Is Karmic Obstacle Eliminated by Consciousness or Manas? How Is It Eliminated?

Karmic obstacles are the hindrances of ignorance, which are obstructions to one's own mind resulting from evil deeds committed due to the force of ignorance. They obstruct the mind from obtaining virtuous retributions, virtuous fruits, and virtuous karma; prevent virtuous dharmas from maturing; and further hinder the wisdom-based cognition of all dharmas. Ignorance initially arises in the mental faculty (manas), with its root lying in the ignorance of the mental faculty. The ignorance of the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) originally stems from the mental faculty. Influenced and driven by the ignorance of the mental faculty, the mental consciousness becomes tainted by the environment. Once the ignorance of the mental faculty is eradicated, the mental consciousness is no longer tainted by the environment, nor is it further tainted by the mental faculty's ignorance; thus, the mental consciousness becomes pure. The ultimate purity of the mental consciousness results from the purification of the mental faculty. If the mental faculty is impure, it will inevitably impel and cause the mental consciousness to perform impure actions. Once tainted karmic seeds are formed, they become karmic obstacles in future lives. Therefore, all karmic obstacles are eliminated only after the mental faculty is purified, because the mental faculty is the instigator—it is the bell-fastener who must untie the bell.

When the merit and virtue of the mental faculty increase, meditative concentration strengthens, wisdom expands, and ignorance is partially eliminated, one's innate nature will partially transform, afflictive hindrances will be partially removed, and the obscurations hindering virtuous dharmas, virtuous karma, virtuous fruits, virtuous retributions, and virtuous conditions will be partially lifted. The hindrances in Buddhist practice will thus be partially alleviated. To the extent that the ignorance of the mental faculty is eliminated, the mind becomes purified to that same extent, karmic obstacles decrease to that extent, and virtuous karma increases to that extent.

Upon attaining the fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna) and realizing the mind's true nature (seeing one's Buddha-nature), meditative concentration and wisdom greatly increase, undergoing fundamental transformation. Simultaneously, one's innate nature undergoes a fundamental transformation; the mind becomes pure, one attains the purified Dharma-eye, and afflictive hindrances are partially eliminated. Consequently, the karma leading to the three evil destinies (hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals) is eradicated, signifying that one no longer needs to suffer retribution in the three evil destinies. The remaining karma will be experienced through retribution within the human realm. Each time sentient beings attain a samādhi, a portion of their karmic obstacles is eliminated. This includes the fruits of the Śrāvaka path (once-returner, non-returner, arhat), the various stages of the Mahāyana path, and the stages of entering the bodhisattva grounds (first ground, second ground, third ground, etc.). As wisdom grows, thoughts and views change, the mind transforms, and afflictive hindrances are eliminated, the corresponding karma is likewise eliminated. Repentance can also eliminate karmic obstacles from past lives, because the mental faculty within recognizes one's own ignorance, delusion, and afflictions, resolves to correct them, and the mind changes; thus, the corresponding karmic obstacles are eliminated, or at least partially eliminated.

Karma is divided into fixed karma and unfixed karma. Fixed karma is unchangeable and must be repaid through retribution. However, unfixed karma can be transformed; it does not necessarily require retribution to be settled. It can be partially eliminated through repentance, with the remainder being repaid. Even fixed karma can be transformed under special circumstances. Special circumstances refer to when sentient beings possess powerful mental strength, great wisdom, strong meditative concentration, sincere and profound repentance, and undergo a significant reversal in their innate nature—then it can be transformed. If all karma were utterly unchangeable and had to be repaid to be settled, then no one in the world could attain Buddhahood. This is because sentient beings' karma is too vast and heavy to ever be fully repaid. Furthermore, if karma could not be transformed, repentance by sentient beings would be useless and incapable of eliminating karma.