The Surangama Sutra

by Hsuan Hua

  “As his body-consciousness undergoes these experiences, it will seem to him that he is being clubbed, caned, stabbed, or pierced with arrows. Next, his eye-consciousness may have an overwhelming vision of being engulfed in flames. His ear-consciousness may undergo an overwhelming experience of hearing cries of distress on the road to the hells or in the holding cells, courtrooms, or prisoners’ docks. His nose-consciousness may undergo the overwhelming experience of suffocation due to being confined to a sack, or else by the experience of restricted breathing when he is tied up and beaten. His tongue-consciousness may undergo the overwhelming experience of his tongue being plowed up, or clamped and pulled out, or chopped up, or cut out. His mind-consciousness may undergo the overwhelming experience of the contents of his mind falling or flying, or frying or roasting.

  [6] “Sixth are the retributions that are the negative consequence of intentional acts of cognition. This karma of mind-consciousness affects the five other consciousnesses as well. First, when the being is about to die, he may encounter a violent wind that lays waste to the lands. Upon his death, the being’s spiritual awareness may be conscious of being swept high up into the air and then of plummeting down along the winds straight into the Unrelenting Hell. Then one of two things may happen. If the being lacks clear awareness, his extreme confusion may lead to panic, and he will run about ceaselessly. Or, if he is conscious and not confused, he will be fully aware of his suffering as he feels that he is being endlessly fried and burned. The excruciating pain will be beyond bearing.

  “These perversities in his mind-consciousness may now become so overwhelming that it will seem to him that he is being confined. Next, his eye-consciousness may experience overwhelming visions of people interrogating him and confronting him with testimony. His ear-consciousness may undergo an overwhelming experience of what seems to him to be the din of great rocks clashing together or else of what seem to be storms of ice or of dust that cloud his hearing. His nose-consciousness may undergo an overwhelming experience of what seems to him to be a great burning, whether of a chariot or a ship or a prison. His tongue-consciousness may undergo an overwhelming experience of sensations that are felt by the tongue when it is uttering great shouts, cries, groans of regret, and sobs. His body-consciousness may undergo an overwhelming experience of being expanded or shrunk, or of lying face-down while he undergoes ten thousand deaths and rebirths within a single day.

  “Ānanda, these are the ten causes and six negative consequences of being reborn in the hells. All these experiences are created by beings’ confusion and delusion.

  Many different hells have just been described, and all result from the ten habitual causes. They are sexual desire, craving, arrogance, hatred, enticement, falsehood, resentment, wrong views, blaming, and disputatiousness.

  These habitual causes result in the six interconnected retributions that involve the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind as they react to visible objects, sounds, odors, flavors, objects of touch, and objects of cognition. All these hells are created by beings’ own confusion and delusion.... Once ignorance arises, it leads to various karmic manifestations. From karma, various offenses are created. However, if we can return our hearing inward to hear our true nature, then all this karma will become empty. (VII, 153–4)

  “If a being’s six consciousnesses all create evil karma at the same time, he will enter the Unrelenting Hell, where he will undergo an immeasurable amount of suffering for uncountable eons. However, if the negative consequences arise from intentional acts that were committed at separate times by the faculties’ engagement with their objects, the being will enter one of the Eight Cold Hells. If a being commits acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct with body, speech, and mind — all three — then he will enter one of the Eighteen Hells.

  “However, if a being has committed only two of the three major offenses — for example, if he has killed and has stolen — then he will enter one of the Thirty-Six Hells. And if he has committed only one of the three major offenses with only one of the three creators of karma, then he will enter one of the One Hundred and Eight Hells.

  “Therefore, individual beings create their own karma by their own acts, but if their karma is the same as other beings’ karma, they will all fall into the same hells in this world. These hells are created by their deluded acts of mind. Apart from those acts, the hells have no independent existence.”

  The Destiny of Ghosts

  “Next, Ānanda, after these beings have passed through eons of fire to pay the debts they incurred for committing these offenses — such offenses as violating and vilifying the precepts and the rules for deportment, violating the Bodhisattva Precepts, slandering the Buddha’s teachings about nirvana, and all the other various offenses — then these beings will become ghosts.

