All Are the Result of Karma
“Ananda, such are the seven destinies – hells, ghosts, animals, humans, ascetics, gods, and asuras. All of them are embroiled in conditioned existence because of confusion and deluded thinking of all sorts. Their delusions lead them to rebirth and retribution. Within the wondrous perfection of the unconditioned mind, however, these destinies are all just like the mirages of flowers in the sky, empty of any inherent nature; that they are vain and illusory, without any root or source.
“Ananda, all these beings in the seven destinies are bound to endless cycles of death and rebirth, since they do not recognize their fundamental unconditioned mind. For countless kalpas, they do not attain true purity, because they indulge in killing, stealing, and sexual activities. Those who break these three precepts will be born into the destiny of ghosts or the likes. Those who are free of these three karmas will be born in the destiny of gods or the likes. Since beings tend to alternate between committing bad karma and committing good karma, they are bound to the cycle of death and rebirth in samsara.
“If only these beings could enter the wonderful Samadhi, they would be able to abide in a wondrous and everlasting stillness, where duality disappears – there is neither existence nor nonexistence, neither presence nor absence. Since killing, stealing, and sexuality are not even existent in that state – that the practitioners have gone beyond anything conditional – how could they possibly commit any actual deeds?
“Ananda, anyone who has not put an end to the three intentional acts (killing, stealing, and lust) creates their own individual karma. Although everyone receives their own retribution, beings may receive collective retribution together in certain definite place. Those intentional acts all arise from delusion, without any fixed source for tracing back precisely.
“For practitioners who wish to realize Bodhi, you should advise them that eradicating the three deluded acts is definitely necessary, otherwise they will merely gain certain conditioned functions in the mundane world, even if they develop some supernatural powers. Without extinguishing the habits of killing, stealing, and sexual activities, they will eventually fall into the path of demons. Even if they mentally want to stop those acts, as long as they are still committing them, they will only end up adding self-deception to it and making the case even worse.
“The Tathagata says that such beings are truly pitiful. One’s delusion is solely responsible for one’s own falseness – it is not the fault of Bodhi; do not blame your true nature. What has just been spoken is proper teaching; to teach otherwise is the speech of demon-kings.”
阿難如是地獄餓鬼畜生人及神仙。天洎修羅精研七趣。皆是昏沈諸有為想。妄想受生妄想隨業。於妙圓明無作本心。皆如空花元無所有。但一虛妄更無根緒。阿難此等眾生。不識本心受此輪迴。經無量劫不得真淨。皆由隨順殺盜婬故。反此三種又則出生無殺盜婬。有名鬼倫無名天趣。有無相傾起輪迴性。若得妙發三摩提者則妙常寂。有無二無無二亦滅。尚無不殺不偷不婬。云何更隨殺盜婬事。阿難不斷三業各各有私。因各各私眾私同分。非無定處自妄發生。生妄無因無可尋究。汝勗修行欲得菩提要除三惑。不盡三惑縱得神通。皆是世間有為功用。習氣不滅落於魔道。雖欲除妄倍加虛偽。如來說為可哀憐者。汝妄自造非菩提咎。作是說者名為正說。若他說者即魔王說。
Buddha Mind 