Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (142)

The Karmic Retribution of Harboring Anger and a Mind of Destruction Toward a Corpse

Original text: 佛言大王。如是如是。愚夫异生。见是臭恶。嗔恚毁呰。造作是业。身三语四。意三种业。造是业已。刹那灭谢。是业不依。东西南北。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. The foolish ordinary beings, upon seeing such a foul and repulsive corpse, give rise to a mind of anger and a mind of destruction, thereby creating unwholesome karma—three kinds of karma through the body, four through speech, and three through the mind. After these ten unwholesome karmic deeds are created, the karmic formations cease in an instant; the karmic formations are extinguished as soon as they are created. After they cease, the karmic formations have nowhere to go; they do not abide depending on the east, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, up, or down. When the life faculty finally comes to an end, all the karmic retribution that should be undergone by this present body of form manifests in full, just like one who, having awakened from a dream, still dwells upon the events of the dream.