Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (184)

How can we gain more opportunities for liberation?

Karmic formations do not abide in the east, south, west, or north, in the four intermediate directions, above, below, or in between. No place can be found where karma disappears or exists. If there were a place where karmic formations were stored, that would be terrible—wherever these karmas were kept, sooner or later they would erupt. Whoever karma follows meets misfortune. Karma has no place of storage; it comes without a trace and leaves without a shadow. Although karmic formations have nowhere to be stored, when the lifespan comes to an end, all the karma created in this lifetime flashes rapidly through the mind. The mind consciousness can perceive it all, can discriminate it all clearly, the mind knows it all completely, missing nothing. At that moment, one knows where one is headed, and so one deeply hopes that one's relatives can help one attain liberation from karmic obstructions—but by then one can no longer speak or express oneself. In the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), one wants to tell one's family, but the two realms of yin and yang are separated, and communication is impossible—people of two worlds cannot understand each other's language.

When consciousness ceases, this life is over, and the dream of this human life comes to a close. Thinking about it now, our present life really does seem like a dream. After the six consciousnesses cease, one transmigrates according to karma. Because the manas desires a body of the five aggregates, the ālayavijñāna cooperates and manifests the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava). Those of extreme goodness or extreme evil have no neutrino-body (antarā-bhava). Those of extreme evil fall into hell without a neutrino-body (antarā-bhava): the moment they breathe their last on this side, the hell body manifests. For those of extreme goodness, after death the celestial body of a deva manifests, and they are directly reborn in the heavens to enjoy blessings. Once the hell body emerges, even if one regrets having created evil karma and wishes to repent and remedy it, there is no opportunity. Within the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), one can still repent, and relatives may still be able to offer some remedy; without a neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), there is no way—the karmic seeds are fixed. Unless someone has great awakening and repents with the hell body while in hell—if the power is sufficient and the mental strength very strong, one can still emerge from hell. If one's blessings are greater, after death Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva may be waiting at the gates of hell, teaching one to repent or teaching verses from the Buddha's Dharma; if one can recite along with him, one can dissolve the karma of hell and emerge from hell. If one has received the bodhisattva precepts and falls into hell, upon knowing which precept one violated, a single moment of repentance in the mind can also dissolve the karma and allow one to leave hell.

Therefore, in our usual practice, we should accumulate more blessings and cultivate more wisdom. Then, when receiving evil retribution, there will be many opportunities for liberation. The fear is lacking in merit and virtue, not knowing how to apply the Dharma, and not understanding how to repent one's karmic actions. By listening to more sūtras and hearing more Dharma, one can gain more wisdom for liberation.