法苑珠林 62.32

62.32

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."