法苑珠林 62.32

62.32

又未曾有經云。有王白佛言。我父先王奉事外道。常行布施求梵天福。如斯功德生何天耶。佛告王曰。前王果報今在地獄。所以者何不值善時。不遇善友。無善方便。雖修功德不得免罪。布施之功不忘失也。候罪畢時方當受福。當知修福不與罪合。先帝大王有五種惡業生地獄中。一者傲慢妬弊。事無麁細。便起鞭罰不忍辱故。二者貪受寶貨。斷事不平。致令天下懷怨恨故。三者游獵嬉戲。苦困人民。害眾生所愛命故。四者耽著女色。得新厭舊。撫接不平致怨恨故。五者破戒。以此文證故知事邪修福。善惡常別。苦樂兩報不相雜亂。何況利根多聞。正信三寶而招苦報。又惟無三昧經云。佛告阿難。善男子。人求道安禪先當斷念。人生世間所以不得道者。但坐思想穢念多故。一念來一念去。一日一宿有八億四千萬念。念念不息。一善念者。亦得善果報。一惡念者。亦得惡果報如響應聲。如影隨形。是故善惡罪福各別。

Furthermore, the Adbhutadharmaparyāya-sūtra says: A king addressed the Buddha, saying, "My father, the former king, worshipped non-Buddhists and constantly practiced giving, seeking the blessings of the Brahmā heaven. Through such merit, in which heaven was he born?" The Buddha told the king, "The former king's retribution is now in the hells. Why is this? He did not encounter a good time, he did not meet good friends, and he lacked good expedients. Although he cultivated merit, he could not escape guilt. Yet the merit of his giving is not lost; when his guilt is exhausted, he will then receive the blessings. You should know that the cultivation of merit does not merge with guilt. The late Great King had five kinds of evil karma that led to his birth in the hells: first, he was arrogant and jealous, and regardless of whether matters were trivial or serious, he would administer whippings and punishments because he lacked forbearance; second, he was greedy for treasures and settled disputes unjustly, causing the realm to harbor resentment; third, he went on hunting amusements, bringing suffering and distress to the people and harming the cherished lives of sentient beings; fourth, he was infatuated with female beauty, loving the new and spurning the old, treating them unfairly and causing resentment; fifth, he broke the precepts." Proved by this passage, we know that when serving false paths while cultivating merit, good and evil are always distinct, and the two retributions of suffering and joy do not mix. How much more so for those of sharp faculties and wide learning who have correct faith in the Three Jewels—how could they invite painful retribution? Furthermore, the Weiwu sanmei jing says: The Buddha told Ānanda, "Good son, when a person seeks the Way and pacifies their meditation, they must first sever thoughts. The reason humans living in the world do not attain the Way is solely because their thoughts and defiled ideas are numerous. As one thought comes and one thought goes, in a single day and a single night there are 840,000,000 thoughts, thought after thought without ceasing. A single wholesome thought also obtains a wholesome retribution; a single unwholesome thought also obtains an unwholesome retribution, like an echo responding to a sound, or a shadow following a form. Therefore, good and evil, sin and merit, are each distinct."