Teaching the Ripening of Virtuous and Nonvirtuous Actions

The sutra Teaching the Ripening of Virtuous and Nonvirtuous Actions (Tib. དགེ་བ་དང་མི་དགེ་བའི་ལས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་པར་སྨིན་པ་བསྟན་པ།; Wyl. dge ba dang mi dge ba’i las kyi rnam par smin pa bstan pa) begins with Nanda asking the Buddha why beings living in this world experience different ranges of conditions. This leads the Buddha to explain how all experiences are brought about by the ripening of a variety of virtuous and non-virtuous actions. The results of non-virtuous actions are detailed first, prompting Nanda to ask about people, such as benefactors, who, conversely, are committed to performing virtuous actions. The Buddha’s discourse then details the workings of karma by making use of a plethora of examples before concluding with a description of virtuous actions and the benefits they bring.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 355

• English translation: Teaching the Ripening of Virtuous and Nonvirtuous Actions