gold and silver to purchase all those calves and set them free. Through these causes and conditions, his male physical characteristics were restored in full in that very life. A short while later, he returned to the royal palace, but did not dare enter. Instead, he sent someone to inform the king: ‘A man of such-and-such a name and family is standing outside.’

The king said:

‘Since he is a member of my household, let him enter freely! This has already been said before; why does he now act in this way?’

The king then summoned him and asked the reason. The man replied:

‘Previously, I saw a butcher preparing to castrate five hundred calves. I immediately bought all those calves and set them free. Through those causes and conditions, my body was made whole. Therefore, I was afraid and did not dare enter!’

After hearing the full explanation, the king was utterly astonished. Recognizing the wondrous efficacy of the Buddha-Dharma, he developed wholehearted reverence and faith.”

If even the preliminary fruition of karma can produce such a response, how much more so its final retribution—how could it possibly be fathomed?

Furthermore, the New Vibhasa Treatise^[6] records: “Long ago, there were butchers who traded in cattle. While driving the cattle along the road, the people in their company were numerous, but their provisions had run out. Everyone was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, so they discussed the matter together: ‘This herd of cattle is not our property.

We should cut out their tongues to relieve everyone’s hunger.’ Having thought this, they immediately smeared salt on the cattle’s mouths. Craving the salty taste, the cattle extended their tongues to lick it, whereupon the men used sharp knives to cut out their tongues. They lit a fire, roasted the tongues, and ate them together.

After eating, they went down to the river together to bathe, rinse their mouths, and pick their teeth. When they had finished picking their teeth, they used their thumbs to scrape their tongues. Through the force of the unwholesome karma they had incurred, all their tongues became thoroughly cooked and simultaneously fell out.” (These are all instances of retribution in the present life resulting from the creation of grave karma.)

XXII.4. Retribution in the Next Life

The Nirvana Sutra records: “Good man! When a person is about to relinquish life and body, he undergoes many agonies, [120a] while his relatives surround him, grieving, wailing, and weeping. This person is terrified and afraid, not knowing whom to rely upon or to whom to appeal for rescue.

Although he possesses the five sense faculties, he is no longer aware of anything. His hands and feet grow numb and rigid, unable to move; his body becomes icy cold, and its warmth is about to cease. The signs of the retribution of the wholesome and unwholesome karma he previously created appear before his eyes.

It is like the sun about to set, when the shadows of mountains and hills all fall toward the east and never turn toward the west. The karmic fruits of sentient beings are likewise: when this body of the five skandhas ceases, the subsequent body of the five skandhas continues to arise. It is like a lamp being lit, whereupon darkness ceases; darkness disappears because the lamp shines.”

Good man! It is like pressing a wax seal into clay: the seal and the clay come into contact; the seal is destroyed, yet its lines have appeared. But this wax seal does not disappear into the clay; nor do the lines emerge from within the clay or come from elsewhere.

Rather, through the seal, the lines are formed. In the same way, when the present body of the five skandhas perishes, the intermediate-state body arises. The present body of the five skandhas ultimately does not transform into the intermediate-state body; the intermediate-state body neither arises by itself nor comes from elsewhere, but arises by virtue of the present body of the skandhas.

It is like impressing a seal into clay: although the seal is destroyed, the lines have been formed. Although the designation is without distinction, the respective times differ. Therefore, I say that the intermediate-state body cannot be seen by the ordinary eyes of humans or devas.

This intermediate-state body has three kinds of nutriment: the nutriment of volition, the nutriment of contact^[7], and the nutriment of mind.

There are two kinds of intermediate-state body: the result of wholesome karma and the result of unwholesome karma. From wholesome karmic causes, wholesome initial and sustained thought^[8] is obtained; from unwholesome karmic causes, unwholesome initial and sustained thought is obtained. When the father and mother engage in intercourse, one is led to the place of rebirth according to the power of one’s karmic causes.

Toward the mother, attachment arises; toward the father, anger arises. When the father’s semen is emitted, one believes oneself to be present there and consequently gives rise to joy and delight. Because of these three afflictive conditions, the intermediate-state body perishes, and the body of the five skandhas begins to grow.

It is like a seal impressed into clay: when the seal is removed, the lines have been formed.

At birth, some persons possess all their faculties, while others do not. Those whose faculties are complete give rise to attachment as soon as they see forms. Because of attachment, this is called craving; because craving arises through delusion, this is called ignorance. Owing to the two conditions of craving and ignorance, all perceived objects are seen in an inverted manner^[9].”

The Sutra on the Stages of Cultivating the Path states: “The conduct of people is not uniform, being either wholesome or unwholesome. If one is to be reborn among human beings, when the father and mother engage in intercourse and the father’s semen is not impaired, the intermediate-state body immediately enters and abides there. The mother’s womb is unobstructed and free of impediment; her heart is constantly joyful, without improper thoughts, and she gently receives the fetus.

The father’s semen is neither clear nor turbid, but well balanced; it is neither excessively strong nor impaired, neither red nor black, and is not mixed with cold wind or various toxins. It is distinct from urine and, at that very moment, is suitable for conception; the intermediate being then arrives. It thinks: If I were a man and were not having intercourse with the woman, I would wish to do so.

The male intermediate being thinks of and desires to approach the woman. [120b] When the father emits semen, the intermediate being is overjoyed and regards it as its own. At that moment, the intermediate being immediately disappears, and the body of the five skandhas immediately enters and abides in the womb. When the reproductive essences of the father and mother unite, the five skandhas are already present within the womb.

The increasing joy is the form skandha; the painful and pleasant feelings arising with that joy are the feeling skandha; the thought of the reproductive essence is the perception skandha; entering the womb due to the conditions of past demerit and merit is the formations skandha; and the consciousness residing within the womb is the consciousness skandha. Such a conjunction is called the five skandhas.”

At the moment of first entering the womb, the mental faculty and the bodily faculty immediately arise. During the first week in the womb, there is neither growth nor diminution. By the second week, the seminal substance gradually transforms and resembles a thin film of cream.

In the third week, it resembles unformed curds. In the fourth week, the seminal substance coagulates and thickens like fully formed curds. In the fifth week, the embryo transforms and resembles fresh butter^[10].

In the sixth week, it becomes like a swelling of flesh. In the seventh week, it gradually turns into a lump of flesh. In the eighth week, the seminal substance gradually hardens like a clod of earth.

In the ninth week, it forms five bodily parts: two elbows, two thighs, and from among them the head and neck appear. In the tenth week, another five bodily parts arise: two wrists, two ankles, and the head. In the eleventh week, fourteen more bodily parts continue to develop: five fingers, five toes, the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

In the twelfth week, the forms of these bodily parts gradually develop toward completion. In the thirteenth week, the abdominal region develops. In the fourteenth week, the liver, lungs, heart, spleen, and kidneys are formed.

In the fifteenth week, the large intestine is formed. In the sixteenth week, the small intestine is formed. In the seventeenth week, the stomach region is formed.

In the eighteenth week, the unassimilated-food organ and the assimilated-food organ are formed. In the nineteenth week, the kneecaps, ribs, breastbone, hands, feet, arms, joints, and sinews are formed. In the twentieth week, the forms of the reproductive organs, navel, breasts, and neck develop.

In the twenty-first week, the bones in the following regions begin to be completed: two bones in the head, thirty-two bones in the mouth, seven bones in the neck, two thighbones, two elbow bones, four arm bones, twelve bones in the chest, eighteen vertebrae, two pelvic bones, four bones in the knees, forty bones in the feet, and numerous other small bones, altogether one hundred and eight bones. Throughout the body, connected with the flesh, are eighteen bones on the two sides of the torso and two shoulder bones.

Thus, all the bones in the human body comprise three hundred bones joined together. At this time, the bones are still soft, like an unripe gourd. In the twenty-second week, the bones gradually become somewhat harder, like a gourd about to ripen.

In the twenty-third week, the bones become as hard as walnuts, and these three hundred bones are firmly joined together. [120c] The bones of the feet support the feet, and the bones of the lower legs support the lower legs. In this way, the pelvic bones, thighbones, spine, breastbone, ribs, shoulder bones, neck bones, cheekbones, arm bones, wrist bones, lower legs, and so forth are each firmly connected with one another.

Such a collection of bones is like an illusion, moving and being directed according to the power of the winds within the body. In the twenty-fourth week, one hundred sinews develop to connect the entire body. In the twenty-fifth week, seven thousand blood vessels develop, but they are not yet complete.

In the twenty-sixth week, all the blood vessels are completed, hollow and open like lotus roots. In the twenty-seventh week, three hundred and sixty-three blood vessels are completed. In the twenty-eighth week, the muscles begin to form.

In the twenty-ninth week, the muscles become somewhat thicker and firmer. In the thirtieth week, skin forms and envelops the body. In the thirty-first week, the skin gradually becomes thicker and firmer.

In the thirty-second week, the layer of skin is completed. In the thirty-third week, the ears, nose, lips, fingers, and toe joints are formed. In the thirty-fourth week, nine hundred and ninety thousand hairs and pores are formed, but they are not yet complete.

In the thirty-fifth week, the pores are completed. In the thirty-sixth week, the nails begin to grow. In the thirty-seventh week, while the fetus is within the mother's womb, the power of the arising winds causes the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth to begin moving.

When a wind arises, it acts upon the hair, making it either beautiful or coarse and unattractive. When another wind arises, it forms the complexion of the body, which may be white, dark, reddish, beautiful, or ugly; all of this is produced by past karma. During this week, cold and heat arise, as do the passages for defecation and urination.

By the thirty-eighth week, within the mother's womb a force of wind naturally arises in accordance with the fetus's past karma. If its past karma was wholesome, a fragrance arises that makes body and mind comfortable; the body becomes soft and flawless, its sinews and bones straight, and its appearance beautiful and loved by all. If its past karma was evil and unwholesome, a foul odor arises, causing the body to be uneasy and the mind distressed.

