How Is the Karma of Sentient Beings Eliminated?

During the immeasurable kalpas of cultivation, sentient beings gradually eliminate their karmic obstacles, and only when all karma is exhausted can they attain Buddhahood. The elimination of karma primarily occurs through personal cultivation—eradicating ignorance and transforming the mind. However, in the beginning, when sentient beings are heavily burdened by ignorance and possess weak mental strength, the majority of their karmic obstacles are eliminated and borne through the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If not for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bearing and eliminating the karma of each sentient being, no one could attain enlightenment or Buddhahood. The methods by which Buddhas and Bodhisattvas eliminate, resolve, and bear the karma for sentient beings are numerous, yet sentient beings remain unaware and oblivious. At times, they even resort to slandering the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In their ignorance, sentient beings do not comprehend the magnitude of the Buddhas' and Bodhisattvas' grace.

The karma and retribution of sentient beings manifest as the cycle of rebirth in the Six Realms—birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and affliction. Yet, when any sentient being encounters the Buddha Dharma, their karmic obstacles leading to birth and death and their experience of suffering gradually lessen, until finally the karma leading to the Three Evil Realms is severed. Ultimately, even the karma binding them to the Six Realms is eliminated. Therefore, when any sentient being encounters the Buddha Dharma through favorable conditions, they should not attribute it solely to their own merits and virtues; it is entirely due to the grace of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas daily recite vows and mantras, extending their compassionate vows to sentient beings in the Three Evil Realms. Sentient beings in the Three Evil Realms unknowingly and imperceptibly receive these blessings, their merits and virtues increasing daily, until finally they encounter the Buddha Dharma. They then begin immeasurable kalpas of learning and cultivating the Buddha’s teachings, and their karmic obstacles gradually diminish until they ultimately attain Buddhahood—all due to the grace of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Until one attains Buddhahood, no one can ever repay the grace of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The blessings and vow-mantras of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are formless and imperceptible. The countless karmic obstacles they eliminate for sentient beings are likewise intangible—unseen and unfelt. In their ignorance, sentient beings cannot perceive them, yet their power is boundless. Sentient beings are not ungrateful; they are simply unaware of the grace bestowed upon them. Still, they engage in baseless slander. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never take offense—for who would hold ignorant and deluded beings accountable? Regardless of how much karma the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas bear for sentient beings, no matter how much Dharma they expound, or how profound the teachings they impart, ignorant beings do not even permit the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bear the title of "ordinary Bodhisattva." How profound is that karmic obstacle?