ལས་རྣམ་པར་འབྱད་པ 1

1

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.³⁹

There the Bhagavān addressed the brahmin youth Śuka⁴⁰ thus: “Son,⁴¹ I will teach you The Exposition of Karma.⁴² Listen carefully and remember it well, and I will teach!”

“Please do so, Bhagavān!”

The brahmin youth Śuka having thus assented, the Bhagavān said to him, “Son, I say that beings are owners of their own actions,⁴³ they originate from their actions,⁴⁴ they are heirs of their actions,⁴⁵ and they take action as their refuge.⁴⁶ In this way, son, beings are divided into high, middle, and low in terms of their actions.

“In this regard, there are, for instance, the actions that lead to a short life.⁴⁷