北山錄 8.2.2

8.2.2

If [karma to be experienced] in the present life turns one into a snake or the like, the individual retribution changes, but the collective retribution does not change.) If that karma is fixed, the destiny evoked by it is firm and unalterable. If that karma is not fixed, the destiny evoked by it can be diminished or increased. (As when, relying on the power of goodness, heavy [karma] is turned into light; evil is likewise.) However, karma of the present life may be fixed or unfixed, causing the nature and lifespan evoked by past lives to change or not change. If that karma is fixed, it can alter past causes. (As when good karma can alter the evil days of past lives.) An unfixed destiny brings about poverty or success. (An unfixed destiny refers to individual retribution. Originally, because of evil, one was in poverty; now, altered by the power of goodness, one achieves success.) If that karma is unfixed, it is simply a matter of adversity or prosperity. (Meaning that what is unfixed can be altered.) Indeed, Śāriputra and Aniruddha encountered the Buddha as a physician of the Dharma and Jīvaka as a worldly physician, yet this did not dispel their chronic past ailments. (Ailments mean illnesses. For instance, when Śāriputra suffered from bloody dysentery, a fine physician said he could eat lotus root; Maudgalyāyana was then sent to Lake Mandākinī to fetch lotus root for him to eat. Aniruddha lost his sight, and so forth; all were past karma.) Yan Hui and Min Sun encountered Kong Qiu and excelled in virtuous conduct, and encountered the feudal lords who prized worth and wisdom, yet this did not remove their poverty and early death. This is because the destiny evoked by past lives was fixed; therefore, practicing goodness in the present life could not augment it. (Yan Hui, courtesy name Ziyuan, was a disciple from Lu. He was the son of Yan Lu. His family was poor, and he died early at the age of thirty. Min Sun, courtesy name Ziqian, was also from Lu. He possessed filial conduct; his family was poor, and he suffered abuse from his stepmother. He served as magistrate of Bi for the Jisun clan.) Upananda was jealous and acquisitive, yet his blessings flourished. (The monk Upananda was wealthy and prosperous, possessing hundreds of millions in money.) King Aśoka was cruel and unrestrained, yet his majesty was formidable. (King Aśoka slaughtered without limit, establishing hells and the like, yet his majesty shook the coastal regions. Encountering the śramaṇa Upagupta, he was converted by him and erected eighty-four thousand stupas.) The Ji clan expelled their lord, yet died beneath his own window. (Ji Huanzi drove out Duke Zhao of Lu, who died in Qianhou; while Ji took charge of the sacrifices, he ultimately managed to die [peacefully] in the state of Lu.) Robber Zhi feasted on human intestines, yet lived to the highest old age. (Robber Zhi was a bandit; at Dongling he slaughtered travelers daily, taking their hearts and livers for food. Confucius could not convert him, yet he ultimately lived out his days.) This is because the destiny evoked by past lives was fixed; evil in the present life could not diminish it. (This is because when good karma from the past exists, present evil cannot eclipse it.) Mallikā offered food and became queen consort of the realm. (Lady Mallikā was of the Śākya clan, born of a concubine and extremely ugly; her royal father did not wish to see her. She then lamented and made offerings to the Buddha, chanting without cease. The Buddha manifested his body for her, and her appearance transformed to become dignified. King Prasenajit took her as his consort.) Relinquishing a ship's plank unto death, one was granted life by the sea deity. (The Great Treatise on the Adornment of the Sutras says that there was a monk who sailed the sea and met a wind that wrecked the ship. A young monk obtained a ship's plank; seeing a senior monk sinking, he thought: 'The Buddha now commands respect for seniors,' and thereupon yielded the plank to him. The sea deity saw this with delight, and pushed both of them out of the sea so they survived.) Zhao Dun showed pity at Yisang. (Zhao Xuanzi went out and saw a starving man at Yisang; when he questioned him, the man said he had not eaten for three days. He then fetched food to feed him. Later, Duke Ling of Jin set a ferocious dog to