The Long Āgama Sūtra 27.40

27.40

王白佛言：「我曾詣沙門、婆羅門所問如是義。我念一時至不蘭迦葉所，問言：『如人乘象、馬車，習於兵法，乃至種種營生，現有果報；今此眾現在修道，現得果報不？』彼不蘭迦葉報我言：『王若自作，若教人作，斫伐殘害，煮炙切割，惱亂眾生，愁憂啼哭，殺生偷盜，婬逸妄語，踰牆劫奪，放火焚燒，斷道為惡。大王！行如此事，非為惡也。大王！若以利劍臠割一切眾生，以為肉聚，彌滿世間，此非為惡，亦無罪報。於恒水南，臠割眾生，亦無有惡報。於恒水北岸，為大施會，施一切眾，利人等利，亦無福報。』」

The king said to the Buddha, “I have visited ascetics and priests in the past to ask them about this subject. I remember one time I went to Pūraṇa Kāśyapa and asked, ‘Just as people ride elephants and horse chariots, armed with … martial methods … various occupations give rise their rewards in the present. Now, this assembly presently cultivates the path. What reward do they obtain in the present?’

“That Pūraṇa Kāśyapa replied to me, ‘Suppose the king or another on his behalf chops, smites, injures, boils, burns, cuts, and slices sentient beings to torment them, and they lament and cry out. Killing beings, stealing, raping, speaking falsely, trespassing, robbing, and setting fires are evils that cut off the path. Great king, to do such things isn’t bad. Great king, suppose you were to cut and slice all sentient beings with a sharp sword and turn them into a mass of meat that covered the world. This wouldn’t be bad, nor would there be a reward for a misdeed. If you cut and sliced sentient beings on the south side of the Gaṅgā River, that also wouldn’t bring any bad rewards. If you gave charity to a large congregation on the north side of a river, giving to everyone and profiting people, there wouldn’t be a rewards for merit, either.’”