The Karmic Retribution of Killing

When a country is attacked by invaders who burn, kill, and plunder, committing every evil imaginable, everyone hates the invaders for their cruelty and viciousness—yet in the past, they themselves were once cruel and vicious as well; they have merely forgotten the past and see only the present, not knowing that this is the working of cause, condition, and retribution. Those who once slit open fish bellies are now themselves cut open and disemboweled, seething with resentment and rage—yet were they not just as cruel back then, showing no regard for the fish's suffering? Even today, for the sake of pleasing the palate, such evil deeds have never ceased. Many Buddhist practitioners, though they no longer eat meat themselves, must buy fish and meat because their family members want to eat it. They bring home live creatures and then slaughter them, cutting open their bellies—the evil karma continues to be created. Though they study Buddhism and cultivate, their evil deeds and evil retributions have never once paused.

My mother had a Buddhist friend who had recited the Buddha's name for twenty or thirty years, but in the end she fell ill and lay in bed. As a child she had poked at ant nests, and at this time those ants she had killed had not yet taken rebirth; in their subtle bodies they crawled all over her body, occupying her body, leaving her unable to control herself in either body or mind. After decades of eating vegetarian food, she now ate meat; she no longer believed in the Buddha nor recited his name. The local temple tried to perform rites to save and draw her out and to deliver her, but she flew into a rage and refused the deliverance. In the end she died—she must certainly have gone to the three evil destinies to suffer. Among the large group of Buddhist practitioners and Buddha-name reciters of my mother's generation, many fell ill in their later years; obstructed by karmic obstructions, they could no longer continue cultivating, and in the end none of them could escape the three evil destinies.

Do not think that just because you are still young and healthy, you seem to have no obstructions. When the truly great karmic obstructions arrive, you will have no power whatsoever to resist—you will collapse in an instant, unable to control yourself, unable even to believe in the Buddha, let alone study Buddhism. At the end of life, you will be led by your karmic creditors to the three evil destinies, and neither your family nor your Buddhist friends will be able to do anything about it. Therefore, while your body is still healthy, quickly repent of your evil karma. All the evil karma of this life and past lives must be repented. Though you do not remember your past lives, just assume that you have committed every kind of evil karma. After repentance, some of the karmic obstructions will be lightened, so that at the end of life you will not be obstructed by evil karma to the point of losing faith in the Buddha and the Three Jewels. If you have committed many killings, repent regularly, and after spring begins, seek opportunities to release living beings (fangsheng); this can make amends for some transgressions and dissolve some sinful karma.

As for the severity of evil karma, no matter how many sentient beings one kills, the karma is not as grave as that of slandering the Three Jewels. The karma of slandering and slighting the Three Jewels is immeasurable and boundless in its gravity. After undergoing the retribution for killing, one can still encounter the Three Jewels and be rescued and delivered; but those who slander and slight the Three Jewels will, for long kalpas, have no such opportunity. Some people, after committing evil deeds, even feel smug about it—how utterly foolish this is.