Commentary on the Sutra of the Father and Son Collection (Lecture 124)

Does an ordinary person also create karma when hearing a neutral sound?

The Buddha said to the king: So it is, so it is. Foolish ordinary beings, hearing a neutral sound with the ear, do not understand the meaning, disparage and slander, create foolish karma, bodily three, verbal four, mental three kinds of karma. Initially created, immediately cease and vanish. This karma having ceased, does not abide in the east, south, west, north, the four directions, above, below, or in the middle. At the final limit, when the life faculty ceases, one's own karmic retribution all manifest before one, like awakening from a dream, recollecting the meaningless sentences heard in the dream.

The Buddha said: King, indeed it is so. Foolish ordinary beings, the ear faculty hears a sound that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and does not understand its true meaning, then gives rise to disparaging and slandering speech and actions, creating foolish karma; in the body, creating the evil deeds of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; in speech, creating the evil deeds of harsh speech, divisive speech, idle chatter, and false speech; in the mind, creating the mental karmas of greed, hatred, and delusion. After the evil karma is created, it vanishes in an instant; after vanishing, the karmic actions do not abide in east, west, south, north, the four directions, above, below, or in the middle, disappearing without a trace. But at the final moment when the life faculty ceases, all the karmic retribution created in this lifetime manifest completely, like after awakening from a dream, the mind still recites the meaningless sentences heard in the dream.