廣弘明集 27.183

27.183

夫因果感應影響相生。必然之道理無差舛。而眾生業行不純善惡迭用。以不純故報有精麁。或貴或賤或美或惡。其事迹匪一。不了本行故致疑惑。何者。如精進奉戒。應得長生子孫熾盛親族榮顯。而見身命夭促門族衰殄。屠害之人應嬰促壽眷屬殘滅。而反延年壽考宗強援廣。清廉之行應招富足。而見貧苦貪盜之人應見困窘而覩豐饒。此乃緣其福故現世輕受。如金剛般若云。由持經故為人輕賤。是人先世罪業應墮惡道。以今輕賤故先世罪滅。所以致有此疑者。由其無明惑故妄起顛倒。不能解了三世業相。今略出數條。世人惑事用以懲誡。庶有識者識以除疑。

Now cause and effect evoke response just as shadows and echoes arise from forms and sounds; this is an inevitable principle without error or discrepancy. Yet the karmic deeds of sentient beings are not pure, with good and evil alternating; because they are not pure, the retributions vary in quality, being noble or base, beautiful or ugly, their traces not being uniform. Not understanding their original deeds, they therefore give rise to doubts and delusions. Why is this? For example, one who vigorously observes the precepts should attain long life, flourishing progeny, and prominent kin, yet one sees his life cut short and his family clan declining and perishing. One who slaughters and harms should incur a brief lifespan and the ruin of his kin, yet on the contrary he extends his years, attains longevity, and has a powerful clan and broad alliances. Honest and upright conduct should attract wealth and sufficiency, yet one sees poverty and hardship; greedy and thieving persons should meet with distress, yet one sees them abundant and prosperous. This is because, owing to their past merit, they suffer lightly in the present life. As the Diamond Prajñā says: 'Because of upholding this sutra, if one is despised and base, this person's sinful karma from past lives should have cast them into the evil realms; but because they are despised and base in the present, their past sins are extinguished.' The reason this doubt arises is that, owing to their ignorance and delusion, they falsely give rise to inverted views, unable to understand the karmic marks of the three times. Now I briefly set forth several items regarding the deluded matters of worldly people to admonish and warn them, in the hope that those with discernment may discern them so as to eliminate doubt.