Translated by Imperial Command by the Translation Tripiṭaka Master of Nālandā Monastery in Magādha of the Western Heaven, Missionary Master, Granted the Purple, His Majesty’s Servant, Śramaṇa Fa Tian
Homage to all Buddhas and to the entire assembly of Bodhisattvas.
May true wisdom be opened, and may one recollect the merits and virtues of the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Venerable One of the three realms. The three karmic activities of body, speech, and mind,
the wholesome and the unwholesome that have been done, please distinguish them for those beings.
The retributions that beings receive have no sovereign ruler.
Venerable ones among the devas of the Three Realms,
may you give rise to compassion and wisdom, and broadly explain for the world.
I have now heard from him, and in accordance with saṃsāra, I observe the karmic retributions of actions.
The Buddha said that the roots of the evil destinies take greed, anger, and delusion as their foundation.
If a person commits acts of killing, that sinful karma then binds and entangles them,
and they will certainly fall into the Reviving Hell, and only after five hundred years can they emerge.
The beings in that Reviving Hell experience death and life again and again, therefore it is called Reviving.
Toward one’s parents, relatives by blood and marriage, household members, and good spiritual friends,
if one insults, belittles, or despises and detests them, one will fall into the Black Rope Hell.
Blazing flames form coarse and rough ropes,
which coil around and bind the bodies of sentient beings, like a saw cutting apart trees, therefore it is called Black Rope.
If one falls into the Hot Hell,
fierce flames race to burn, flame after flame without interruption,
causing those beings of sinful karma to flee and gather together in one place.
The suffering of burning anguish is extremely profound, therefore it is called Hot.
Practicing conducts against the Dharma, disturbing the multitude,
and saying that such sinful karma has no end, one will fall into the Extremely Hot Hell.
After entering this evil destiny, one is boiled and burned by exceedingly blazing fire,
and the torment of intense heat is endured for a long time, therefore it is called Extremely Hot.
Toward pigs, sheep, wolves, rabbits, and other various forms of living creatures,
if one commits killing in this way, one will fall into the Crushing Hell.
After falling into that evil destiny, many mountain peaks close together and crush the body,
and the suffering is unbearable, therefore it is named Crushing.
If one arouses various afflictions to body, speech, and mind,
deceiving sentient beings, one will fall into the Wailing Hell.
After entering that evil destiny, violent evil fire burns the body, and the cries of suffering never cease, therefore it is called Wailing.
Toward noble ones and teachers who cultivate pure conduct,
if out of greed one steals their wealth and possessions,
one will fall into the Great Wailing Hell.
These sins of theft bring about great fire burning the body,
and one cries out with an immense sound, therefore it is called Great Wailing.
Toward those who perform great merit, and toward parents and the like,
if one slanders them and is ungrateful and forgetful of kindness, one will certainly fall into the Avīci Hell.
Punishment is suffered until even the marrow is shattered, and suffering is utterly without interruption.
Life and retribution are both thus, therefore it is called Avīci.
Mutually because of love, hatred, and jealousy, even to the point of killing one another,
one obtains the body of that evil destiny. On the hands grow sharp blades of armor, iron claws and nails,
the nails sixteen fingers long. With bodies burning in violent blazing flames,
they seize and harm one another, therefore it is called Blade-Armor.
Those who in delusion commit improper sexual conduct climb upon the iron-fork tree.
There are evil ghosts with enormous bodies and iron teeth,
whose ugly bodies burn with blazing flames, pressing and tormenting without end.
There are also iron crows, foul foxes, and many kinds of evil beasts that come to peck, devour, and bite those sentient beings.
Again they are born in the Forest of Sword Leaves, where the leaves are like swords cutting apart the bodies of sinners,
and they cry out with sounds of suffering. The pain is unbearable.
Those who flatter and deceive, who speak false words,
will swallow hot iron pellets and drink molten copper liquid, again and again without a moment’s rest.