bite him; Ling Zhe of Yisang killed the dog, steadied the chariot wheels, and rescued him so he could escape.) The washerwoman showed compassion at Huaiyin. (Before Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, met his opportunity, he was utterly famished. Seeing an old woman bleaching silk floss, he went to her, and the woman fed him. Later, he aided the Han and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huaiyin; when the woman had already died, he opened her tomb and cast a thousand pieces of gold inside.) All of these are the fixed good karma of the present life. Because the destiny from past lives was not fixed, they could turn decline into prosperity. (From Mallikā downward, these are all good karma experienced in the present life.) A woodcutter pointed out a bear and his arm dropped off. (The Jinglü yixiang says that a woodcutter went into the mountains, encountered heavy snow and extreme cold, and a white bear took him into its den. When the snow cleared, he went down the mountain and saw a hunter. Drawing a knife, [the hunter] had him point out the bear's lair; as he raised his finger to point it out, his arm fell off.) A monk ate mutton and his intestines were pierced through. (Someone chasing a sheep ran to a monastery and saw a monk who pointed it out to him; he then slaughtered it and fed the meat to the monk. After the monk ate it, the meat spread beneath his skin, ran through and pierced his intestines, and he died. This comes from the Bianzheng lun.) Li Ke was executed for regicide. (Duke Xian of Jin doted on Li Ji, banished all the princes, and killed the crown prince Shensheng, setting up Xiqi. Li Ke killed him. The people of the state then established Zhuozi; Ke also killed him, and welcomed Yiwu to set him up. This was Duke Hui. Duke Hui arrived from Qin and said to Li Ke: 'You killed two lords and one grand master'—meaning Xun Xi. He then killed himself, which was Duke Hui's retribution against him.) Zhang Lu gave rein to his ambitions over the minister of Wei. (Zhang Lu was Fan Sui. He entered Qin with Xu Jia; Qin was pleased with him. Xu Jia returned and slandered him to Wei Qi. Wei Qi was drinking wine and subsequently beat him until his teeth were broken; he was thrown into a latrine, but survived and fled to Qin, changing his name to Zhang Lu. Qin appointed him chancellor. Later, plotting to capture Wei, Wei Qi sent Xu Jia as an envoy; Lu then made Xu Jia act as a donkey, and still demanded the capture of Wei Qi. Wei Qi fled into exile until death, ultimately perishing in Wei.) All of these are the fixed bad karma of the present life. (These are all retributions for bad karma experienced in the present life.) Because destiny from past lives was not fixed, it could transform survival into death. (The lifespan from the previous life was originally not exhausted, but karma of the present life brought it to an end, so they received present retribution.) Devadatta harmed the Sage and drew blood from his foot. (Rolling down a boulder, he injured the Buddha's foot.) Disrupting the monastic community, he was bound to suffer a kalpa in Niraya. This is the fixed nature of bad karma for the next birth. (This is also fixed bad karma experienced in the present life.) Ajātaśatru killed his father, yet upon seeing the Buddha and believing in the Dharma, he was spared the great torment of Avīci. (King Ajātaśatru killed his father, King Bimbisāra. When the torments of hell appeared on his body as malignant sores, he turned his heart toward and pleaded to the Buddha. The Buddha illuminated him with light and his sores healed; he then preached the Dharma for him, freeing him from the torments of hell. 'Wuze' is the name of a hell, so called because it does not distinguish good from evil.) This is the unfixed nature of bad karma for the next birth. (Because of repentance, his guilt was extinguished. This is because both time and retribution were unfixed.) Therefore, the poverty and early death of Yan Hui and Min Sun repaid the evil of past causes, while their virtuous conduct can become good retribution in future lives. The wealth and longevity of the Ji clan and Robber Zhi repaid the good karma of past causes, while their rebellious cruelty can become heavy suffering in future lives. There is truly no reason to doubt this. The salve for chapped hands is one and the same.