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III, 4, 4.
KARMA,
105
*Now what do you think, O king? Do not the females of lions and tigers and panthers and dogs eat hard bits of bone and flesh ?' “Yes, they eat such things.'
What then ? are such hard things, [68] when they have got into the stomach, into the interior of the abdomen, destroyed ?'
'Yes, they are destroyed ?'
"And the embryo that may be inside the same animals,-is that too destroyed ?'
Certainly not.' But why not?' 'I suppose, Sir, it escapes destruction by the influence of Karma.'
Just so, great king, it is by the influence of Karma that beings in purgatory, though they burn for thousands of years, are not destroyed.' 'Give me a further illustration.
Now what do you think, O king? Do not the tender women-wives of the Yonakas, and nobles, and brahmins, and householders-eat hard cakes and meat?'
Yes, they eat such hard things.' . And when those hard things have got into the stomach, into the interior of the abdomen, are not they destroyed ?'
Yes, they are.' . But the children in their womb, —are they destroyed ?'
Certainly not.' And why not?' 'I suppose, Sir, they escape destruction by the influence of Karma ?'
“Just so, great king, it is through the influence
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