It acts upon the sinews and bones, causing the bones to bend, the back to become hunched, and the bodily form to lack dignity. In some cases, the child is sexually impotent and disliked by others. At this point, thirty-eight weeks have passed—four days short of a full nine months—and the fetus has completed the bodily frame and bones of a human being.

The fetus receives two portions: one portion from the father and one from the mother. The soft parts—such as the hair on the body, the two cheeks, eyes, tongue, throat, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, and blood—all grow from the mother; the other, somewhat harder parts—such as the nails, teeth, bones, sinews, marrow, brain, vessels, and so forth—all arise from the father. The fetus lies within the mother's womb, beneath the unassimilated-food organ and above the assimilated-food organ.

If it is a boy, it lies by the left side, with its back facing outward and its face inward; if it is a girl, it lies by the right side, with its face facing outward and its back inward. [121a] The fetus lies in a foul and unpleasant place that is wholly impure. All its bones and sinews are contracted and cannot be stretched straight. Enclosed within a sac of skin and confined in the mother's womb, it dwells in a place filled with blood and pus, defiled and oppressively cramped, mingled with feces and urine, and submerged in filth.

The fetus remains there for nine months. During the final four days, on the first and second days, if it created wholesome karma in a previous life, the thought arises: “I am in a garden or in a heavenly realm.” If it created evil karma in a previous life, the thought arises: “I am in hell or in the human world.” On the third day, it becomes sorrowful and unhappy. On the fourth day, the force of the wind within the mother's womb is set in motion, whether upward or downward, turning the fetus's body upside down, with its head directed toward the birth passage.

If it is a person endowed with merit, it thinks: “I am plunging into a pond to swim and play, as though falling from a high bed into a fragrant flower garden.” If it is a person lacking merit, it thinks: “I am falling from a high mountain onto the bank of a pond, into a forest, or into a latrine; or I am falling upon the thorny nets of hell, into a forest of swords, or amid desolate rocky mountains.” Its mind therefore becomes sorrowful and unhappy.

Thus, the retributions of wholesome and evil karma are entirely different. When the child has just been born and is placed upon the ground, the external wind blows against it, human hands touch it, and warm water is used to bathe it, causing the body to suffer oppressive pain as though covered with sores. Because of these torments, it fears death and gives rise to doubt, and thus becomes confused and knows nothing.

The child is born covered with blood, pus, and impure substances, so malevolent spirits come to disturb it: spirits that cause convulsions, spirits of flying corpses that touch it, poisonous creatures, and spirits that cause madness and perverse illnesses. Each lies in wait for an opportunity to assail the child. It is like a lump of flesh fallen at a crossroads, for which birds, hawks, dogs, and wolves race to contend.

Evil spirits likewise wish to seize the opportunity to harm that child, surrounding it and struggling over it in just the same way. But if it created abundant merit and virtue in a previous life, these evil beings cannot harm it.

The child, nourished and brought to maturity by various kinds of food and by air, comes to have eighty kinds of worms born within its body:

– Two kinds at the roots of the hair are Thiet De and Trong De.

– Three kinds in the head are Kien Co, Thuong Ton, and Huy Hai.

– One kind inside the brain and two kinds outside the brain are De Chu, Mao Nhieu, and Hoi Loan.

– Two kinds in the forehead are Giap Ha and Hu Hu.

– Two kinds in the eyes are Thiet Thi and Trong Thi.

– Two kinds inside the ears are Thuc Vi and Hien Vi Ky.

– Two kinds on the rims of the ears are Xich and Phuc Xich.

– Two kinds in the nose are Phi and Phuc Phi.

– Two kinds in the mouth are Dieu and Dong Dieu.

– Two kinds inside the teeth are Ac Te and Hung Bao.

– Three kinds at the roots of the teeth are Suyen Tuc, Huu Chi, and Tot Diet.

– One kind on the tongue is Cam My.

– [121b] One kind at the root of the tongue is Nhu Nhuyen.

– One kind at the tip of the tongue is Vang Lai.

– One kind in the throat is Thau Hau.

– Two kinds in the pupils are called Sinh and Bat Thuc.

– Two kinds in the shoulders are called Thuy and Phuc Thuy.

– One kind in the arm is called Tru Lap.

– One kind in the hand is Chu Toan.

– Two kinds in the chest are Ngach Khanh and Quang Pho.

– One kind in the heart is Ban Bac.

– One kind in the breasts is Chung Hien.

– One kind in the navel is Vi Nhieu.

– Two kinds in the flanks are called Nguyet and Nguyet Dien.

– Two kinds in the spine are Nguyet Hanh and Nguyet Mao.

– One kind between the vertebrae is An Phong.

– One kind inside the skin is called Ho Trao.

– Two kinds in the flesh are Sao Phu and Thieu Thu.

– Four kinds in the bones are Tham Doc, Tap Doc, Te Cot, and Tap Doc.

– Five kinds in the marrow are Sat Hai, Vo Sat, Pha Hoai, Tap Hai, and Bach Cot.

– Two kinds in the large intestine are Duong Lang and Duong Lang Chuy.

– Two kinds in the small intestine are Nhi Tu and Thuong Tu.

– One kind in the liver is Ngan Chuy.

– One kind in the raw organ is called Ky Muc.

– One kind in the cooked organ is called Dai Tuc.

– One kind in the anus is called Trung Than.

– Three kinds in the feces are Can, Ket, and Tu Bien Phat.

– Two kinds in the sacrum (coccyx) are Luu Ha and Trung Luu.

– Five kinds inside the womb are Nhuc Tinh, Ac Toc, Ngoa Ngu, Nhi Ngu, and Ho Ke.

– One kind in the thigh is called Qua Chi.

– One kind in the knee is called Hien Thuong.

– One kind in the lower leg is called Thiet Chuy.

– One kind in the toes is Thieu Nhien.

– One kind in the center of the sole is called Thuc Bi.

These are the eighty kinds of worms within the human body, which gnaw at it day and night.

Within the human body, the movement of the wind element gives rise to one hundred and one kinds of illness; heat and cold, each in combination, likewise produce one hundred and one kinds of illness. Altogether, the human body is subject to four hundred and four kinds of illness. Just as wood gives rise to fire and the fire then burns the wood, so too, illness originally arises from the body and then returns to harm the human body. Like the worms within the body, it constantly causes disturbance, leaving the body ill at ease.

The thirty-six constituents are provisionally combined and temporarily called a person. Their illusory covering deceives ordinary beings, causing them to give rise to thoughts of love and intimacy. The wise clearly see their falsity—how could they dare draw near! Like pottery, they must ultimately decay. In the same way, [121c] this body is provisional and transient, and life is brief. Rich and poor alike remain deluded, unaware even at the time of death. It is like the four great gates of a city being consumed by fire one after another, until all are burned to ashes. Birth, aging, illness, and death are likewise so!

The Yogacarabhumi Treatise states: “After thirty-eight weeks in the womb, the fetus has all its limbs and parts complete, and it is born four days later.”

This sutra holds that for the fetus to be entirely complete, nine months or more than nine months must pass. If it remains for only eight months, it may provisionally be called complete; if it remains for only seven or six months, it is called premature. Therefore, the Lotus Sutra contains this verse:

Conceived in the womb, its form is small;

As months and days pass, it gradually grows.

If its virtue is slight and its merit deficient,

It is oppressed by many sufferings.

The Samadhi Sutra states: “Within the human body, as the fire element gradually increases and the water element gradually decreases, the kalala^[11] coagulates and steadily hardens, becoming a lump of flesh. Therefore, if sentient beings possess little merit, they undergo many sufferings from childhood until maturity.”

The Sutra on the Essential Secrets of Meditation states: “The human body has three divisions: the navel is the central division, the head is the palace hall, and the forehead is the celestial gate.”

The Sutra on Dwelling in the Womb^[12] states: “When a human being is conceived, the four great elements form during the first week. In the second week, the wind begins to move, and the fetus gradually turns toward the mother’s flank. By the thirty-eighth week, a kind of wind called Flower blows within the mother’s womb, causing the fetus to turn its head toward the birth canal.”

The Sutra of Parables states: “Wind acts upon water, water acts upon earth, and earth acts upon fire. If the action is strong, the child is male; if weak, the child is female. When wind and water act upon each other, the child is male; when earth and water act upon each other, the child is female.”

The Treatise on the Path of Liberation states: “If the earth element within the human body were reduced to dust, it could be measured as one hu and two sheng.”

The Ekottarika Agama Sutra states: “The body of a single person contains three hundred and twenty bones, ninety-nine thousand pores, five hundred sinews and blood vessels, and eighty kinds of worms.”

The Sutra on Taking Birth in the Five Destinies states: “By the age of three, a child has drunk altogether one hundred and eighty hu of milk. In addition, while it is still in the womb, it also receives a share of the mother’s food and drink. The people of Eastern Purvavideha drink one thousand eight hundred hu of milk. The people of Western Aparagodaniya^[13] drink one thousand eight hundred hu of milk. In Northern Uttarakuru, the human body is formed in seven days. On the day a child is born, it is placed by the roadside, [122a] and passersby allow it to suck their fingers; therefore, it does not drink milk.”

XXII.5. Subsequent Retribution

The Vibhāṣā Treatise states: “There was a man who had practiced slaughtering animals for seven lifetimes, yet he did not fall into the three evil destinies but was born among gods and humans. This was due to the power of the merit he gained by offering a meal to a pratyekabuddha seven lifetimes earlier, which kept him from falling into an evil destiny for seven lifetimes. Yet because he had created the karma of killing throughout those seven lifetimes, he would afterward undergo its corresponding retributions one by one, without any possibility of escape. Thus, both good and evil deeds have their clearly manifest rewards and retributions.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Although Venerable Sariputra was intelligent, he had not yet attained omniscience. Thus, compared with the Buddha’s wisdom, his wisdom was like that of a child.”

