 Zongmi argues that Buddhists can resolve both dilemmas. Regarding the problem of evil, Zongmi appeals to the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation to explain how the distribution of rewards and punishments in the universe is ultimately just. According to this doctrine, the distribution of rewards and punishments is determined not only by one’s actions in one’s current life but also by one’s actions in previous lives. So the flourishing of the vicious, and the suffering of the virtuous, is attributable to karma from their past lives. 