On the Withering of Karmic Seeds (Part II)

Question: The principle of karmic seeds withering seems to contradict the verse, "Even over hundreds of thousands of kalpas, the karma one creates does not perish; when conditions and circumstances converge, the retribution returns to the one who created it." That four-line verse expresses that karmic seeds are solid and steadfast—unless the retribution is received, they absolutely will not vanish. How should this be explained?

Answer: The meaning of karmic seeds withering is that the habitual force of sentient beings' karma-creating tendencies gradually weakens over a long period without the conditions to create karma, to the point where it loses the capacity and inertia to engage in karmic actions. It is like seeds that, after being stored and unused for a long time, lose their vitality and will no longer take root or sprout. Those who have committed grave evil deeds and attain rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss through the lowest grade of rebirth will dwell within a lotus in the Pure Land for up to twelve great kalpas. There, imbued with the Dharma, they have absolutely no opportunity to create even the slightest karma. In the end, the evil in their minds vanishes, and they no longer create karma. Only then can they emerge from the lotus, behold the manifested form of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, hear the Dharma, and yet fail to comprehend its meaning—all due to the obscurations of past sinful karma.

Because they have long been without karmic actions within the lotus, the inertia to create evil karma is gone. Evil actions of body, speech, and mind do not arise; it has become their habit, so they do not disturb the purity and tranquility of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. However, when they return to the Saha World, the heavy evil karma they created in the past will still bear retribution when the conditions ripen, but the retribution will be lighter and not too severe. It is impossible for them to fall into the three evil realms to receive retribution; they can only suffer corresponding light karmic retribution in the human realm. This shows that heavy offenses may be lightly requited, and light offenses may vanish.

The principle of repentance is similar. Through repentance, evil karmic seeds are destroyed or diminished, so that sentient beings may either avoid the retribution of evil karma in the future or receive it lightly, and the karmic seeds vanish. Therefore, not all karmic seeds vanish only through retribution; many are destroyed through other means. Otherwise, by the time one attains Buddhahood, the evil retribution would never be exhausted, and it would be impossible to become a Buddha.