The Avadana Sutra^[14] states: “The Buddha was at Jetavana. After the meal, he and Venerable Sariputra were walking in meditation. At that time, a hawk was pursuing a pigeon. The pigeon flew over and alighted beside the Buddha. When the Buddha walked past, his shadow covered the pigeon, and it felt peaceful and secure, no longer afraid, nor did it cry out in panic. When Venerable Sariputra’s shadow fell upon it, however, the pigeon immediately cried out in alarm and trembled with fear, just as when it had been pursued by the hawk. Seeing this, Venerable Sariputra addressed the Buddha:

– The Buddha and I have both eliminated the three poisons from our bodies. Why, when the World-Honored One’s shadow covers the pigeon, does it not cry out in fear, whereas when my shadow covers it, it immediately cries aloud and trembles so?

The Buddha said:

– Because the habitual tendencies of the three poisons still remain in you, the pigeon becomes afraid when your shadow covers it!

The Buddha then said again to Venerable Sariputra:

– Now contemplate this bird’s causes and conditions from former lives and see for how many kalpas it has been a pigeon.

Venerable Sariputra immediately entered the samadhi of the Knowledge of Former Lives^[15]. He saw that, throughout eighty thousand great kalpas up to the present, this pigeon had continually taken the body of a pigeon. Yet he could not see any of its lives in the more distant past. Venerable Sariputra then emerged from samadhi, rose, and addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! I have seen that this bird has continually taken the body of a pigeon throughout eighty thousand great kalpas, but I am unable to know its lives further in the past!

The Buddha said:

– If you cannot fully know its past lives, then contemplate its future and see when this bird will escape existence as a pigeon.

Venerable Sariputra immediately entered samadhi and saw that, even after eighty thousand great kalpas, this bird would still not escape existence as a pigeon. As for the more distant future, he was unable to discern when it would finally be freed from the body of a pigeon.

The Buddha continued:

– Apart from the number of kalpas known by the sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, this bird has taken and will continue to take the body of a pigeon for as many great kalpas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges. Only when its offenses have been exhausted will it escape the body of a pigeon, yet it will continue to wander through the five realms. Thereafter, it will be born as a human being, and only after five hundred lives will it become intelligent and keen-witted. At that time, a Buddha will appear in the world [122b] and deliver an immeasurable number of asamkhya sentient beings. After that Buddha enters nirvana without remainder, His teaching will continue to be transmitted in the world. At that time, the former pigeon will be an upasaka who observes the five precepts. Hearing the bhiksus extol the virtues of the Buddha, he will make a vow to encounter a Buddha. Thereafter, throughout three asamkhya kalpas, he will cultivate the six paramitas and fully attain the stages of the Ten Grounds. After attaining Buddhahood, he will deliver immeasurable sentient beings and then enter nirvana.

At that time, Venerable Sariputra faced the Buddha, asked forgiveness, and said:

– Even regarding a single bird, I cannot clearly know its past and future, much less all other dharmas! If I could possess wisdom such as Yours, then even if I had to enter the Avici hell and undergo suffering for immeasurable kalpas, I would not regard it as difficult!”

XXII.6. Fixed Retribution

The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Meaning of Former Causes records: “The Buddha told the brahmin:

– People in the world cannot escape five things: decline, loss, illness, old age, and death. Even if they wish to avoid these five dharmas, they cannot do so.”

The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Four Unattainable Things records: “Early one morning, the Buddha, together with the bhiksus and bodhisattvas, took His alms bowl and entered the city of Sravasti to beg for food, while the fourfold assembly followed Him. From the sky, devas, nagas, ghosts, and spirits scattered fragrant flowers and performed music as offerings.

At that time, with His eye of the Way^[16], the Buddha saw four brothers born of the same parents^[17]. They had left their families and occupations, entered the mountains to cultivate, attained the five supernormal powers, and all become seers. When impermanence approached, they knew that their lives were about to end. Each wished to hide from it, and so they discussed the matter together:

– We all possess supernormal powers, can fly through the sky, and can come and go freely without obstruction. Yet now impermanence is about to seize our lives. We must find a way to escape this calamity and avoid death!

One of them thought that if he flew into the sky and hid himself there, how could impermanence possibly find him?

Another thought that if he went into a marketplace to hide amid that vast, crowded, and bustling place, how could impermanence possibly find him?

Another thought that if he went into the great ocean, traveled three million three hundred and sixty thousand miles from shore, and submerged himself deep in the sea, midway between the seabed and the surface, how could impermanence possibly find him there?

The last devised a plan to enter a great, uninhabited mountain, split it in two, crawl inside, and then close the mountain again. How could impermanence possibly find him there?

Then each followed his own method of fleeing calamity, but in the end none could escape death.

The one who hid in the sky fell to the earth of his own accord, like a fully ripened fruit dropping from a tree. [122c] The one inside the mountain was buried there and then devoured by birds and beasts. The one in the ocean also died and was eaten by fish. The one who entered the marketplace also died amid the crowd.

Seeing this, the Blessed One regarded them as foolish and uncomprehending. If one seeks to escape enmities from former lives without eliminating the three poisons and has not yet attained the three knowledges^[18] and boundless wisdom, no one from ancient times to the present has ever escaped. The Buddha then spoke this verse:

Though one may hide within the sky,

Or plunge into the ocean depths,

Or crawl inside a mountain’s heart

And there conceal one’s very body,

If one should seek to flee from death

Without ever attaining concentration,

Such a thing is truly impossible.

One must diligently cultivate and learn;

Only without a body can one find peace!

The Buddha told the bhiksus:

– People in the world cannot attain four things:

1. Remaining forever young and never growing old: In youth, one has a rosy complexion, black hair, white teeth, a handsome appearance, and abundant vitality. One walks about and comes and goes with ease and freedom, mounts carriages and dismounts from horses, is attended by many servants, and is admired by everyone. Yet in a brief instant, one suddenly becomes old and decrepit, with white hair, loose teeth, wrinkled skin, and a darkened face. The body grows heavy; one must lean on a staff to walk and can only sigh. Therefore, those who wish to remain forever young and never grow old can never attain their desire.

2. Remaining forever healthy and never falling ill: One’s body is strong, one’s bones sturdy, and one walks with agility. One eats and drinks whatever one pleases, adorns oneself splendidly, and considers no one one’s equal.

One draws the bow and nocks an arrow, brandishes the sword, and wields the staff. If someone causes one harm, one never considers right or wrong, but curses, reviles, and threatens them, regarding this as a display of power. One believes that one will never decline.

Yet when illness strikes, one lies helpless upon a bed, unable to move one’s hands or feet, the body aching as though it had just been beaten. The ears, eyes, nose, and mouth can neither hear nor see, nor distinguish pleasant tastes and scents from unpleasant ones. One must rely on others to sit or stand, urinates and defecates uncontrollably, and then lies in the filth.

All these sufferings and hardships are impossible to recount fully. Even if someone wishes to remain forever peaceful, joyful, and healthy, it can never be attained.

3. Living forever and never dying: One wishes to seek infinite longevity in this world, yet is afflicted by the sufferings of illness and death. Life is already brief, but one still harbors worries lasting ten thousand generations.

With little time to live and many anxieties, one fails to understand impermanence, pursues the five desires, lets the mind run heedlessly, and creates the karma of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, divisive speech, harsh speech, false speech, frivolous speech, greed, and wrong views. One is unfilial toward one’s parents, disobeys teachers and friends, scorns elders, acts rebelliously and without the Way, seeks wealth, and believes it can endure forever.

One holds the noble path in contempt, considers oneself superior to all others, becomes arrogant and conceited, and pursues worldly fame. One does not understand the inner and outer causes of heaven and earth; [123a] does not clearly understand that the four great elements arise through the conjunction of causes and conditions, like an illusionist’s creation; does not know how the world has arisen from ancient times to the present; refuses to heed instruction; and does not know whence one came at birth or where one will go after death.

The mind encompasses heaven and earth and calls it the self, but when impermanence arrives, it is like clouds scattered by the wind. Though one hopes for long life, life vanishes in an instant, beyond one’s control. To wish that this will never happen to oneself is something that can never be attained.”

4. No one is free from suffering: parents and siblings, relatives and kin, friends and loved ones, the full enjoyment of affection, wealth and riches, official rank and emoluments, carriages and horses for excursions, wives, concubines, and children, the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, abundant food and drink, husbands, children, and servants—caring nothing for anyone, always admiring oneself, walking about arrogantly, looking down upon everyone, regarding oneself as superior to all; treating ordinary people like oxen and horses, placing them on the same level as animals; coming and going at will, observing no fixed time, giving no thought to what comes before or after, and regarding everyone as a servant to be ordered about, who therefore must submit to one's will.

When past karma ripens, however, it is like snow and ice drenched with boiling water. Only then does the heart become terrified and bewildered. If one seeks deliverance from calamity only at that moment, how could everything possibly turn out as one wishes?

Alas! Life has already been cut off, and ghosts and spirits lead one away. At that time, even parents and siblings, wife and children, relatives and kin, friends and loved ones, and all those bound by affection must each attend to their own concerns; official rank, wealth and possessions, attendants and servants all disperse along their separate ways.

Though one longs to escape death, it can never be done.

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– Since heaven and earth came into being, no one has escaped these four kinds of suffering and adversity. It is precisely because of these four kinds of suffering and adversity that I manifested in the world!”

XXII.7. Indeterminate Retribution

The Treatise on the Ten Bodhisattva Grounds states: “Clearly knowing indeterminate dharmas means that, before dharmas have arisen, they cannot yet be distinguished.”

The Sutra on the Buddha’s Analysis of Karma states: “The Buddha told Ananda:

– There are people who perform good deeds with the body, speak good words with the mouth, and think good thoughts with the mind, yet after death fall into hell. There are also people who perform evil deeds with the body, speak evil words with the mouth, and think evil thoughts with the mind, yet after death are reborn in a heavenly realm!

