法苑珠林 7.31

7.31

Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Bhikṣu Nāgasena’s Questions to the Buddha states: 'Just as fire in the human world is not as hot as the fire in Niraya, so too, if one takes a small stone and places it in worldly fire, it will not melt by nightfall; but if one takes a large boulder and places it in the fire of Niraya, it melts instantly. It is also like a person who commits evil and dies, remaining in Niraya for tens of millions of years without dying. It is also like great pythons, flood-dragons, and the like, which consume sand and stone as food and digest them immediately, whereas when a woman becomes pregnant and has a child in her belly, it does not dissolve. Both of these are due to the power of good and evil karma causing things to dissolve or not dissolve. A person’s good and evil deeds follow them just as a form’s shadow follows the body. When a person dies, only their physical body perishes, but their actions do not perish. It is like lighting a fire to write at night: the fire is extinguished, yet the characters remain; when fire is brought again later, they become visible. Actions done in this life come to fruition in future lives.'