Why Could King Ajatashatru Eliminate His Karmic Hindrances of Hell and Attain Rebirth in the Pure Land?

King Ajatashatru, due to the karmic obstruction of patricide, received teachings directly from the Buddha but attained only a rootless faith (a-mūlaka-śraddhā). He did not sever the fundamental view of self to attain the first fruit (srota-āpanna), merely reaching the fruit-entering stage (srota-āpatti-pratipannaka). Even this preliminary stage toward the first fruit can eliminate karma leading to the three lower realms, approaching initial liberation, thus enabling rebirth in the Pure Land. Generally, when the Buddha personally bestows teachings face-to-face, as long as one’s karmic obstructions are not extremely heavy, one can attain fruition—from the first to the fourth fruit. Yet King Ajatashatru did not attain any fruit, for the karma of patricide is indeed grave. Nevertheless, this rootless faith was already quite significant; attaining the fruit-entering stage was sufficient to eliminate his hellish karma.

In a future life, King Ajatashatru may inevitably encounter his father again and have to repay this karmic debt by being killed once. However, if King Ajatashatru and his father had karmic enmity from a past life, and in this life, King Ajatashatru was repaying a grudge to resolve that past enmity, then this karmic debt would be settled, requiring no further repayment. In fact, King Ajatashatru’s patricide occurred precisely because of karmic enmity with his father from a past life; this life was an act of retribution. Thus, the karma of patricide was not as heavy as it might seem and was eliminated upon hearing the Buddha’s teachings. Moreover, his father attained fruition; after death, he ascended to heaven and continually followed King Ajatashatru, repenting for his own past transgressions, constantly encouraging and blessing him. Consequently, King Ajatashatru developed a mind of remorse, encountered the Buddha’s teachings, and thereby eliminated the hellish karma of patricide.

The Buddha’s power to liberate beings from karma is immense, unparalleled by any other. King Ajatashatru, the recipient of this liberation, possessed a repentant and remorseful mind; his karmic obstructions were not extreme, and there were prior causes. Thus, the result was that King Ajatashatru did not descend into hell but was reborn in the Pure Land. Had it not been the Buddha who taught King Ajatashatru—if it were another Bodhisattva, an Arhat, or an ordinary person—King Ajatashatru might not have attained that rootless faith in the Dharma, thereby eliminating his hellish karma and achieving rebirth in the Pure Land.

Karma is eliminated through wisdom; different levels of wisdom eliminate different levels of karma. Only when karma is exhausted does one become a Buddha. Eliminating the karma binding one to the six realms is the stage of practice for Arhats of the fourth fruit (arhat) and Pratyekabuddhas. Ordinary beings also eliminate karma, but only superficial karma. There are many types and levels of karma; according to individual practice, different levels and kinds of karma are eliminated. Only by severing all afflictions (kleśa) is karma truly eliminated; once eliminated, it is not recreated. Without severing afflictions, even if some karma is eliminated, it may be recreated when conditions arise again. Some people do not seek to comprehend the truth but only seek to eliminate karma, imploring Buddhas and Bodhisattvas everywhere to remove it. Eliminating karma only to recreate it later is futile. Only when the mind changes through comprehending the truth will karma cease to manifest. Changing the mind, however, is one's own responsibility; others cannot do it for you.