Ananda addressed the Buddha:

– Blessed One! Why is this so?

The Buddha taught:

– It is because the karmic causes of wrongdoing or merit from that person’s previous lives have ripened, while the karmic causes of wrongdoing or merit from the present life have not yet ripened; or because, as death approaches, right view or wrong view arises, giving rise to wholesome or unwholesome states of mind that lead to such results. A person’s consciousness as death approaches possesses tremendous power.”

The Ekottarika Agama states: “At that time, the Blessed One told the bhikkhus:

– Four kinds of people appear in the world: those who suffer first and experience happiness afterward; those who experience happiness first and suffer afterward; those who suffer first and suffer still more afterward; and those who experience happiness first and also experience happiness afterward.

[123b] Who are those who suffer first and experience happiness afterward?

Some people are born into lowly, impoverished families without sufficient food to eat or clothing to wear. Yet because they do not hold wrong views, they understand that the karmic result of having performed the merit of giving in past lives would have caused them to be born into a wealthy family, whereas failure to give in the past has caused them to be born into a poor family without sufficient food or clothing. Knowing this, they immediately direct their minds toward seeking repentance, feel remorse, and correct their former faults. Whatever wealth they acquire, they share with everyone. If these people are reborn among human beings in a future life, they will possess abundant wealth and treasures and will lack nothing.

Who are those who experience happiness first and suffer afterward?

Some people are born into noble families and have ample food and clothing, but they continually cling to wrong views and extreme views. Therefore, in their next life they will certainly be born in hell. If they are reborn as human beings, they will be born into destitute families without sufficient food or clothing.

Who are those who suffer first and suffer afterward?

Some people are born into impoverished families without sufficient food or clothing, and they also cling to wrong views and extreme views. In their next life they fall into hell. If they are reborn among human beings, they will be extremely poor and miserable, without food to eat or clothing to wear.

Who are those who experience happiness first and experience still greater happiness afterward?

Some people are born into noble and wealthy families, and they also know to revere the Three Jewels and continually practice giving. In their next life they are reborn in a heavenly realm, and among gods and humans they are always wealthy and honored.

At that time, the Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– There are sentient beings who suffer first and experience happiness afterward; sentient beings who experience happiness first and suffer afterward; sentient beings who suffer first and suffer afterward; and sentient beings who experience happiness first and experience happiness afterward! It is like a person who, though living for a hundred years, in truth has only ten years. During those hundred years, that person may perform meritorious deeds or create evil karma. During a certain period, that person may enjoy comfort in winter but endure hardship in summer. Or a person may create merit while young and commit offenses when grown; then, in the next life, that person enjoys merit while young but endures the suffering resulting from offenses when grown. Or a person may commit offenses while young and perform meritorious deeds when grown; then, in the next life, that person endures the results of offenses while young but enjoys merit when grown. Or a person may commit offenses while young and also commit offenses when grown; then, in the next life, that person suffers first and also suffers afterward. Or a person may perform meritorious deeds while young and continue to do so when grown; then, in the next life, that person experiences happiness first and also experiences happiness afterward!

At that time, the Blessed One told the bhikkhus:

– Four kinds of people appear in the world: those whose bodies are happy but whose minds are not happy; those whose minds are happy but whose bodies are not happy; those whose bodies and minds are both happy; and those whose bodies and minds are both unhappy.

Who are those whose bodies are happy but whose minds are not happy?

They are ordinary beings who create merit and make full offerings of the four requisites: clothing, food and drink, beds and bedding, and medicines, [123c] yet cannot escape the suffering of the three evil destinies.

Who are those whose minds are happy but whose bodies are not happy?

They are arhats who, although they do not create merit and cannot themselves provide the four requisites, can nevertheless escape the suffering of the three evil destinies.

Who are those whose bodies and minds are both unhappy?

They are ordinary beings who do not create merit and do not make offerings of the four requisites, and therefore cannot escape the suffering of the three evil destinies.

Who are those whose bodies and minds are both happy?

They are arhats who create abundant merit and make full offerings of the four requisites, and thus escape the suffering of the three evil destinies.”

XXII.8. Wholesome Retribution

The Treatise on the Sutra of Questions Asked by Maitreya Bodhisattva states:

Question: What are the fruits of giving?

Answer: Generally speaking, giving has one kind of fruit, called the fruit of enjoyment. The fruit of enjoyment is further divided into two: the present fruit of enjoyment and the future fruit of enjoyment. There are also three kinds of fruit: the two kinds above, together with prajna. There are also four kinds of fruit: having fruit without enjoyment; having enjoyment without fruit; having both fruit and enjoyment; and having neither fruit nor enjoyment.

1. Having fruit without enjoyment: giving without sincerity, not giving with one’s own hands, and giving with a contemptuous mind. Although such giving brings abundant karmic results, one cannot enjoy them. For example, although the Heavenly Lord in Sravasti possessed immeasurable treasures, he could not enjoy them.

2. Having enjoyment without fruit: one does not personally give, but upon seeing others practice giving, one gives rise to sympathetic joy. Consequently, although one receives enjoyment, one does not personally obtain the fruit. For example, although all sramanas, brahmins, and others enjoy the clothing, food, and necessities provided by the king, they themselves do not obtain the fruit. Likewise, although the four divisions of the army^[19] receive the clothing and food of a wheel-turning sage king, they do not obtain the fruit.

3. Having both fruit and enjoyment: giving with utmost sincerity and without a contemptuous mind, as did the elder Sudatta and others.

4. Having neither fruit nor enjoyment: after giving has been performed, the cause of giving immediately ceases; or it is obstructed by the supramundane noble path. This is also like noble beings who have left the afflictions far behind.

There are also five kinds of meritorious results, namely, the attainment of five things: life span, physical appearance, strength, medicine, and eloquence. Since food sustains life, giving food is therefore the giving of life. Through this cause and condition, one later receives the karmic result of a long life span. The giving of physical appearance, the giving of strength, the giving of medicine, and the giving of eloquence are likewise.

[124a] There are also five kinds of supreme results attained by making offerings to one’s father, mother, the sick, Dharma teachers, and bodhisattvas. Because our parents have shown us the kindness of giving birth to and nurturing our lives and bodies, making offerings to them brings supreme karmic results. A sick person lying alone is most pitiable; one should therefore arouse compassion, and making offerings to the sick brings supreme meritorious results.

One who teaches the Dharma can give rise to and nurture our Dharma-body, helping us distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, and the true and proper from the inverted; therefore, making offerings to one who teaches the Dharma brings supreme meritorious results. Bodhisattvas have the power to gather in, protect, and benefit sentient beings. They constantly arouse compassion, safeguard the Three Jewels, and prevent their lineage from being severed.

Therefore, making offerings to bodhisattvas brings supreme meritorious results. Because bodhisattvas have brought forth a courageous resolve and possess the immense power of compassionate vows to liberate beings, their merit is unlike other forms of merit arising from narrow minds.

The Ekottarika Agama records: “The Blessed One told the bhiksus:

– The Tathagata will now speak of four kinds of merit created by good men and good women that will enable them to be born in the Brahma Heaven:

1. With reverence and faith, erecting a stupa^[20] in a place where none exists.

2. With reverence and faith, repairing an old monastery.

3. With reverence and faith, supporting the harmonious assembly of noble ones.

4. Devas and humans entreating the Da-sa-a-kiet^[21] to turn the Dharma wheel for the first time.

These are the four kinds of merit that enable one to be born in the Brahma Heaven.

The bhiksus addressed the Blessed One:

– Is the merit leading to birth in the Brahma Heaven great or small?

The Blessed One replied:

– The merit of all sentient beings in Jambudvipa equals the merit of one wheel-turning sage-king. Only when the merit of the people of Jambudvipa is combined with the merit of one wheel-turning sage-king does it equal the merit of one person in Godaniya. The merit of the two continents of Jambudvipa and Godaniya does not equal the merit of one person in Purvavideha. The merit of the people in the three continents just mentioned does not equal the merit of one person in Uttarakuru. The merit of the people in those four continents beneath heaven does not equal the merit of the Four Heavenly Kings. Even the merit of the people in the four continents beneath heaven together with that of the devas of the Six Desire Heavens does not equal the merit of one Brahma Heaven king. This is precisely the measure of merit accumulated by good men and good women who seek birth in the Brahma Heaven, which you wished to know!”

The Madhyama Agama records: “At that time, the Blessed One told the bhiksus:

– If anyone can undertake and uphold seven practices, that person will be born in the presence of Sakra.

He then spoke this verse:

Make offerings to father and mother,

And to the honored elders of the household;

Be gentle and humble,

Abandon harsh and divisive speech;

Subdue the miserly mind,

And always speak truthful words.

[124b] The King of the Thirty-Three Heavens,

Seeing those who practice this Dharma,

Says of each and every one,

‘They shall be born in Sakra’s realm!’”

The Sutra of the Miscellaneous Treasure Store contains this verse:

Meritorious karma is like ripened fruit;

How could it be gained by beseeching spirits?

Those who ride the vehicle of moral discipline

Will later be born in a heavenly realm.

The concentrated mind is like a lamp extinguished,

Attaining the realm of nirvana;

All comes through cultivation—

How could it be gained by beseeching heaven?

XXII.9. Evil Retribution

Where there is a form, a shadow appears; where there is a sound, an echo follows! Never has it been seen that a form remains while its shadow is lost, or that a sound resounds while its echo has ceased. It is evident that good and evil bring corresponding retribution without error. May you have profound faith and not fear that anything will be lost in the future. The greater and lesser karmic results of suffering will be fully presented in the sections that follow.

XXII.9.1. Killing Is the First Great Suffering

If the body commits the karma of killing—whether slicing flesh and flaying skin, roasting and frying aquatic creatures, or hunting birds and beasts—then killing sentient beings will certainly cause one to fall into the hells of dismemberment, sawing, hacking, and so forth. If one steams, boils, fries, or roasts sentient beings, one will certainly fall into the hells of boiling cauldrons, red-hot furnaces, and so forth.