  These individuals denounce the idea of precepts and rules of deportment by saying things such as... “People should be free to do as they please. After all, this is a democratic country, and everyone is free and independent. So there shouldn’t be any prohibitive rules in Buddhism, either.” These people commit even more karmic offenses by claiming that one can become a Buddhist monk or nun without taking the necessary precepts. (VII, 158)

  Ten kinds of ghosts are discussed below in connection with the karma created by their habitual craving. However, there are many more kinds of ghosts. The ones described here are merely representative. (VII, 159)

  “If it was a craving for possessions that led a being to commit offenses, then once the debt incurred for committing those offenses is paid, the being will encounter some object, assume its form, and become a bizarre shape-shifting ghost.

  “If it was craving for the opposite sex that led a being to commit offenses, then once the debt incurred for those offenses is paid, the being will encounter a wind, assume its attributes, and become a drought-ghost.

  “If it was a craving to mislead people that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter an animal, assume its form, and become an animal-possessing ghost.58

  “If it was the cravings and emotions of hatred that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter a venomous creature, assume its form, and become a hex-poison ghost.

  “If it was the cravings and emotions of long-cherished enmity that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter some enfeebled creature, assume its attributes, and become a plague-ghost.

  “If it was the cravings and emotions of arrogance that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter some source of vital energy, assume its attributes, and become a hungry ghost.

  “If it was a craving to indulge in slander that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter some source of dark energy, assume its attributes, and become a nightmare-ghost.

  “If it was a craving to indulge in perverse uses of intelligence that led a being to commit offenses, then once that is paid, the being will encounter some source of intense vital energy, assume its attributes, and become a malicious shape-shifting ghost.59

  Although this person may consider himself to be extremely intelligent, in fact he is totally confused in what he does. He may be smart, but he misuses his intelligence and ends up by outsmarting himself. For example, he clearly knows that murder is wrong, but he commits murder anyway....

  Shape-shifting ghosts sometimes take the form of a child, but with only one leg. Sometimes this ghost will appear as an adult... with its head growing out from between its legs. (VII, 165–6)

  “If it was a craving for selfish advancement that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter someone who has light and will assume the attributes appropriate for becoming an attendant ghost.

  “If it was a craving to form factions that led a being to commit offenses, then once that debt is paid, the being will encounter some human, assume that pe
rson’s attributes, and become an oracle-ghost.

  This kind of ghost can possess people and speak through them, saying such things as “I am the Buddha so-and-so,” or “I am the Bodhisattva such-and-such.”... Among these people are oracles who predict auspicious and inauspicious events... with complete accuracy. They can foretell the future. This is an example of the need to distinguish between what is proper and what is not. The proper way to gain the ability to predict the future is to practice in accord with the Dharma. Relying on a ghost is not correct. (VII, 169)

  “Ānanda, their cravings are the sole reasons for these beings’ having previously fallen into the hells. Once they have burned away their debts in the hells, they ascend to be reborn as ghosts. This too is a consequence of their own delusion. If they were to become fully awakened, then with their wondrous and perfect understanding, they would know that, fundamentally, these retributions are not real at all.”

  The Destiny of Animals

  “Ānanda, once a being has made full payment on that part of his karmic debt which he was due to pay as a ghost, his mind will empty itself of the emotions and thoughts that brought him to the ghostly destiny. Now he must come to this world to face the enmity of his original creditors and in person repay what he owes them. Thus he is born in the body of an animal to repay his debts from his previous lives.

  Such a being has to repay the debts that he accumulated during countless past eons, and these debts need to be repaid in kind. For example, if you have killed someone, you will have pay with your own life. If you owe someone a pig, you will become his pig in order to repay him.... We can see how improper actions can lead to a lot of trouble. (VII, 171–2)

  “Suppose a being has been a bizarre shape-shifting ghost and has assumed the attributes of an object. When the object disintegrates, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually as an owl.

  “Suppose a being has been a drought-ghost and has assumed the attributes of a southeast wind. When the wind dies down, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually among the various kinds of animals that are considered to be ill omens.

  “Suppose a being has been an animal-possessing ghost and has assumed the attributes of an animal. When the animal dies, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually as a kind of fox.

  “Suppose a being has been a hex-poison ghost and has assumed the attributes of a venomous creature. When that venomous creature dies, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually as an animal that is venomous itself.

  “Suppose a being has been a plague-ghost and has assumed the attributes of an enfeebled creature. When that creature dies, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, will be reborn into this world, usually as a kind of parasitic worm.

