The Retribution of Karmic Killing

When a country is invaded, suffering burning, killing, looting, and all manner of evils, everyone despises the invaders for their cruelty and viciousness. Yet, they themselves were once cruel and ruthless in the past, only they have forgotten their own history and focus solely on the present, unaware that it is the law of cause and effect. Those who gut fish now find themselves disemboweled, filled with resentment and rage—had they not been equally cruel themselves, showing no regard for the suffering of the fish? Even today, such evil deeds continue for the sake of culinary pleasure. Many Buddhists may abstain from eating meat themselves, but their family members still consume it, forcing them to buy fish and meat, bringing back live creatures, and then slaughtering and gutting them. Thus, evil karma continues to accumulate. Despite practicing Buddhism, their evil actions and retributions never cease.

My mother had a Buddhist friend who chanted the Buddha’s name for twenty to thirty years. In the end, she fell ill and was bedridden. As a child, she had destroyed ant nests, and now the ants she had killed had not yet been reborn. They manifested as subtle forms, swarming over her body, invading it, leaving her unable to control her body or mind. After decades of vegetarianism, she began eating meat again and stopped believing in and chanting the Buddha’s name. When the local temple performed deliverance rites for her, she flew into a rage and refused the rites. In the end, she died and surely fell into the three evil paths to suffer. Among my mother’s group of Buddhist practitioners, many fell ill in their later years, hindered by karmic obstacles that prevented them from continuing their practice, and ultimately, they too could not escape the three evil paths.

Do not assume that because you are still young and healthy now, you face no obstacles. When truly great karmic obstacles arrive, you will be utterly defenseless, collapsing in an instant, unable to control yourself, and may even lose faith in Buddhism, let alone continue practicing. At the time of death, you may be led by your karmic creditors to the three evil paths, and neither family nor Buddhist friends will be able to help. Therefore, while you are still healthy, quickly repent of your evil karma—all the evil deeds from this life and past lives. Even if you do not remember your past lives, assume you have committed every possible evil. After repentance, some karmic obstacles will lessen, preventing them from obstructing you at death to the point where you lose faith in the Buddha and the Three Jewels. If you have committed many acts of killing, repent regularly. After spring arrives, find opportunities to release life, which can help mitigate some offenses and eliminate some negative karma.

In terms of the severity of evil karma, no amount of killing sentient beings compares to the sin of slandering the Three Jewels. The karmic offense of slandering or disrespecting the Three Jewels is immeasurable and boundless. After suffering retribution for killing, one may still encounter the salvation of the Three Jewels, but those who slander and disrespect the Three Jewels will be deprived of this opportunity for countless eons. Some people even feel self-satisfied after committing evil deeds—how utterly foolish they are.