四分律行事鈔資持記 2.83

2.83

二犯報中。先明起業者，欲明苦果，須考業因。況造業萬差，何由一揆；如下引經，墮獄年劫；且據制罪，一往以分；自有犯輕而報深，不妨犯重而報淺；須推能造所起不同，善惡報應，絲毫不昧。是知化制兩教，辨業天乖；制則從教重輕，化則論心濃薄；教唯揩定，緣具則例入刑科；心既不常，動發則須分體性；因果既異，化制斯分。必昧宗途，未窮業本；故先料簡，委示來蒙。

Under '2. Offenses and Retribution': First clarifying the arising of karma: wishing to clarify the bitter fruit, one must examine the karmic cause. Moreover, the creation of karma has ten thousand differences, how could it be uniform? As in the sūtra cited below regarding the years and kalpas of falling into hell: this is provisionally distinguished according to the instituted offenses in a general sense. There are instances where an offense is light but the retribution is deep, and it does not preclude an offense being heavy while the retribution is shallow. One must investigate the differences in that which can create and that which arises; the retribution of good and evil is not obscured in the slightest. From this we know that the two teachings of transformation and institution differentiate karma as distantly as heaven and earth: institution follows the teaching's heaviness or lightness; transformation discusses the mind's thickness or thinness. The teaching is solely definitive: if the conditions are complete, one uniformly enters the penal code. The mind, being inconstant, when stirred and arising must have its nature and essence differentiated. Since causes and fruits are different, transformation and institution are thus distinguished. If one is ignorant of the doctrinal approaches and has not plumbed the origin of karma, one must first discriminate it and thoroughly show it to future students.