Those who belittle or insult others will have iron-toothed evil beasts and the like come to gnaw and eat the flesh of their bodies,
and suffering is endured for koṭi years.
Those who delight in practicing deeds against the Dharma, will fall into the River of Molten Copper.
Vast blazing molten copper liquid burns and boils them as they float or sink.
Again, there are those who, through their own foolish confusion,
also urge others to commit deeds against the Dharma. They go to the Iron Wheel Hell,
where wheels of iron fire repeatedly crush the body countless times,
or they are ground with iron mills, or they climb Knife Mountains, and so forth.
If a person proclaims wrong paths, destroys the true Dharma, and points to what is right as if it were wrong,
there will be roads filled with sharp blades, causing them to walk back and forth upon them.
Karma causes their bodies to become enormous, and they are driven and gathered into one place.
Rocks and mountains close in from all sides, like crushing lice with fingernails.
If one destroys the cultivation of wholesome conduct, turns away from the causes of unsurpassed right awakening,
and holds biased views with an evil mind, one will certainly enter the Vicinity Hells.
Violent maggots and the like constantly dwell in filth,
and when sinners wander past, they gnaw upon their two feet.
Those who engage in planting and pressing oil-bearing seeds and the like, harming and killing many wriggling insects,
will repeatedly lie in iron troughs and be struck with hot iron rods.
If one gives rise to extremely heavy anger and fury and creates all manner of evil sins,
after death one will fall into the realm of King Yama and suffer every kind of torment.
Destroying wholesome seeds, and creating sinful karma through body, speech, and mind,
a wise person should not commit sinful karma. Such are the scenes of hell.
The verses of the Section on Hell end here.
To be reborn as an ox, a donkey, a monkey, or as the body of a turtledove, a pigeon, a goose, or a duck,
is because one’s actions are filled with anger and greedy lust. The retribution that is obtained is thus.
To be reborn as jackals and wolves, fierce tigers, leopards, and also as vipers, scorpions, and poisonous snakes,
is because hatred, rage, and pride are exceedingly heavy. The retribution that is obtained is thus.
To be reborn as crows, magpies, hawks, vultures, and the like, or as centipedes and millipedes,
or as brown bears, bears, cats, oxen, horses, even as nāgas, fish, and garuḍas,
such various kinds of animals and the like, are all because the three kinds of evil karma of body, speech, and mind have increased.
Thus one falls into the world governed by Yama, and the retribution that is obtained is thus.
The verses of the Section on Animals end here.
Obstructing the merit of others’ giving, and stealing food and drink,
one will fall into the state of a pūtana, and because of hunger and emptiness become a hungry ghost.
Foolish, miserly, and base persons, with deep pride and lacking propriety and instruction, beg for food yet do not know shame.
After death they become ghosts with great fleshy tumors in their throats.
If one does not practice the dāna-pāramitā oneself, but instead urges others toward stinginess and greed,
one will fall among hungry ghosts, with an enormous belly and a throat as thin as a needle.
Those whose habits of miserly greed are deeply rooted guard their wealth as if guarding their own eyes.
Toward the poor, the sick, the Buddha, and the Sangha, they cannot give even the slightest.
They themselves also do not use it, and even their parents cannot obtain it.
After death they fall into the body of a hungry ghost, and even water or drink will never be encountered.
If one steals the property of others, and after giving alms then gives rise to regret in the mind,
one will also fall into the body of a hungry ghost, constantly taking pus, blood, and saliva as food.
Those who utter vicious speech, slandering and reviling worthy and good persons,
will fall among those hungry ghosts, and torches will arise within their mouths.
Because of miserly greed and contentious disputes, with malicious intent one spies upon the wealth of others.
Falling among those hungry ghosts, one can only obtain a tiny amount of food from offerings,
or one enters villages and settlements, and upon seeing food discarded by others,
vomit, spittle, and saliva, one constantly takes them as delicious delicacies.