Because of this karma of killing, one falls into hell and, year after year and kalpa after kalpa, undergoes every kind of excruciating suffering. When that suffering has been exhausted, one again falls into the animal realm, becoming an ox, horse, pig, goat, mule, donkey, camel, chicken, dog, fish, bird, clam, snail, and so forth, only to be killed by humans. Snails and shellfish do not live long and, moreover, offer their own bodies as delicacies; birds and beasts dwelling in the mountains undergo birth and death for immeasurable kalpas.

If they possess not the slightest goodness, they can never escape. If, for example, through a little merit they obtain a human body, they may suffer a miscarriage as soon as they enter the womb, die immediately after birth, or reach ten or twenty years of age without ever understanding anything, passing from one place of darkness into another. How truly pitiable!

One should know that a short life span is entirely the result of killing.

The Treatise on the Stages records: “The offense of killing can cause sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born among humans, they must undergo two kinds of karmic result: a short life span and a body afflicted by many illnesses.”

Each of the ten evil deeds entails all five karmic results:

Killing entails five great sufferings:

a. Killing causes one to suffer in hell: because killing inflicts suffering upon sentient beings, after the body breaks up and life ends, every kind of suffering in hell converges upon and torments oneself.

b. Killing causes one to be born in the animal realm: because killing is devoid of compassion and contrary to the principles of human conduct, after one has finished undergoing suffering in hell, one must assume the body of an animal.

c. Killing causes one to fall into the realm of hungry ghosts: because killing necessarily arises from a miserly mind and from craving delicious and nourishing flavors, one later falls into existence as a hungry ghost.

[124c] d. When one who has killed is born as a human, one’s life span is short: because killing cruelly destroys the lives of myriad creatures, one’s own life span is shortened.

e. Killing causes the body to be afflicted by many illnesses: because killing violates the proper way and brings calamities upon oneself, the body develops many diseases.

The Sutra of the Miscellaneous Store records: “At that time, a ghost addressed the Venerable Maudgalyayana:

– I always have eyes on my two shoulders, with a mouth and nose on my chest, but I have no head. What causes and conditions have brought this about?

Maudgalyayana replied:

– In a former life, you were often an apprentice to executioners and butchers. Whenever they killed someone, you took great delight in it and used a rope to bind the person’s hair and drag them away. Because of those causes and conditions, you must now undergo this punishment. This is only the ripening flower of your evil deed; its fruit will be falling into hell in a future life!

Afterward, another ghost came and asked the Venerable Maudgalyayana:

– My body is always like a lump of flesh, without hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, or anything else. It is constantly infested with worms and maggots and pecked at by birds. The punishment and suffering are truly unbearable. What causes and conditions have made me like this?

Maudgalyayana replied:

– In a former life, you often gave people medicines that caused abortions, so you must now undergo this punishment. This is only the ripening flower; the fruit will be falling into hell immediately after this present life!”

Furthermore, because of the cause of killing, greed grows ever greater. As greed grows ever greater, one has no mind of yielding to others, but instead steals and plunders. Because one steals and plunders in this present body, after death one falls into the Iron Cavern Hell and undergoes manifold sufferings and afflictions for immeasurable kalpas.

After the sufferings of hell have ended, one is reborn among animals, whose bodies constantly bear heavy loads and are beaten with whips and staffs, without the slightest respite, feeding only on grass and water. Among such animals, one passes through immeasurable cycles of birth and death. Through former causes and conditions, if one encounters even a small root of goodness, one may be born as a lowly human being, constantly serving as a slave, ordered about by others and deprived of freedom, never finishing the repayment of one’s debts, unable to hear the Dharma, and enduring the endless suffering of samsara.

XXII.9.2. Stealing Is the Second Great Suffering

If one uses one’s body to obstruct light, does not offer light to the Three Jewels, but instead takes the light belonging to the Three Jewels for one’s private use, after death one will certainly fall into the Black Ear, Black Rope, and Darkness Hells and undergo suffering for immeasurable kalpas. After undergoing suffering in those hells, one will again fall into the bodies of lice, fleas, and the like, unable to endure light.

Among such creatures, one passes through immeasurable births and deaths. Through former causes and conditions, if one encounters even a small root of goodness, one may obtain the body of a lowly human being, ugly in appearance, covered with black spots, constantly dwelling in foul and filthy places filled with stench. All who see such a person become disgusted and keep their distance.

Blind in both eyes, that person cannot see the myriad things. One should therefore understand that the offense of obstructing light also arises from stealing!

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds states: “The offense of stealing also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. [125a] If they are born as human beings, they undergo two kinds of retribution: poverty and the inability to use their property freely.”

One should understand that stealing brings five painful retributions:

1. Stealing causes one to fall into hell: Because one seizes, exploits, and steals the property of others, causing sentient beings suffering and distress, immediately after death one falls into the Freezing Hell and undergoes manifold sufferings.

2. Stealing causes one to be born among animals: Because one has not practiced the proper way of human beings, one undergoes the retribution of an animal. One’s body constantly bears heavy burdens, and one provides one’s own flesh for others in repayment of debts from a former life.

3. Stealing causes one to fall among hungry ghosts: Stealing arises from stinginess, miserliness, and greed. Therefore, after completing the painful retribution among animals, one must immediately fall among hungry ghosts.

4. Stealing causes one frequently to be born as a destitute person: Because the offense of plundering causes others to lose all their property, it consequently brings the retribution of poverty.

5. One’s property is held in common and cannot be freely enjoyed: Because the offense of stealing often causes one’s property to be confiscated by the authorities, and because any wealth one possesses is plundered by the five households^[22], one cannot use it freely.

The Sutra of the Storehouse of Miscellaneous Treasures states: “At that time, a ghost addressed Maudgalyayana:

– Venerable sir! My belly is enormous, like a jar, yet my throat, hands, and feet are as slender as needles, and I cannot eat or drink. Through what causes and conditions must I undergo this suffering?

The Venerable Maudgalyayana replied:

– In a former life, you were the head of a village. Relying upon your wealth and status, you indulged in eating and drinking to intoxication, treated everyone with contempt, and seized the food of others, causing many people to suffer hunger. Because of those causes and conditions, you must undergo this punishment. This is only the flowering retribution; as for the fruition, in your next body you must undergo painful retribution in hell.

Another ghost came and addressed the Venerable Maudgalyayana:

– Beneath my two armpits there are always two blazing iron wheels that scorch and reduce my body to a pulp. Through what causes and conditions has this happened to me?

The Venerable Maudgalyayana replied:

– In a former life, while making cakes for the Sangha, you secretly took two cakes, concealed them under your armpits, and carried them away. Because of this, you must undergo such punishment. This is only the flowering retribution; as for the fruition, in your next body you must undergo suffering in hell.

Because stealing makes the mind crooked and impure, one gives rise to illicit sexual desire. Those who engage in sexual misconduct in the present life encounter cruel and dangerous circumstances and constantly live in fear. Sometimes, when discovered by the husband, they meet with calamity, are beaten with blades and staffs, have their heads or limbs severed, and may even lose their lives.

After death, they fall into hell, where they lie upon iron beds or embrace copper pillars while the hell-wardens kindle fires that burn their bodies. As soon as their punishment in hell is completed, they must again take birth as animals—chickens, ducks, birds, sparrows, dogs, pigs, butterflies, and so forth. Passing through immeasurable births and deaths in this way, they undergo suffering and pain for immeasurable kalpas.

After completing their suffering among animals, through former causes and conditions, if they encounter even a small root of goodness, they may obtain the body of a lowly human being. Yet sexual disorder again afflicts their inner chambers, and their wives and concubines are unfaithful. If they gain the affection of another, that person is taken away by someone else.

They constantly harbor fear, [125b] face many dangers, and find no peace of mind.

XXII.9.3. Sexual Misconduct Is the Third Great Suffering

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds states: “The offense of sexual misconduct also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born among human beings, they encounter two kinds of retribution: an unfaithful wife and family members who do not accord with their wishes.”

Sexual misconduct brings five great painful retributions:

1. Sexual misconduct brings the retribution of falling into hell: Because one engages in sexual misconduct, violating another in a manner contrary to what is right and causing that person suffering, after death one undergoes suffering in hell.

2. Sexual misconduct brings the retribution of falling among animals: Because sexual misconduct does not accord with the moral way of human beings, after completing one’s painful retribution in hell, one must immediately take the body of an animal.

3. Sexual misconduct brings the retribution of falling among hungry ghosts: Because sexual misconduct arises from greed, miserliness, and craving attachment, one falls among hungry ghosts.

4. Sexual misconduct brings the retribution of having an unfaithful wife: Because one violated another person’s wife, one frequently encounters a wife who is neither upright nor faithful.

5. Sexual misconduct brings the retribution of family members who do not accord with one’s wishes: Because sexual misconduct steals another person’s beloved, one’s own family members do not accord with one’s wishes. Thus, others frequently take away those whom one loves.

The Sutra of the Storehouse of Miscellaneous Treasures states: “Long ago, a ghost asked the Venerable Maudgalyayana:

– I constantly cover my head completely with an object, yet I am always afraid that someone will come to kill me. My mind is perpetually terrified, and I cannot bear it. Through what causes and conditions has this happened to me?

The Venerable replied:

– In a former life, you frequently engaged in sexual misconduct and violated the spouses of others. You constantly feared being discovered, feared that their husbands would bind, beat, or kill you, or feared that the law would punish you and expose your corpse in the marketplace. You continually harbored fear, terror, and unease; therefore, you must now undergo such punishment. This is only the flowering retribution of your defiled conduct; as for the fruition, in a future life you must undergo painful retribution in hell.”

