How to Eliminate Sinful Karma

Karmic offenses created through action are divided into offenses of the mind-nature and offenses of conduct. An offense of the mind-nature is called an intrinsic offense (性罪)， and an offense of conduct is called an offense of action; the two combined are called karmic offense. If there is only an offense of conduct but no offense of the mind-nature—that is, an act committed unintentionally—then it is an unintentional fault, called an offense of negligence. For example, killing a person by accident or killing a living being by accident: subjectively there was no intent, and objectively it came about through causes and conditions. Such negligent karma carries relatively light culpability in worldly dharma, and its retribution in the Buddha-dharma is also relatively light.

If a karmic offense is deliberately committed out of evil intent, the offense is very great and the retribution is also very heavy. If there is only evil intent, an evil mind-nature—for example, imagining things about the other person, or mentally cursing them in various ways—without any actual action, then in this case there is only evil of the mind-nature, which belongs to mental karma. Mental karma also stores seeds, and this too is karmic offense; the mind-nature is also defiled, with severe greed, anger, and delusion, and in future lives one will undergo retribution in accordance with that evil intent. The mind is the master of all dharmas; as soon as the mind stirs, there is karma, and where there is karma there is karmic retribution, following one like a shadow.

Take the example of killing a chicken: this is an active act of killing a living being, not an unintentional killing, so it involves both intrinsic offense and offense of action. Intrinsic offense has its own retribution, and offense of action has its own retribution. The karma of intrinsic offense is relatively easy to eliminate: as long as one sincerely repents one's greed, anger, and delusion, vows never to commit such acts again, and one's mind-nature truly changes, the intrinsic offense will be eliminated. If the mind-nature does not change, the intrinsic offense remains, and one will undergo its retribution in the future. But there is still the offense of action—how is that to be eliminated? One must take actual action: if the living being was not killed, one makes compensation until the other party is satisfied.

If the living being has died, this actual action is truly difficult to carry out, unless one has some cultivation and realization in the Buddha-dharma and one's merit and virtue are relatively great, in which case this karmic offense can be resolved. For example, by reciting sutras, reciting the Buddha's name, or reciting mantras to deliver the chicken, and truly delivering the chicken to a good destination, this offense is then resolved. In the future the chicken will even come back to thank you and repay your kindness—whether it is delivered to the human realm, or even delivered to become a cat or dog, that is fine. One can also dedicate all the merit and virtue one has cultivated to the chicken, and repent to the chicken; if the chicken genuinely receives benefit, then the offense of action will be eliminated.

If karmic offense is not eliminated, the obstruction becomes extremely severe—let alone becoming a Buddha, even studying Buddhism will not go smoothly, and even daily life will have problems. For a person with relatively heavy karmic offense, who wants to recollect the Buddha and escape to the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), when karmic obstruction manifests at the end of life, they will no longer even have faith in the Buddha, let alone recollect the Buddha. Why do quite a few people fall away from the group as they follow along studying the Dharma? That is karmic obstruction blocking them, so they cannot cultivate further. Many people, as they study, have karmic obstruction manifest, cannot withstand it, fall back, become like a corpse lying flat, and stop studying anything. Only by finding ways to continually eliminate one's own karmic offense and obstruction can one's progress on the path of cultivation advance continuously; otherwise, with karmic obstruction blocking the way, all sorts of upheavals will occur, making it impossible to study Buddhism and cultivate normally. Repentance and making vows can eliminate karmic obstruction and can counteract it; only after karmic obstruction is lightened can one continue moving forward—otherwise, failing to advance means regressing. Therefore one must not place all one's hopes on the final moments of life; before death arrives, one must resolve the question of one's destination in future lives.