Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (107)

The karmic retribution of the ten unwholesome deeds all manifests at the time of death

Original text: 佛言大王。如是如是。愚夫异生。闻可意声。起于爱乐。而生染着。造作恶行。身三语四。意业三种。作是业已。刹那灭谢。是业灭已。不依东方。南西北方。四维上下。中间而住。最后边际。命根灭时。自分业报。皆悉现前。犹如梦觉。念梦中事。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, it is indeed so. Foolish ordinary beings, the unregenerate (pṛthagjana), upon hearing sounds that please them, give rise to delight and attachment, developing defiled minds of craving, and commit unwholesome actions—three bodily deeds, four verbal deeds, and three mental deeds, the ten unwholesome karmic actions. After these unwholesome deeds are committed, they cease and vanish in an instant; once the karma has ceased, the karmic formations do not abide in the east, south, west, or north, the four intermediate directions, up or down, or in the middle—they disappear without a trace. Yet at the final moment, when the life faculty comes to an end, the karmic retribution created throughout this very life all manifests in full, just like waking from a dream while the mind still dwells upon the events of the dream.