Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (121)

When all dharmas arise, there is no place they come from; when they cease, there is no place they go to. Why? Because their intrinsic nature is apart from all dharmas. When the initial consciousness arises, there is no place it comes from; when it ceases, there is no place it goes to. The karmic actions that are created have no place they come from and no place they go to. The dharmas of creating karma and receiving retribution are also illusory; although they are illusory, suffering can still be felt; although the feeling of distress is experienced, it is a false, illusory feeling.

Throughout the arising and ceasing of all these dharmas, the ālayavijñāna has always been following us, playing the dominant role behind the scenes. Because He is neither arising nor ceasing, a dharma that truly exists—if He did not exist, all dharmas and all illusory appearances would no longer exist. He is the true mind, the body of suchness; illusory dharmas exist depending on the true suchness. Among the myriad dharmas, apart from the ālayavijñāna, which is a dharma of true suchness and is real, all other dharmas are illusory. Going to hell to receive retribution is also illusory. If, while in hell, one truly knows that hell is empty and illusory, the karma of hell is eliminated, and one emerges from hell. If one does not know that hell is illusory and believes hell truly exists, then ignorance is not extinguished, and one continues to suffer in hell. When we truly realize that karmic actions are illusory and that all dharmas are illusory, the karma of the three evil destinies is eliminated. Without such realization, if the three evil destinies still exist as truly real in the mind, then one must still go to the three evil destinies to receive retribution.

When we attain enlightenment, we likewise know that all dharmas are empty, all manifested and transformed by the ālayavijñāna, and only the ālayavijñāna is not empty. In this way, the karma of the three evil destinies is also eliminated, and one will not descend into the three evil destinies to receive evil retribution. If one believes that the karma of the three evil destinies is not empty but truly exists, then one cannot attain the fruits, nor can one attain enlightenment. Knowing that the karmic actions of the three evil destinies are false, the three evil destinies cease to exist, and the karmic actions no longer function; the karma of the three evil destinies is merely transformed into retribution in the human world, where one suffers in the human realm.