Lessening One's Karmic Retribution

Daily Wisdom

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Saturday, October 6, 2012:

The Nirvana Sutra teaches the principle of lessening one's karmic retribution. If one's heavy karma from the past is not expiated within this lifetime, one must undergo the sufferings of hell in the future, but if one experiences extreme hardship in this life [because of the Lotus Sutra], the sufferings of hell will vanish instantly. And when one dies, one will obtain the blessings of the human and heavenly worlds, as well as those of the three vehicles and the one vehicle.

Lessening One's Karmic Retribution
Written to Ota Saemon-no-jo, the lay priest Soya and the Dharma Bridge Kimbara on October 5, 1271