Furthermore, sexual misconduct leads one to speak only falsehoods and deceive others. If in this life one causes everyone suffering and distress through deception, after death one will certainly fall into the Wailing Hell and undergo suffering for immeasurable kalpas. After completing the suffering in that hell, one will immediately fall among hungry ghosts and undergo the suffering of birth and death for immeasurable kalpas. Through former causes and conditions, if one encounters even a small good deed, one may be born as a lowly human being, afflicted by much pain and illness, emaciated, weak, distressed, and miserable, personally bearing many grave and incurable diseases, with no one to show compassion.

XXII.9.4. False Speech Is the Fourth Great Suffering

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of false speech also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born among human beings, they incur two kinds of retribution: being frequently slandered and being deceived by others.”

Thus, false speech entails five great sufferings:

a. False speech causes one to fall into hell: because false speech consists of untruthful words that cause those who believe such falsehoods to suffer distress, after death one must therefore undergo suffering in hell.

b. False speech causes one to fall into the animal realm: because false speech is contemptuous and violates the sincere trust of others, [125c] immediately after emerging from hell one undergoes the painful retribution of birth as an animal.

c. False speech causes one to fall into the realm of hungry ghosts: because false speech arises from miserliness and contempt. Therefore, after death one falls into the realm of hungry ghosts.

d. False speech causes one to be slandered by others: because false speech is insincere.

e. False speech causes one to be deceived by others: because through false speech one deceives and beguiles others.

Furthermore, false speech also leads to the offense of divisive speech. If in this life one speaks without kindness, slanders and humiliates others, or utters cruel, confused, and disorderly words, then after death one will fall into hells where molten copper is poured into one’s mouth and one’s tongue is drawn out for oxen to plow. One undergoes suffering in those hells for immeasurable kalpas.

Immediately after that suffering in hell has ended, one falls into the animal realm and eats various kinds of filthy excrement, like the tongueless tihú bird (pelican). In this realm, one undergoes birth and death for immeasurable kalpas. Owing to former causes and conditions, if one should fortunately encounter even a little goodness, one may be born as a lowly human being, with an incomplete tongue, foul breath, muteness or stammering, difficulty speaking, and teeth that are neither white nor even but sparse and missing.

Even if one utters wholesome words, no one believes them. One should know that calumny and the sowing of discord all arise from divisive speech.

XXII.9.5. Divisive Speech Is the Fifth Great Suffering

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of divisive speech also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born as human beings, they encounter two kinds of retribution: evil relatives and discordant relatives.”

One should know that divisive speech entails five great sufferings:

a. Divisive speech causes one to fall into hell: because divisive speech separates those who love one another; separation from those one loves is suffering, and therefore one must undergo suffering in hell.

b. Divisive speech causes one to fall into the animal realm: because divisive speech gives rise to contention and enmity, like that of jackals, one must therefore assume an animal body.

c. Divisive speech causes one to fall into the realm of hungry ghosts: because divisive speech also arises from miserliness and jealousy. Because of the offenses of stinginess and jealousy, one falls into the realm of hungry ghosts.

d. When one who has engaged in divisive speech is born as a human being, one encounters evil relatives: because divisive speech causes close friends suddenly to become resentful and hateful toward one another.

e. When one who has engaged in divisive speech is born as a human being, one encounters discordant relatives: because divisive speech alienates those in good relationships and causes them to become estranged.

Furthermore, divisive speech leads to harsh speech. If in this life one speaks harshly, quarrels, cruelly harms and assaults others, and kills sentient beings, then after death one will fall into the hell of swords and weapons and undergo immeasurable suffering. After that suffering in hell has ended, one again falls into the animal realm, where one’s legs are broken, wings are cut off, intestines are hooked out, and liver is torn from the body, and one undergoes suffering for immeasurable kalpas.

In the animal realm, one endures the suffering of birth and death for immeasurable kalpas. Owing to former causes and conditions, if one should fortunately encounter even a little goodness, one may be born as a lowly human being, with incomplete limbs, suffering castration, severed sinews, or a mutilated nose, having a crippled body, unprotected by ghosts and spirits, and despised and rejected by others. One should know that the offense of slaughtering sentient beings arises entirely from harsh speech.

XXII.9.6. Harsh Speech Is the Sixth Great Suffering

[126a] The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of harsh speech also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born as human beings, they undergo two kinds of retribution: constantly hearing unpleasant and abusive sounds, and invariably provoking disputes whenever they speak.”

One should know that harsh speech brings five great painful retributions:

a. Harsh speech causes one to fall into hell: because harsh speech is always intended to harm others and causes those who hear it to suffer sorrow. Therefore, after the end of one’s life, one falls into hell and undergoes many sufferings.

b. Harsh speech causes one to fall into the animal realm: because through harsh speech one often reviles and humiliates others, calling them animals. Therefore, after one’s suffering in hell has ended, one must again undergo the retribution of birth as an animal.

c. Harsh speech causes one to become a hungry ghost: because greed and miserliness lead one to insult and curse others, after undergoing suffering in the animal realm, one again falls into the realm of hungry ghosts.

d. When one who has engaged in harsh speech is born as a human being, one frequently undergoes the retribution of hearing abusive sounds: because harsh speech continually produces coarse and ugly words, when one is born as a human being one frequently undergoes the retribution of hearing abusive sounds and curt speech.

e. When one who has engaged in harsh speech is born as a human being, whatever one says always provokes disputes: because harsh speech is offensive to listeners, whatever one says frequently leads to contention.

XXII.9.7. Meaningless Speech Is the Seventh Great Suffering

From abusive speech arises ornate, frivolous speech that is utterly meaningless and brings no benefit. An arrogant person, upon dying, immediately falls into the Hell of Bondage and undergoes many sufferings for many kalpas. When that suffering in hell has ended, the person again falls into an animal body, knowing only to think of grass and water and failing to recognize the kindness of one’s parents in nurturing and raising one.

In this realm, one passes through birth and death for immeasurable kalpas. Owing to former causes and conditions, if one should fortunately encounter even a little goodness, one may be born as a human being, but of lowly status and in a remote border region, knowing nothing of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, or righteousness, and never encountering the Three Jewels. If born in a city, one has a short, ugly, crooked, lame, and hunchbacked body and is subjected to humiliation by others.

One should know that miserliness, arrogance, and conceit all arise from meaningless chatter and frivolous speech, and from not knowing the proper way to live.

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of meaningless speech also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they are born in the human realm, they must undergo two kinds of retribution: whatever they say is not believed or accepted by others, and whatever they say is unclear.”

Thus, meaningless speech entails five great sufferings:

a. Meaningless speech causes one to fall into hell: because one uses meaningless speech to accomplish one’s own affairs while harming others. Therefore, immediately after death one falls into hell and undergoes immeasurable suffering.

b. Meaningless speech causes one to become an animal: because meaningless speech contravenes the principles of human conduct, after emerging from hell one must again assume an animal body.

c. Meaningless speech causes one to become a hungry ghost: because through meaningless speech one’s mind is obscured by miserliness, and because of that miserly mind one must fall into the body of a hungry ghost.

d. After one who has engaged in meaningless speech is born as a human being, no one believes or accepts anything one says: because one’s words are meaningless, they are not accepted by others.

e. Meaningless speech brings the retribution of unclear speech: speech that is meaningless arises entirely from delusion; because of delusion, one is unable to express oneself clearly.

[126b] Those who speak meaningless words know neither humility nor contentment, but are greedy and insatiable. In this life they are miserly and greedy and do not practice giving; therefore, after death, they must pass through many kalpas of suffering in the Excrement-Boiling Hell. When their suffering in this hell is over, they again fall among animals and hungry ghosts, having no clothing and compelled to depend upon others and eat filthy excrement; if no one gives them any, they have nothing to eat.

Among these kinds of beings, they pass through immeasurable kalpas of birth and death. Owing to past causes and conditions, if they should fortunately encounter some small wholesome condition and attain human birth, they will nevertheless be lowly, hungry, ragged, naked, distressed, and utterly impoverished. No one will give them anything, and even if they beg, they will receive nothing.

Even if they acquire a little wealth, it will be seized and taken away. They will bear endless suffering until the time of death. One should know that failure to cultivate giving arises entirely from craving.

XXII.9.8. Craving Is the Eighth Great Suffering

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of craving also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they attain birth among human beings, they must undergo two kinds of karmic retribution: having many desires and never knowing contentment.”

One should know that craving entails five great sufferings:

1. Through craving, one falls into hell: Because a person driven by craving causes suffering and affliction to sentient beings through bodily and verbal actions, after the body perishes and life ends, that person must suffer in hell.

2. Through craving, one assumes the body of an animal: Because craving causes one to act contrary to human morality and right principles, immediately after emerging from hell, one is born as an animal.

3. Through craving, one is further reborn as a hungry ghost: Because craving gives rise to avarice and miserliness, the offense of avarice and miserliness causes one to fall into the state of a hungry ghost.

4. Through craving, one’s desires become still more numerous: Because craving leads one to desire an ever-increasing number of things.

5. Through craving, one is insatiable and never knows contentment: Because craving causes the mind’s seeking never to be satiated or content.

One should know that when craving is not satisfied, indignation and anger arise from it. If one harbors much anger in this body, immediately after death one falls into the Niraya hells and undergoes every kind of suffering for many kalpas. When the suffering there is over, one again falls among animals, becoming a venomous snake, tiger, leopard, jackal, or wolf and enduring suffering for immeasurable kalpas.

Owing to past causes and conditions, if one should fortunately encounter some small wholesome condition and attain human birth, one will be lowly, filled with anger, ugly in appearance, and despised by everyone. Not only will no one befriend such a person, but people will not even wish to look upon that person. One should know that indignation and resentment arise entirely from anger and the desire to cause affliction.

XXII.9.9. Anger Is the Ninth Suffering

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of anger also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they attain human birth, they undergo two kinds of karmic retribution: others constantly expose their virtues and faults, and others constantly afflict and harm them.”

One should know that anger and the desire to cause affliction entail five great sufferings:

[126c] 1. Through anger and the desire to cause affliction, one falls into hell: Because anger causes affliction to sentient beings, one must suffer in hell.

