Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (121)

Realizing That All Dharmas Are Illusory Can Eliminate the Karmic Deeds of the Three Evil Destinies

When all dharmas arise, there is no place from which they come; when they cease, there is no place to which they go. Why? Because the intrinsic nature is apart from all dharmas. When the initial consciousness arises, there is no place from which it comes; when it ceases, there is no place to which it goes. The karmic actions committed have no place from which they come, nor any place to which they go. The dharmas of creating karma and receiving karmic retribution are also illusory; although they are illusory, suffering can still be felt; although the feeling of distress is experienced, it is a false, illusory feeling.

During the arising and ceasing of all these dharmas, the Ālayavijñāna has always been following us, playing the dominant role behind the scenes. Because He is neither arising nor ceasing, a dharma that truly exists—if He did not exist, all dharmas and all illusory appearances would no longer exist. He is the mind-substance of ultimate reality (dharmatā-citta); illusory dharmas exist in dependence upon ultimate reality. Among the myriad dharmas, apart from the Ālayavijñāna, which is the dharma of ultimate reality and is real, all other dharmas are illusory. Going to hell to receive retribution is also illusory. If one in hell truly knows that hell is empty and illusory, the karmic deeds of hell are eliminated, and one emerges from hell. If one does not know that hell is illusory and believes hell truly exists, with ignorance not extinguished, then one continues to suffer in hell. When we truly realize that karmic actions are illusory and that all dharmas are illusory, the karmic deeds of the three evil destinies are eliminated. Without such realization, the three evil destinies remain truly existent in the mind, and one must still go to the three evil destinies to receive retribution.

When we attain enlightenment, we likewise know that all dharmas are empty, all manifested and transformed by the Ālayavijñāna, and only the Ālayavijñāna is not empty. In this way, the karmic deeds of the three evil destinies are also eliminated, and one does not fall into the three evil destinies to receive evil retribution. If one believes the karmic deeds of the three evil destinies are not empty but truly exist, then one cannot attain the fruits, nor can one attain enlightenment. Knowing that the karmic actions of the three evil destinies are false, the three evil destinies cease to exist, and the karmic actions no longer take effect; the karmic deeds of the three evil destinies are merely transformed into retribution within the human world, and one suffers in the human world.