the karma sutra
Once upon a gathering attended by 1,250 followers, the venerable chief disciple Ananda, after circling thrice with folded hands around Lord Buddha and bowing in respect, asked, "In present dark age where the majority of our people are indulgent in unrighteousness , disrespectful to Buddha's teaching, undutiful to their parents, immoral, miserable and sordid, among them some are deaf, some blind, some mute, some idiotic, some handicapped in other aspects, and most people inured to killing, how could we understand the cryptic and fundamental principle or cases that have brought about this reality and what consequences each individual is to suffer eventually for his deeds. My Lord, would you kindly explain these to us?"'
The World-honored One then answered,” Listen carefully I will now expound the law of karma. Because of karmic effects inherited form previous lives, some people are poor, some rich, some happy and some miserable. There are four rules inseparable in obtaining happiness and prosperity for your next life. They are: to be dutiful to parents, to be respectful to Buddha’s, to Buddha's teaching, and to Buddhist monks, to abstain from killing and to set free sentient beings, and to abstain from eating meats and be charitable.
Then the Buddha proceeds on the Karmic Sutra:
Destiny is the aggregate karmic effects from past life.
To believe and practice this sutra will bring you eternal prosperity and happiness
Learn the law of karma expounded as follows
for karmas are consequential and My Lords truthful.
To be able to hold office in the government is a reward for your building Buddha's statues in previous lives
For building Buddha's statues is likened to molding yourself, and to protect Tathagata is protecting yourself.
To be a public officer cannot be taken for granted, for without practicing Buddhism it will not befall you.
Having helped in the constructions of bridges and roads in your past life is conducive to your present enjoyment of various transportation facilities which prevent you from getting foot worn.
To donate clothing to monks will ensure your to be well provided with clothing in future or in your next life
To be free from want in food is the result of your providing food to the poor in your previous life
To be miserly and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future starvation and clothlessness
To have ample housing is a reward for donating food to monasteries in your previous life
To build temples and public shelters will give you future prosperity and happiness
To be pretty and handsome is a reward for your respecting and offering flowers to Buddha's altar in your past life
To abstain from eating meats and to pray constantly to Buddha will assure you to be reborn a very intelligent child in your next reincarnation
To have good wife an son is reward for your disseminating Buddha's teaching in your past life
Furnishing Buddhist temples with hangings and tapestries will enable your to have a good marriage in your next rebirth
To have good parents is a reward for your respecting and helping those who were lonely and desolate in your past life
Being a bird hunter in your previous life has resulted in your being an orphan now
To have plenty of children is attributable to your setting free birds in your previous life
To have destroyed flowers habitually in your previous life has caused you to be heirless now
Your longevity is due to your setting free sentient beings in your past life
Being short lived is the result of your committing too many killings in your previous life
To steal wife from others will cause you to have no spouse in your reincarnation
To be a widow now is due to your disrespecting your husband in your previous live.
Being ungrateful in your previous life has caused you to be a sert at present
To have beautiful eyes is the reward for your donating oil to light Buddha's altar in your previous life
To distort truths habitually will cause you to suffer blindness in your next life
To have wry mouth is due to your intentionally blowing out candles before Buddha's altar in your past life
To vituperate your parents will cause you to reborn a deaf or mute in your next reincarnation
Being hunchback is the punishment for jeering at Buddha's followers in your previous life
To have committed evils with your hands in your past life is the cause for having disabled hands now
Your being lame is imputable to your being a robber in your previous life
To be born a pig or dog is the punishment for your deceiving and hurting others in your previous life
Offering flesh to monks in your past life has given rise to your constant illness now
To be healthy is a reward for your offering drugs and medication to save the sick and wounded in your past life
Relentlessly perpetrating evils in your previous life is the cause for your present imprisonment
Plugging snake pit and mouse hole habitually will cause you to starve to death in your next reincarnation
To intentionally poison a river or water source will cause you to die of poison in your next life
Being forlorn and friendless is the punishment for being unfaithful and deceitful to others in your previous life
Disrespecting Buddha's teaching will bring you constant starvation in your next rebirth
To spew blood is the punishment for eating meat while praying to Buddha
To have attended Buddhist instruction with levity in your previous life is the cause for your present deafness
To be afflicted with ulcers is the punishment of offering flesh before Buddha's altar in your previous life
To have bad bodily odour is a punishment for selling incense with dishonesty in your previous life
To hunt animals with rope and net will predestine your death by hanging in your next reincarnation
Being unduly envious and jealous in your previous life is the cause for your being lonely and being bereft of spouse at present
To be struck by lightning or burnt by fire will be the punishment for dishonest trading with customers
Being wounded by beasts or snakes tells you that those creatures were your enemies in your previous life
Whatever you do will come back on you, so accept whatever justice and retribution that befalls you
Be not mistaken that karma is fallacious
You will live to bear the consequences of your deeds either within this lifetime or in your future reincarnation
Should you doubt the virtue of practicing Buddhism, could not you see the happiness of Buddha's follower
Past karma determined your present destiny
Present karma are to mold your next life
Whoever slanders this sutra will not reborn again a human being
Whoever accepts this sutra will witness the truth
Whoever writes this sutra will prosper in successive lives
Whoever carries this sutra will be free from mishaps
Whoever preaches this sutra will become a very intelligent person in successive lives
Whoever recites this sutra will be well respected by people in his reincarnation
Whoever distributes this sutra free will become leader to humanity in his next life
If karma did not produce effect, what prompted Wulin a dutiful son to rescue his mother under grave danger
Whoever faithful to this sutra will not fail to witness the eternal paradise
The law of karma works forever and the fruit of good deed will come in due course
Having spoken the above sutra to Ananda and the other Followers, the World honored one added." There are innumerable examples of karmic law. But I have only mentioned in generalization."
Then Ananda said," Until the end of the present dark age, most human beings would have through successive lives, accumulated countless misdeeds because to their indulgences of the karmic consequences. But thanks to our Lord and the sutra, upon praying to the Buddha, will be blessed with eternal happiness and be admitted to see Amitabha Buddha, Avalokitshvara and all other Buddha’s in the heavenly paradise."
After Ananda's speaking all Buddha's disciple and followers felt ecstatic and enlightened and after bowing respectfully and vowing to abide by this sutra, took their journeys home.