2. Through anger and the desire to cause affliction, one falls into the animal realm: Because an angry and afflicted mind cannot possess benevolence and forbearance, after emerging from hell, one must again assume the body of an animal.

3. Through anger and the desire to cause affliction, one falls into the state of a hungry ghost: Anger and affliction arise from greed and miserliness. The offense of greed and miserliness causes one to become a hungry ghost.

4. Through anger and the desire to cause affliction, others constantly expose one’s virtues and faults: Because anger and affliction prevent one from being tolerant and forgiving, others constantly expose one’s virtues and faults.

5. Through anger and the desire to cause affliction, one is constantly afflicted and harmed by others: Because through anger one afflicts and harms others, one is harmed by others in return.

Furthermore, an angry person constantly harbors a devious mind and does not believe in the true path. If one presently holds wrong views and also obstructs others from reciting sutras and hearing the Dharma, then while alive one will lack sufficient food, and immediately after death one will fall into the hells of delusion, muteness, and deafness, undergoing many sufferings and afflictions for numerous kalpas. After undergoing suffering and affliction in hell, one will immediately fall into the animal realm.

Upon hearing mention of the Three Jewels and the Four Noble Truths, how could one recognize them as wholesome? Even when beaten or killed, one will be unable to discern that these are evil deeds. One will remain among animals for immeasurable kalpas.

If one should fortunately encounter some small wholesome condition and attain human birth, one will be lowly and moreover blind, mute, and deaf, hearing nothing, no different from a wall. One will never hear good words or wholesome sounds. One should know that obstructing others from hearing the Dharma arises entirely from wrong views.

XXII.9.10. Wrong Views Are the Tenth Suffering

The Treatise on the Stages states: “The offense of wrong views also causes sentient beings to fall into the three evil destinies. If they attain birth among human beings, they undergo two kinds of karmic retribution: being born into a family that holds wrong views and possessing a deceitful, flattering mind.”

One should know that wrong views bring five great painful karmic retributions:

1. Through wrong views, one falls into hell: Because wrong views lead one toward false paths and the worship of spirits, causing one to disparage the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and refuse to revere the Three Jewels; and because one not only lacks reverence and faith oneself but also obstructs others from approaching the true path, causing them to encounter much suffering, after death one falls into the Avici Hell.

2. Through wrong views, one falls into the animal realm: Because wrong views prevent one from recognizing the true path, after emerging from hell, one must again undergo suffering among animals.

3. Through wrong views, one falls into the state of a hungry ghost: Because these wrong views arise from a greedy and miserly mind that hoards contrary to the path and refuses to relinquish anything, one’s miserliness and refusal to relinquish cause one to fall into the state of a hungry ghost.

4. Through wrong views, when one attains human birth, one is born into a family that holds wrong views: Because these wrong views arise from a mind that clings to habitual tendencies and erroneous views, when one attains human birth, one is born into a family that holds wrong views.

5. Through wrong views, when one attains human birth, one constantly possesses a deceitful, flattering, and devious mind: Because wrong views entail a mind that is not upright, when one attains human birth, one constantly possesses a deceitful, flattering, and devious mind.

Thus, every single subtle evil deed entails immeasurable and boundless offenses, all causing one to fall into hell, [127a] where one undergoes sufferings too numerous to calculate or comprehend. Only a brief account is given here. If one abandons evil and practices good, that is my teacher!

The Sutra of the Eight Teachers states: “The Buddha spoke of eight dharmas that served as teachers to the brahmin:

1. Violence: Those who kill human beings and animals may be executed and dismembered by their enemies, or punished under the king’s law, with their entire clan put to death. After death, they fall into hell, where they are burned and tortured, and their sufferings accumulate ten thousandfold; even if they seek death, they cannot attain it. When the suffering incurred by their offenses in hell is exhausted and they escape, they become hungry ghosts or animals. They are slaughtered and flayed by butchers, or die in forests of swords and blades. Their spirits continue to wander, and they again injure and destroy one another. Having witnessed such painful retribution for the offense of killing, I dare not kill! This is my first teacher!

The Buddha spoke this verse:

Violent and without compassion,

The strong and weak destroy each other.

Having committed killing in the past,

They bind enmity through many kalpas.

They suffer punishment and die young,

Constantly fearing calamity.

Because I fear such painful retribution,

With loving-kindness I subdue Mara.

2. Stealing and robbery: forcibly seizing another person's property, one is beaten or pelted with knives, staffs, tiles, and stones by the owner of the property, or is arrested by the king's law, bound, and imprisoned. During interrogation, one is flogged, surrounded by five kinds of agonizing torment.

One may be killed and one's severed head displayed in the marketplace, and one's entire clan may be put to death. After death, one falls into hell, holding a fiery furnace in one's hands and spewing boiling molten copper from one's mouth; even if one begs for death, it cannot be obtained. After finishing one's punishment in hell, one must become a hungry ghost.

When one wishes to drink water, the water immediately turns into blood and pus; when one wishes to eat, the food immediately turns into burning coals. One's body constantly bears heavy burdens, and every kind of suffering follows close behind. Or one may become an animal and die amid a forest of blades and swords, supplying one's own flesh as food for others to repay debts from a former life.

Seeing that the painful retribution for stealing and robbery is like this, I dare not steal or rob. This is my second teacher!

The Buddha spoke this verse:

Stealing what is not given,

Seizing another household's wealth—

Though the loss may not be great,

Their hearts grieve and burn with anger.

After death, one takes the form of livestock,^[23]

To repay debts from a former life.

Because I fear such painful retribution,

I give away even an entire kingdom.

3. Sexual misconduct: violating another man's wife or daughters—if the woman's husband discovers it, one may suffer immeasurable calamity, perhaps being beaten with blades and staffs until one's head lies in one place and one's feet in another, with disaster extending even to one's entire clan. Or one may be arrested under the king's law, imprisoned, interrogated, and cruelly punished.

Having committed evil deeds with the body, after death one falls into hell, where one lies upon a scorching iron bed or embraces a copper pillar while the hell wardens kindle a fire that burns one's body. [127b] After finishing one's punishment in hell, one must again become an animal. If one is later reborn as a human, there will commonly be sexual disorder within one's household; one will remain far from the Buddha-Dharma, never draw near the virtuous and worthy, and constantly harbor fear and anxiety, suffering many dangers.

Seeing this, I dare not engage in sexual misconduct. This is my third teacher!

The Buddha spoke this verse:

Lust is an impure practice,

Through delusion, one loses the true path;

The body wastes away, the spirit disperses,

Life is harmed and death comes prematurely.

One must suffer the consequences of folly,

And after death fall into an evil realm.

I give away even wife and children,

And resolve to delight in mountains and streams.

4. Divisive speech, harsh speech, false speech, and frivolous speech: falsely accusing the innocent and slandering the Three Jewels, one's tongue is like an axe or a staff, causing households to be shattered. After death, such a person falls into hell, where the spirits and wardens pull out the person's tongue and have oxen plow over it, or pour boiling molten copper into the person's mouth.

At that time, even if one begs for death, it cannot be obtained. After finishing one's punishment, one must become an animal, constantly eating thorny grass. If one is later reborn as a human, no one believes what one says, one's mouth constantly emits a foul odor, and one is subjected to much criticism, reviling, and abuse.

When asleep, one has nightmares; though possessing a mouth, one is unable to eat. The Buddhist scriptures have clearly described all these sufferings. Seeing this, I dare not utter harsh speech.

This is my fourth teacher!

The Buddha spoke this verse:

Contemptuous speech has four faults;

Slander and flattery injure others.

One receives a foolish, blind, or deaf body,

Is mute or stammers, with a foul-smelling mouth;

Mad and deranged, one is believed by no one,

And after death falls into the Tongue-Pulling Hell.^[24]

I cultivate the four kinds of pure speech,

And naturally attain the eight qualities of voice.^[25]

5. Drinking alcohol: alcohol is a poison and a principal cause from which evil deeds arise. It destroys the benevolent virtue of enlightened rulers; shatters the reverence of loyal ministers; extinguishes the stern yet compassionate virtue of parents; and burns away the heart of filial devotion, causing descendants to become violent, tyrannical, and devoid of the Way. Husbands and wives lose trust in one another and fall into licentiousness and depravity; clans contend for power and seize advantage, squandering their wealth. The loss of a nation and the ruin of one's own person are all caused by alcohol. Alcohol gives rise to more than thirty-five transgressions. Seeing this, I absolutely refrain from drinking alcohol. This is my fifth teacher.

The Buddha then spoke this verse:

A drunken person is unfilial;

Calamities arise from within.

It deludes those of noble character,

Corrupting virtue and destroying chastity.

I am resolved never to drink alcohol;

With a compassionate heart, I deliver the deluded multitudes.

With wisdom, I transcend the eight difficulties,

And personally realize Perfect Enlightenment.

6. Old age: one must endure many sufferings. The hair turns white and the teeth fall out; the eyes grow dim, [127c] and the ears become deaf. One's strength gradually declines, the face becomes gaunt, the skin wrinkles, and the hundred joints ache. Walking becomes difficult; whether standing or sitting, one groans. The mind is afflicted by sorrow and distress, and the faculties gradually move toward decay. One forgets everything almost as soon as one turns around. The days and months pass swiftly, and life is nearing its end. At the mention of this, tears stream down. Seeing and understanding such impermanence and calamity, I hastened to seek the true path and no longer desired anything at all. This is my sixth teacher!

The Buddha then spoke this verse:

I contemplate life's impermanence:

Whoever is born must surely grow old.

After prosperity, decline arrives;

The body withers and thins, the hair turns white.

Weariness comes, and a hundred illnesses arise;

Standing or sitting brings painful suffering.

I fear these things,

Therefore I relinquish the kingdom and seek the Way!

