When Conditions Ripen, Retribution Must Be Received

Answer: When one is in meditative concentration, if the karmic seeds from the past happen to ripen in their conditions at that very moment, the retribution must manifest at that time—there is no way around it. Even if a person is doing good deeds, if the conditions for unwholesome karma ripen, the unwholesome retribution will still manifest, and he will immediately have to undergo that unwholesome retribution, so the wholesome karma cannot be carried through to completion. No one can violate the matter of cause and effect; when conditions ripen, retribution must be received. If the conditions for unwholesome karma have not yet matured, great wholesome karma may perhaps postpone the unwholesome retribution, and it may also reduce or lighten the retribution of unwholesome karma. But if the unwholesome karma is already fixed, then there is nothing to be done—no one can stop it.