Those who themselves practice stinginess and obstruct giving, and who sow discord so that others do not give,
will become kumbhāṇḍa ghosts, ugly in appearance, their bodies producing pus and blood.
Those who harm and kill various living beings, whether eating them themselves or providing them for others to eat,
will fall as rākṣasa ghosts, delighting in eating garlands and powders smeared with fragrances.
Although one also gives food and drink, yet harbors a slight anger in the heart,
one will fall as a gandharva ghost, making music beloved by the devas.
If one delights in double speech, stirring up conflict and fighting, with anger in the heart,
one will fall as a piśāca ghost, with a face and head that are ugly and terrifying.
Although one delights in practicing giving, yet constantly causes distress to others,
one will fall into that evil destiny and become a pūtana ghost.
Those who themselves commit fierce killing karma, and who incite others to commit fierce killing karma,
will fall into the body of a yakṣa, likewise fierce and violently cruel.
Toward parents, teachers, and elders, if one often goes against their wishes,
one will fall into the palaces of those yakṣas, strong and vigorous, carrying out violent evil deeds.
The retribution of miserly greed and anger is to become hungry ghosts, yakṣas, and the like.
Suffering and happiness both follow from one’s own karmic causes. One must by all means not create the various evil karmas.
The verses of the Section on Hungary Ghosts end here.
Devas, asuras, and humans have gradations and distinctions in blessings and lifespan.
Those who delight in seeking rebirth in the heavenly destiny should uphold the Eight Precept Observances,
and thereby can obtain happiness, long life, and freedom from the suffering of illness.
If one violates the precepts, yet has a slight delight in being born in heaven,
one will instead fall into the destiny of asuras, taking bhūtas and the like as companions.
Although one does not steal the property of others, yet does not practice giving in the slightest,
cherishing miserliness and giving rise to widespread greed, one will become a wealth-guarding ghost.
If one neither steals nor gives, neither stingy nor grasping,
one will certainly obtain a human body, yet will toil much in seeking clothing and food.
If one does not steal, is not greedy, and is not angry, remaining content and abiding peacefully,
and offers delicious food in giving to noble ones, such a person in the next life will be born among humans,
with a complete lifespan, fine appearance and strength, auspiciousness, and no illness.
Constantly giving food and drink, possessing pure faith and a sense of shame,
one will obtain wealth and honor, a proper and dignified appearance, and abundant riches and livestock.
If one gives fields, dwellings, and the like, and also builds saṅghārāmas,
bringing them joy, then all that one needs will be obtained according to one’s wishes.
If one gives shoes and sandals, making offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha and the like,
then while traveling one will gain ease and peace, and will often obtain vehicles and mounts.
If, in wilderness places, one gives drinking water, digs springs and wells,
and provides shaded resting places, so that travelers are without fatigue and thirst,
then in the future one will certainly obtain wondrous flowers,
auspiciousness, and vast adornments, with a body that is gentle, supple, and complete.
If one gives attendants and the like to those who transmit the Dharma,
then later, when one again gains a human body, one will certainly be intelligent and full of wisdom.
If one gives medicines, one will be far from all illness.
If one gives lamps and bright light, the eyes will long remain pure.
If one gives music and instruments, a wondrous voice will arise from the mouth.
If one gives bedding and the like, one will gain bodily comfort.
If one gives food to animals, one will obtain long life and abundant strength of form.
If one allows women to renounce, one’s retinue will increase.
If one gives fields and land, one will gain flowers, fruits, and flowing springs.
If one fears the suffering of saṃsāra, draws near to worthy and noble persons, provides offerings according to their needs,
is diligent and constantly reverent, and is skilled in destroying afflictions,
one will surely obtain a peaceful and joyful retribution.
With compassion in the heart and without stinginess, saving one’s own goods in order to give to others,
one will certainly receive the retribution of abundance, with clothing and food naturally plentiful.
