The History of Buddhist Thought c17.39

c17.39

The *Sutta of Death’s messengers* pictures the arrival of the sinner in hell. King Yama questions him about the first messenger. “ Hallo, man, when you were among mankind did you not see the first messenger of Death ? ” “ I did not, sir.” 1 “ Did you not see a woman or a man of eighty, ninety, or a hundred years, bent with age, leaning on a stick, shaking wretchedly, greyhaired or bald, and with discoloured body ?” “ I did, sir.” “ Did you not, when you got intelligence and grew up, think, ‘ I, too, am liable to old age, I must surely do good in deed, word, and thought ?’” “ I could not, sir, I was careless.” “ Through carelessness you did no good in deed, word, or thought. Verily, they shall deal with you according to your carelessness. Your evil karma was not done by your mother or father or brother or sister, not by your friends and companions, not by kinsmen and relations or the gods or ascetics and brahmins. Verily, you did the evil karma, and it is you who will suffer the ripening.”