Karmic Retribution is Always Fair

During the reign of Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661 A.D.) during China's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.), there was a wealthy family with surname Gong in Shunyi County. At middle age, Mr. Gong had a son, whom he named Gong Qingyou. That same year one of the servants for the family also had a son, who was given the name Li Fu. At the servant's request, the Gongs permitted both children to study together with a teacher. One night, when both boys were 14 years old, Li Fu had a dream in which he saw the Heavenly Gate open and two divine beings descend from it. One of them pointed to Gong Qingyou and asked, "What will happen to him?" The other replied, "He is a man of very good fortune. When he reaches 17 he will pass the entrance exam for a government-official training school and at age 19 will graduate and become a county official. He will advance rapidly in his career and enjoy a comfortable life." The first divine gestured toward Li Fu and asked, "What about him?" The second divine being answered, "He is a man with no luck and will have neither money nor power all his life." With those words, the two divine beings flew up and disappeared behind the closed Heavenly Gate. Li Fu awoke puzzled, and told his dream to his parents and friends.
 
After that Li Fu watched Gong Qingyou's life journey closely and found that indeed, Gong passed the entrance exam at age 17 as predicted by the divine being. Li no longer went to school and started to do farm work. Gong Qingyou was a mean and cruel man who would stop at nothing to achieve his selfish aims. But after he went to the government-official training school, everything went well for him, and later, after he graduated, he really became an official and got promoted to a high level. He took bribes in defiance of the law and treated people heartlessly.
 
Li Fu thought that Gong Qingyou was contemptible and would be punished, but to his surprise Gong lived well into his seventies and had money and power, as well as a big family. He even knew when he was going to die. Many people cited Gong's life as an example and questioned the validity of the cause-and-effect principle. Li Fu was one of those people, and, upset, he wanted to go to the netherworld to see the truth of it. So on the day that Gong Qingyou died, Li Fu died too, and went to the underworld.
 
Li Fu saw that Gong Qingyou was treated well even in the netherworld, so he became even more upset and aired his grievances to the King of the netherworld. The King ordered the official of judgment to check the record book that listed all of Gong Qingyou's deeds in his lives. The King said, "Gong Qingyou did a lot of good things in his previous lives, and the bad things he did in his last life have offset many of the virtues he amassed earlier. Nonetheless, he still has some left and he will live well in his next life, too, but not as well as he did in his last. As for the bad things he did, it is not time yet for him to pay them back." The King also told Li Fu that he had not accumulated any virtues by doing good deeds in his previous lives, so he should have suffered more in his last life. But since he kept doing good things in his last life, he had enough clothes and food, which was already lenient for him. And he would have a better life in his next reincarnation.
 
The King arranged for Li Fu and Gong Qingyou to be reincarnated together. Gong Qingyou was born into a wealthy family and Li Fu into a well-to-do family. When he grew up, Gong Qingyou became a county governor. As he in his previous life, he oppressed people and took bribes in defiance of the law. He used torture to force innocent people to admit guilt. Once at his order, the eyes of the accused were removed, and in another case the defendant's legs were cut off. Gong Qingyou died of a sudden illness at age 70.
 
Li Fu, on the other hand, continued to accumulate virtues by doing good things and even started cultivating himself. When Gong Qingyou died, Li Fu's primordial soul was able to exit his body and wander into the netherworld to find out what was happening. He saw that Gong Qingyou was put on trial and that all his good fortunes recorded in the book had been used up. There were no more fortunes that could be used to offset the sins he had committed when he was an official, such as destroying a person's eyes and cutting off another's legs, so he would have to pay them back in his next life. He was penalized by having to reincarnate into a poor family, to be born blind and disabled and have to beg on the streets all his miserable life.
 
Seeing how the cause-and-effect principle materialized in Gong Qingyou's three lives, Li Fu worked even harder to cultivate himself, hoping he could soon get out of the cycle of birth and reincarnation.
 
One may conclude that a person's good fortune is hard to come by and that it is a result of hard work. The heavenly principles are absolutely fair. How can anyone be allowed not to pay back the sins he or she commits? As the old saying goes, "Good people will come to a good end, bad people will come to a bad end. It is only a matter of time." It is indeed a true statement!
 
福祸已造　到时必报
清顺治年间，顺义县有一富户姓贡，家中财产颇丰，中年时有了儿子贡庆有，贡家一佣人也生了个儿子叫李福。在佣人的请求下，贡家允许李福陪同贡庆有跟随同一位老先生读书。两个孩子十四岁时，李福在一天夜里梦中看见天门大开，有两位神人降临院落中，一神人指著贡庆有说：“他怎么样？”另一神人说：“他是全福之人，十七岁中秀才，十九岁中举人，官位二品，一世荣华富贵。”又指著问李福一生将怎样，神人说：“他是苦命人，一生功名无份。”说完两位神人就升天而去，天门关闭。李福醒来后很纳闷，将此梦告诉了父母朋友。
 
李福始终留心着贡庆有的境遇，在十七岁那年，贡庆有果真中了秀才，而李福这时已经不读书了，开始在家种地。贡庆有为人既刻薄又暴戾，可谓作恶多端，可他自中秀才后，仕途顺畅，后来真的官至二品，做官后更是贪赃枉法，残害百姓。
 
李福认为贡庆有这样一个恶人必得恶报，但贡庆有一直活到七十多岁，财势俱全，人丁兴旺，而且还预知了自己的死期。很多人以做恶后没立时遭报应，从而对因果报应之理产生疑惑。李福就是这样，他心中也颇为不平，想到阴间看个究竟。就在贡庆有去世的当天，李福也死了来到地府。
 
李福发现贡庆有在阴间居然还受到了礼遇，于是更加愤愤不平，随即将自己的疑惑诉于冥王，冥王命判官打开一簿子看，只见上面记录著贡庆有的生死善恶。冥王说：“他前世做了很多大善事，这世做恶将以前积的德损耗了不少，但还有很多，下一世还将享福，不过没这一世大了。至于他作恶的事，那是还没到要报应的时候。”并告诉李福，说李福前世因为没行善积德，所以这世本应该受苦，但因为这世一心行善积德了，所以衣食无缺，已经不错了，等到再转生就享福了。
 
冥王特意允许李福跟随贡庆有转生，只见贡庆有转生到了一富贵之家中，李福自己则转生到了一中等人家。贡庆有长大后当了县令，仍旧残害百姓，贪赃枉法，陷害良善，他曾酷刑迫供挖去了人的双眼，在另一案子中还剁去了人的双腿。七十岁时暴病而亡。
 
李福这一世依旧行善积德，而且开始努力修行，在贡庆有死后，他已经可以元神出窍去阴间一看究竟了。只见贡庆有在阴间受到了审判，簿子记录著贡庆有的福德已经全部享受殆尽，他在当官时挖人双目，剁人双脚这些事已经没有什么福德可以抵偿，必须以身还债，于是被罚转生到一贫苦人家，双目失明，双脚残废，整日在大街上乞讨，苦不堪言。
 
李福看见了贡庆有这三世果报，更加发奋的修行，希望自己可以早日超脱轮回之苦。
 
由此可见，人的荣华富贵来之不易，都是用辛辛苦苦积的德换来的，如果不知修身行善积德，作恶越大会损德越多，德损没了报应之时也就来临了。天理是绝对公正的，人做了恶怎么可能不偿还呢？俗话说：“善有善报，恶有恶报，不是不报，时候未到。”这可是真实不虚的。