The Formidability of Karmic Retribution

The afflictions of the manas from beginningless kalpas have perfumed the six consciousnesses, causing the six consciousnesses to involuntarily create karmic actions; the karmic seeds are then stored in the eighth consciousness, which in turn perfumes the manas. Perfuming back and forth in this way, sentient beings truly have no day of liberation. When sentient beings create karma, they act recklessly, fearing neither heaven nor earth—making one shudder at the sight. Bodhisattvas can directly feel what retributive results various karmic actions will bring; those retributive feelings (vipāka-vedanā) are truly painful to undergo, and even post-bhūmi bodhisattvas (bhūmi-pratiṣṭhita-bodhisattva) find them hard to bear.