Selected Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra)

Original text: 佛言大王。如是如是。愚痴异生。寡闻无智。于可意触。而生爱乐。心生染着。造如是业。身业三种。语业四种。意业三种。造作彼业。刹那迁谢。是业灭已。不依东方。南西北方。四维上下。中间而住。至命终时。见先所作。心想中现。如彼睡觉。忆梦中事。最后识灭。自业现前。

After the karmic formations created by sentient beings have ceased, where do they go? They do not abide in the east, south, west, or north, the four intermediate directions, above, below, or in between. There is no place where karma can be found to have vanished or to exist. If there were a place where karmic formations were stored, that would be terrible—wherever these karmas were stored, sooner or later they would burst forth; whoever carries the karma would suffer misfortune. Karma has no place of storage; it comes without a trace and goes without a shadow. Although karmic formations have no place of storage, when life comes to an end, all the karma created in this lifetime swiftly flashes through the mind. The mind consciousness can perceive it all, can discriminate it all clearly, the mind knows it all completely, and not a single thing is missed. At that moment one knows where one is going, and therefore one deeply hopes in the mind that one's relatives can help one attain liberation from one's karmic obstructions; but by then one can no longer speak, can no longer express oneself. In the neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava) one wants to tell one's relatives, but the two realms of yin and yang are separated, and communication is impossible—people of two worlds cannot understand each other's language.

After consciousness ceases, this life is over, and the dream of this human life comes to a close. Thinking about it now, real life truly seems just like a dream. After the six consciousnesses cease, one transmigrates according to karma. Because the manas wants a body of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), the ālayavijñāna cooperates and manifests the neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava). Those of extreme goodness or extreme evil have no neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava). The extremely evil person falls into hell without a neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava): the moment one breathes one's last on this side, the hell body manifests. For the extremely good person, after death the heavenly body of a deva manifests, and one is directly reborn in heaven to enjoy blessings. Once the hell body emerges, even if one regrets having created evil karma and wishes to repent and remedy it, there is no opportunity. Within the neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava) one can still repent, and relatives may still be able to offer some remedy; without a neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava) there is no way, and the karmic seeds are settled. Unless someone has great awakening and repents with the hell body while in hell—if the power is sufficient and the mental strength very strong, one can still emerge from hell. If one's merit is greater, after death King Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva may be waiting at the gates of hell, teaching one to repent or teaching verses from the Buddha's Dharma; if one can recite along with him, one can dissolve the karma of hell and emerge from hell. If one has received the bodhisattva precepts and falls into hell, upon knowing which precept one violated, a single moment of repentance in the mind can also dissolve the karma and allow one to leave hell.

Therefore, in our usual cultivation, we should accumulate more merit and cultivate more wisdom; when receiving evil retribution, there will be many opportunities for liberation. The fear is lacking merit and blessings, not knowing how to apply the Dharma, and not understanding how to repent one's karmic actions. By listening more to the sūtras and hearing more of the Dharma, one can gain more wisdom for liberation.