Fixed Karma and Indeterminate Karma

What are fixed karma and non-fixed karma? How are they distinguished? When the causes and conditions for the karmic fruition have not yet matured, this karma is non-fixed; it can be eliminated through repentance, eliminated through attaining fruition, eliminated through attaining enlightenment by realizing the mind's true nature, eliminated through entering the stages of enlightenment, and eliminated through attaining any fruition. Karma for which the causes and conditions for fruition have already matured is fixed karma; for ordinary people, the retribution must inevitably be experienced. However, for those with strong cultivation power, when the karmic fruition manifests, severe retribution can be mitigated, or the karmic result can be transformed—this is all uncertain.

For saints, all karmic results are non-fixed; they can be realized, transformed, or prevented from manifesting, depending entirely on the individual. From the perspective of ultimate truth, all karmic results are non-fixed. If karmic results were fixed, sentient beings could not attain Buddhahood, because the immeasurable kalpas of sinful karma accumulated by sentient beings could never be exhausted. If sinful karma cannot be exhausted, Buddhahood cannot be attained. Yet in the real world, the ten-direction Buddhas are immeasurable, and their sinful karma has already been completely eradicated without remainder. Therefore, it is said that all karmic results are non-fixed.