Commentary on the Sutra of the Assembly of Fathers and Sons (Part 157)

The Karmic Retribution of Consuming Bitter Food and Drink in a Dream Due to Resentment

Original Text:

The Buddha said: "Great King, it is indeed so. Foolish ordinary beings, tormented by hunger in a dream, consume bitter food and drink, giving rise to resentment in their minds. They thus create unwholesome karmic actions: three bodily, four verbal, and three mental actions. From the very moment these actions are created, they instantly cease. Once these actions cease, they do not abide anywhere in the east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, below, or in between. However, at the final moment when the life faculty ceases, the karmic retribution from one's own actions in this life will fully manifest before them, just as when one wakes from a dream and recalls the events of the dream."

Explanation:

The Buddha said: "Great King, it is indeed so. Foolish ordinary beings, tormented by hunger in a dream, eat bitter food and drink, causing their minds to generate resentment. They then create unwholesome karmic actions: three bodily, four verbal, and three mental actions. From the very beginning of their creation, these karmic actions cease instantaneously as they are formed. After these actions cease, they do not abide anywhere in the east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, below, or in between. Yet, when life approaches its end at the final moment, the karmic retribution from the actions created in this very lifetime will completely manifest before them, just like recalling the events of a dream after waking up."