Merit and faults do not cancel each other out

After performing the release of life, can the matter of birth-and-death saṃsāra be changed? After slandering the Three Jewels, one will fall into hell upon death—can the release of life help one escape the retributive result of hell? If one owes someone ten thousand yuan, after the release of life, is the debt dissolved? After the release of life, can one attain realization of the fruits and awaken to the true mind and see one's nature, and can one be reborn in the land of bliss (Sukhāvatī)? For the sentient beings killed in this and previous lives, are the karmic enmities thereby resolved?

A single wholesome act cannot substitute for all wholesome acts, much less can it substitute for the pure conduct. Only pure conduct can purify the mind, thereby eliminating the defiled mind and transforming the defiled karmic seeds; only then can the karmic retribution truly be changed. Seeking nothing is pure conduct; being without greed, without hatred, and without delusion is pure conduct; being free from ignorance is pure conduct. Of course, after performing the release of life and doing good deeds, one forms wholesome affinities with sentient beings and one's merit increases, which can support the advancement of precepts, meditation (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā), and help one attain realization of the fruits and awaken to the true mind. As merit increases, unwholesome karma may for the time being not manifest; karmic creditors, out of admiration for one's virtuous conduct, will no longer press hard for the repayment of debts and will no longer create obstructions, and thus the study of Dharma and cultivation of the Path will proceed smoothly.