Why Could King Ajātaśatru Eradicate His Hellish Karma and Be Reborn in the Land of Bliss?

King Ajātaśatru, obstructed by the karmic obstruction of having killed his father, received a teaching from the Buddha face to face, yet he only attained a rootless faith; he did not eradicate the fundamental view of self and realize the first fruit—he was merely a srotāpanna-phala-pratipannaka (one bound for the first fruit). Even being bound for the first fruit can eliminate the karma leading to the three evil destinies and brings one close to preliminary liberation, which is why he could be reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī). Generally speaking, when the Buddha personally teaches the Dharma face to face and gathers one in, as long as one's karmic obstructions are not too heavy, one will realize a fruit—any fruit from the first to the fourth can be attained. Yet King Ajātaśatru did not realize a fruit; after all, the karma of killing one's father is not light. Still, this rootless faith was already quite good—attaining the path leading to the first fruit was enough to eliminate his hell karma.

In a future life, when King Ajātaśatru encounters his father again, he may well be unable to avoid repaying that karmic debt by being killed once. However, if King Ajātaśatru had karmic grievances with his father in a past life, and in this life he was settling the score and resolving that grievous karma from the previous life, then this karmic debt is settled and need not be repaid again. In fact, the reason King Ajātaśatru killed his father was indeed because he had karmic grievances with his father in a past life; in this life he came to repay that grievance. Therefore, the karma of killing his father was not that heavy, and it was dissolved upon hearing the Buddha teach the Dharma. Moreover, his father had realized a fruit; after ascending to the heavens following his death, he continuously followed King Ajātaśatru, repented of his own past-life transgressions, and constantly encouraged and blessed King Ajātaśatru. Thus King Ajātaśatru felt shame and remorse in his heart, and upon encountering the Buddha's teaching, the hell karma of killing his father was eliminated.

The gathering power of the Buddha, who can dissolve karma, is immense and unmatched by anyone. King Ajātaśatru, whose karma was dissolved, had a mind of repentance and shame; his karmic obstructions were not extremely heavy, and there were prior causes as well. Therefore, the outcome was that King Ajātaśatru did not have to fall into hell but was instead reborn in the land of bliss. If it had not been the Buddha who taught King Ajātaśatru the Dharma—if it had been some other bodhisattva, or an arhat, or an ordinary person—King Ajātaśatru would not necessarily have attained the rootless faith, thereby eliminating his hell karma and being reborn in the land of bliss.

Dissolving karma is accomplished through wisdom; wisdom of different degrees dissolves karma of different degrees, and when karma is exhausted, one becomes a Buddha. Dissolving the karma of the six paths of saṃsāra is the realm of practice of arhats of the fourth fruit and pratyekabuddhas. Ordinary beings also dissolve karma, but only karma at a shallow level. There are many kinds and levels of karma, and according to one's individual degree of cultivation, one dissolves karma of different levels and kinds. Only by severing the various afflictions is karma truly dissolved—when karma is dissolved, it is no longer created. If afflictions are not severed, even though some karma has been dissolved, given the opportunity later it may be created again. Some people do not seek to understand principle but only seek to dissolve karma, going everywhere begging Buddhas and bodhisattvas to dissolve it for them; after it is dissolved, they create it again—such dissolution of karma is of no avail. Only when one understands the principle and the mind changes will karma be dissolved and no longer manifest. And changing one's mind is one's own affair; others cannot help with it.