佛說佛名經 26.8

26.8

"Disciples! Having repented of the hindrance of afflictions and having repented of the karmic hindrance (karmāvaraṇa), we shall now set forth and repent of the remaining retributive hindrances in due order. A sūtra states: 'When the karmic retribution arrives, it is not in the sky, nor in the ocean, nor by entering into mountain rocks; there is no other place where one may escape it and not receive the retribution. Only through the power of kṣamā can it be eradicated.' How is this known to be so? When Śakra Devānām Indra showed the five signs of decay, filled with fear, he sincerely took refuge in the triratna; the signs of death were immediately extinguished and his celestial life was prolonged. Examples such as this illuminated by the scriptural teachings are not solitary; thus we know that kṣamā can truly extinguish misfortune. Yet if ordinary beings do not meet a good friend to guide them, there is no evil they will not commit, causing the evil signs of hell to appear before them when their life is ending and they reach the brink of exhaustion. At that moment, remorse and terror arrive together; having failed to cultivate good beforehand and only repenting when on the brink of exhaustion, how can repentance afterward avail? Misfortune and disaster lie prepared in another realm, having long awaited them; alone, one must proceed far to another place, merely going forward to enter the great cauldron, where body and mind are crushed to pieces and the spirit suffers acutely. At such a time, how could one still obtain even a single homage or a single act of kṣamā?