Just as within the four seasons one gives in accord with the proper time,
with reverence, seriousness, and ritual propriety, one will obtain all blessings.
Stealing the property of others and taking it for one’s own enjoyment is contrary to emptiness,
and afflictions cannot be cast away.
Without a mind of giving that clings to marks, giving in accord with the principle of suchness,
the retribution of such giving is the great peace of the unconditioned.
It is like a person who is far from lust, whose mind is undefiled like a child’s purity,
traveling far to another land, with no thoughts or attachments.
If a person clings greedily to lust, with mind and conduct repeatedly unstable,
madly indulging the self, one will forever fall into the three evil destinies.
Despising women, cultivating precepts and conduct, diminishing delusion and craving,
even at the end of life it will be as though poisonous vapors disperse.
If one cultivates the causes of unsurpassed right and perfect awakening, not abandoning pure conduct,
then through diligence one can obtain auspiciousness, and devas and humans will constantly make offerings.
With firm resolve and no confusion, not drinking alcohol and not speaking false words,
one’s speech will always be truthful, and one will obtain renown and peace.
With various prepared foods, making offerings to the harmonious Sangha,
one will gain wholesome companions, and together be born in the land of the Akṣobhya Buddha.
Serving and attending one another, with minds joyful and without opposition,
contemplating the true principle of the nature of emptiness and quiescence, not deceiving and not inverted,
suffering and distress will be forever ended, and one will obtain peace and liberation.
If one delights in idle disputation, sinks into songs and dances, is stubborn and foolish,
proud and relying upon one’s dignified appearance, insulting and humiliating the poor and lowly,
then in the future one will undergo the body of a hunchback, mute and crippled, ugly in form, with illness long entangling and binding the body.
If one’s speech is not respectful and compliant, their sinful suffering will instead become increasingly grave,
and one will have no condition to obtain peace.
With inner stillness and calm simplicity, all wholesome actions arise from this.
Karmic retribution is true and not false. Quickly accomplish the path of departing from suffering.
The verses of the Section on Humans end here.
Through flattery and deceit, through conduct that violates the precepts, with a mind heavily poisoned, with contention and disputes deep,
and with widespread indulgence in the afflictions of ignorance, one will certainly fall into the destiny of asuras.
The verses of the Section on Asuras end here.
Abandoning fame, profit, and pleasures, keeping far from relatives and dependents,
and maintaining precepts of middle and lesser grade, one can be born in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings.
Toward one’s parents, one’s kin, and the like, making various offerings,
keeping far from disputes, and upholding discipline and decorum, one can be born in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven.
With kindness, compassion, and joy in the heart, not harming and not killing, with a gentle and pleasant countenance, far from love and hatred,
purely and singly wholesome, upholding śīla, one can be born in the Yāma Heaven.
Broadly studying and being widely learned, receiving and upholding the Dharma teachings, cultivating wisdom and seeking liberation,
accumulating merit and possessing dignified comportment, one can be born in the Tuṣita Heaven.
If someone renounces, gives alms and steadfastly maintains the precepts,
causing oneself to obtain great peace, one can be born in the Heaven of Emanation.
Sentient beings of the highest capacities uphold the precepts in the most supreme manner.
Their merit surpasses the devas previously described, and they can be born in the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Emanations.
Upholding the precepts can lead to birth in the heavens, and cultivating dhyāna is also thus.
If wisdom is perfumed and cultivated, it can draw forth the arising of wisdom again.
The retributions of wholesome karma and unwholesome karma, what I have spoken, have no falsity or error.
From practicing good one obtains peace, and by doing evil one brings forth distress.
Old age, illness, and death, the turning and flowing of saṃsāra, the retribution is naturally just so.
Carefully examining these three matters, one should not crave and cling.
One must abandon them, pursue blessings and merit, keep far from sinful karma, utterly cut off attachment to forms and sounds,
and penetrate the true meaning. One will certainly arrive at great liberation.
Dharma Torch 