7. Illness and debility: when the body falls ill, its flesh gradually wastes away until only bones remain. All the hundred joints ache as though struck with a staff.

The four great elements^[26] increase and diminish unevenly; the hands and feet become feeble, and one's vitality is exhausted. Whether sitting or standing, one must rely on others for support. The lips and mouth become parched, the sinews and bones throb with pain, and mucus and saliva flow from the nose and mouth.

The eyes can no longer see forms, the ears can no longer clearly hear sounds, and the body discharges impurities. Lying helpless upon a bed, one harbors manifold sufferings and groans in grief. Now I observe human life: in youth, one's strength is vigorous and one's complexion radiant, but when one's merit is exhausted and one's offenses converge, impermanence brings changes in a hundred ways.

Seeing the suffering of illness to be like this, I went forth to seek the Way and no longer clung to the desires of this world. This is my seventh teacher!

The Buddha then spoke this verse:

I contemplate people in old age and frailty,

When a hundred illnesses arise at once:

Water is depleted, fire blazes fiercely,

And knife-like winds surround the entire body.

Bones, sinews, and vessels fall apart;

Even the vital faculty collapses.

I fear illness and debility,

And vow to seek the Way of the Unborn!

8. Death: when a person is about to die, four hundred and four kinds of illness erupt simultaneously. The four great elements of the body are about to disintegrate, and body and spirit are in turmoil.

When the wind element ceases to move, breathing stops; when the fire element is extinguished, the body gradually grows cold. The wind element ceases first, followed by the fire element. At that time, the spirit leaves the corpse; the body becomes rigid and is no longer aware of anything.

Within seven days, the flesh decomposes, blood flows out, and the corpse swells, softens, putrefies, and stinks, no longer remaining intact. Worms and maggots burrow through the body and devour all the flesh, leaving only the white skeleton. The sinews and vessels likewise decay, and the bones begin to separate joint by joint; the skull, thighbones, and other bones lie scattered here and there.

Birds and beasts come and contend with one another to devour the corpse. None among devas, dragons, ghosts, spirits, kings, commoners, the poor, the wealthy, the noble, or the lowly can escape this calamity. Seeing the impermanent transformations of the body to be like this, I went forth to seek the Way and no longer clung to sensual pleasures.

This is my eighth teacher!

The Buddha then spoke this verse:

I contemplate old age, illness, and death,

The great calamities within the three realms.

[128a] When merit is exhausted, the body's life ends,

And it is cast upon the charnel ground.

The decaying body returns to the earth;

The spirit follows its causes and conditions.

I fear these things,

Therefore I seek the Way to nirvana!

Hearing the Buddha teach in this way, the brahmin's mind immediately opened wide, and he attained the fruit of stream-entry. He bowed at the Buddha's feet, requested and received the precepts, and became a lay devotee. He did not kill living beings, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, or treat others with contempt; he devoted himself to serving his parents and did not become intoxicated. At that time, the brahmin, filled with immense joy, bowed at the Buddha's feet and withdrew!

The text records: “The five colors blind people’s eyes; the five sounds deafen people’s ears; the five flavors numb people’s tongues; anger injures the yin; excessive joy harms the yang; outward beauty is an axe that severs one’s intrinsic nature; delicious flavors are poison that causes the body to decay. One who awakens to this essential meaning is a great master!”

Verse:

Mind and its objects depend upon each other,

Karma leads to entanglement and bondage;

The seventh consciousness arises,

The eighth consciousness produces the causes.

Enduring suffering throughout the three realms,

Beings revolve through all six paths;

Wherever karma has been created,

In every place its bonds remain joined,

Causing the five skandhas to grow weary,

And the nine afflictions^[27] to bring torment.

Were it not for Great Compassion,

What wisdom could illuminate the mind?

All sentient beings are imbued with its beneficence,

Awakening clearly and reaching the mystic ford^[28].

When extended, it benefits beings;

When gathered in, it accumulates grace.

Notes:

^[1] Heavenly Queen 天后: Transliterated in Chinese as Devadā, meaning “lady.”

^[2] Nine-colored 九色 (also called the nine-colored deer): a deer of nine colors.

^[3] The five punishments (五刑): five ways of punishing the guilty. They are capital punishment, lifelong exile, temporary exile, imprisonment, and fines.

^[4] The prince’s suffering of losing his eyes (王子之喪目): the account of Crown Prince Kuṇāla’s pair of eyes.

^[5] Deluded concerning the Dharma, forever confused from beginning to end (迷法永惑於始終): this refers to Udraka Rāmaputra, who cultivated and attained the concentration of the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, namely the fourth formless concentration of non-Buddhist practitioners. Yet because he was deluded concerning the Dharma, a single thought of anger caused him to fall into rebirth as a winged fox (flying fox).

^[6] The New Vibhāṣā Treatise 新婆沙論 (full title: Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā Treatise; S: Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā-śāstra): a treatise in two hundred fascicles, translated by Master Xuanzang during the Tang dynasty in China and included in volume 27 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This treatise comments upon the Abhidharma Jñānaprasthāna Treatise by the Indian master Kātyāyanīputra, clearly explaining the meanings of the dharmas and comprehensively enumerating the various doctrines.

^[7] Contact as nutriment 觸食 (S: sparśākārāhāra): it takes the mental factor of contact as its substance. In relation to an object of contact, fondness and joy arise, thereby nourishing and sustaining the body. It is produced through the conjunction of a conditioned faculty, object, and consciousness.

^[8] Initial and sustained thought 覺觀: initial thought is seeking and examining, reflecting upon principles and phenomena; sustained thought is the thorough contemplation of the names and meanings of the dharmas. Initial and sustained thought obstruct mental concentration from the second dhyāna upward. If this state is maintained continuously, body and mind become weary and concentration goes astray. Therefore, initial and sustained thought are among the secondary afflictions.

^[9] Inversion 顛倒 (S: viparīta): confused perception that regards the impermanent as permanent, the non-self as self, what is without pleasure as pleasurable, and the impure as pure. Because of these four inversions, wholesome and unwholesome karmic actions are created.

^[10] Fresh cream 生蘇: food prepared from the cream of cow’s milk, one of the medicines used to treat illnesses of heat.

^[11] Kalala 迦羅邏: embryo or fetus. The state in which the father’s semen and the mother’s blood have newly combined and coagulated. It is one of the five stages in the womb, namely the state of the fetus during the first seven days after conception.

^[12] The Sūtra on Dwelling in the Womb (處胎經): a sūtra recounting how the bodhisattva Prabhāpāla descended in spirit from Tuṣita Heaven and entered his mother’s womb.

^[13] Western Godānīya 西瞿耶尼 (also called the Western Continent of Cattle Trade): because cattle are used there for exchange and commerce, it is called the Western Continent of Cattle Trade. The terrain of this continent resembles the full moon, and the faces of its inhabitants have the same shape.

^[14] The Avadāna Sūtra (阿婆檀那經; S: Avadāna; alternate titles: Sūtra of Parables, Sūtra of the Manifest Sublime): a genre of scripture that employs parables and allegories to expound the exceedingly profound and wondrous teachings of the Buddha.

^[15] Knowledge of past lives (宿命智): the sovereign and unobstructed power of wisdom that clearly knows events from many past lives; one of the six superknowledges.

^[16] Eye of the Path 道眼 (also called the divine-eye superknowledge): an eye capable of seeing clearly into every place.

^[17] Born of the same mother 同產: siblings born of the same mother; it may also refer to siblings born in the same delivery, such as twins or triplets.

^[18] The three penetrations 三達: the divine eye, knowledge of past lives, and extinction of the outflows. The divine eye clearly knows birth and death and cause and effect in future lives; knowledge of past lives clearly knows birth and death and cause and effect in past lives; extinction of the outflows clearly knows the afflictions of the present life in order to eradicate all outflows and defilements.

^[19] The fourfold army 四兵 (S: Catur-aṅga-balāḥkāyāḥ): the four types of military forces on the battlefields of ancient India. First, the elephant corps: every four men formed a unit and together protected an elephant. Second, the cavalry: every eight men formed a unit and together protected a horse. Third, the chariot corps: every sixteen men formed a unit and together protected a chariot. Fourth, the infantry: every thirty-two men formed a unit and bore weapons.

^[20] Stūpa 偷婆 (S: Stūpa; also called a pagoda): a reliquary shrine. Originally, it referred only to structures built of brick, wood, earth, stone, and other materials to enshrine the Buddha’s relics. Later, it became a general term for structures built of earth, stone, brick, or wood to enshrine images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, footprints of the Buddha, or the remains of patriarchs and eminent monks, so that people might make offerings and pay homage.

^[21] Duōsàājié 多薩阿竭 (S: Tathāgata; also called Duōājié): Tathagata, one of the ten honorific epithets of the Buddha.

^[22] Wealth shared by five claimants (五家所共): material wealth is shared by five claimants: rulers, bandits, floods, fires, and unfilial children.

^[23] The six domestic animals 六畜: the six kinds of animals raised in the household—cattle, horses, goats, dogs, pigs, and chickens.

^[24] Tongue-pulling 拔舌: the hell where tongues are pulled out and plowed by oxen.

^[25] The eight qualities of sound (八音聲): the voice of the Tathagata, speech that is pure and gentle and possesses eight extraordinary virtues, enabling sentient beings who hear it immediately to understand and awaken. They are the supremely excellent voice; the soft and gentle voice; the harmonious and pleasing voice; the venerable and wise voice; the voice free of femininity; the unerring voice; the profound and far-reaching voice; and the inexhaustible voice.

^[26] The four great elements 四大: earth, water, wind, and fire, which constitute the human body. Flesh belongs to earth, blood belongs to water, breath belongs to wind, and warmth belongs to fire.

^[27] The nine afflictions (九惱): the nine calamities that Buddha Śākyamuni had to undergo after attaining enlightenment because residual effects of unwholesome causes from past lives remained.

^[28] The mystic ford (玄津): the fruition of Buddhahood.