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Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra
What kinds of actions create the gravest karma—and can their consequences still be purified?
In Lesson 06 of the Ksitigarbha Sutra, Khenpo Sodargye begins by explaining how Buddhist offerings and sacred images should be arranged with beauty, proportion, and respect. He also recounts how sincere devotion to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has traditionally been associated with protection from illness, epidemics, and other misfortunes.
The teaching then enters Chapter Three, “Contemplating the Karmic Conditions of Sentient Beings.” Lady Maya, the Buddha’s mother, asks Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva about the different karmic consequences experienced by beings in Jambudvipa.
Khenpo explains the grave actions that can lead to rebirth in Avici Hell, including harming one’s parents, damaging the Three Jewels, misusing Sangha property, corrupting pure practitioners, breaking important precepts, and rejecting the law of cause and effect.
The lesson concludes with a detailed explanation of why Avici is called the “Hell of Uninterrupted Suffering” and why sincere repentance should never be postponed.