  “Suppose a being has been a hungry ghost and has assumed the attributes of some vital energy. When that energy disperses, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually among the kinds of animals that are eaten by people.

  “Suppose a being has been a nightmare-ghost and has assumed the attributes of some dark energy. When that energy disperses, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually among the animals that serve people or that are a source of people’s clothing.

  “Suppose a being has been a malicious shape-shifting ghost and has assumed the attributes of some intense vital energy. When that energy is exhausted, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually as a migratory bird.

  ”Suppose a being has been an attendant ghost and has assumed the attributes of someone who has light. When that person’s light is extinguished, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn into this world, usually among one of the many kinds of animals that are considered to be good omens.

  “Suppose a being has been an oracle-ghost and has assumed the attributes of a human. When that human dies, then the being, having undergone its retribution as a ghost, is reborn in the world, usually among animals who serve people as companions or as messengers.

  “In this way, Ānanda, when the fires of their karma have caused their lives as ghosts to wither away, these beings are reborn as animals in further repayment of the debts they incurred during their previous lives. This too is the consequence of their own delusion. If they experience a full awakening, then with their wondrous and perfect understanding, they will know that, fundamentally, these retributions are not real at all.

  “You spoke earlier60 of Bhikṣuṇi Lotus-Fragrance, King Virūḍhaka and Bhikṣu Sunakṣatra. They themselves created their evil karma. It did not descend upon them from the heavens, nor did it emerge from the earth. No other human being imposed it on them. Their own delusion brought their karma about, and they themselves must undergo the retribution for it. Yet all this consists merely of illusions and delusions that manifest within the fully awakened mind.”

  The Destiny of Humans

  "Moreover, Ānanda, suppose these beings, having been born as animals to pay the debts they incurred in previous lives, live longer as animals than their debts have required. On that basis, these beings can now return to their original status as humans, and provided that their strength, their blessings, and their merit are sufficient, they can retain their human bodies as compensation for their overpayment of their karmic debt.61 But if their blessings are not sufficient, they will fall back into the realm of animals in order to make a direct payment of any other debts they owe.

  “Ānanda, beings should realize that they should settle their debts, whether with money, goods, or labor, so that their indebtedness can naturally come to an end. But if, during this process, beings take each other’s lives or eat each other’s flesh, then they may well continue through countless eons killing each other and eating each other as if they were turning ceaselessly on a wheel, now on top, now beneath. The wheel may never stop unless they undertake the practice of calming the mind or unless a Buddha appears in the world.

  There are only two ways to escape the cycle of karmic debts. One is by stopping the mind until one realizes the great Śūraṅgama Samādhi. The other occurs when a Buddha appears in the world and explains people’s karmic debts to them. Then both the debtor and the creditor understand that they should not continue to incur such debts, and in this way they can stop the endless cycle of mutual indebtedness. (VII, 182)

  “Now you should understand that when beings who have been owls have paid their debts, they will regain their human form and will be born among people who are pig-headed and stubborn.

  “When beings who have been animals that are considered to be ill omens have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and be reborn among people who are deformed.

  We often see mention of this type of rebirth in the newspapers. A child may be born with two heads, or with two bodies but only one head. Sometimes the child’s faculties of perception will be out of place. Perhaps the eyes will be where the ear should be and the ears where the eyes belong.... Often such individuals die as soon as they are born. (VII, 183)

  “When beings who have been foxes have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people who are of lowly status and low intelligence.

  ‘When beings who have been venomous animals have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people who are vicious.

  Although these beings manage to be reborn in the human realm, they still have not changed their bad habits. They are extremely fierce and cruel.... They pay no attention to whether their actions are justifiable or not. If you get in their way, and even if you don’t, they will kill you without hesitation. (VII, 184)

  “When beings who have been parasitic worms have paid back their debts, they will regain their h
uman form and will be reborn among people who are menial workers.

  “When beings who have been animals of the kind that are eaten by people have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people who are weak-willed and dependent.

  “When beings who have been animals of the kind that serve people or of the kind that are a source of people’s clothing, have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among manual laborers.

  “When beings who have been migratory birds have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people of refinement.

  “When beings who have been animals serving as good omens have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people who are intelligent.

  “When beings who have been domesticated animals have paid back their debts, they will regain their human form and will be reborn among people who are accomplished.