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Contents
Introduction
I. Non-Buddhist Theories
II. Skillfulness
III. Kamma
A. Kamma & Causes
B. Results
C. Diversity & Cessation
1. Black Kamma, White Kamma
2. Kamma Neither Black nor White
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Introduction
The doctrine of kamma (karma -- action) is one of the Buddha's central teachings.
There is a modern myth that he simply picked up his ideas on kamma from the
worldview prevalent in his day, and that they aren't really integral to his
message. Nothing could be further from the truth. Early Buddhists often cited
the Buddha's teaching on kamma as one of the prime teachings that set him apart
from his contemporaries, and a study of his teachings on kamma will show that
they underlie everything else he taught.
The following readings from the Pali Canon are designed to give an overview of the Buddha's teachings on kamma. Before tackling them, you might want to read a few introductory articles on the topic, including the following ones available on Access to Insight: "Karma," "A Refuge in Skillful Action" (contained in the book, Refuge), and "Samsara Divided by Zero."
The readings here are divided into three main sections:
I. Non-Buddhist theories
II. Skillfulness
III. Kamma
The first section provides background for the Buddhist teachings on kamma by
showing how the early Buddhists viewed the way other contemporary schools of
thought explained kamma.
The second section focuses on the Buddha's basic observation that underlay his teachings on kamma: that it is possible to develop a skill. This simple fact carries a number of important implications for any teaching on action. (1) Actions give results, and their results follow a discernible pattern. Otherwise, it would not be possible to develop a skill. (2) Some results are more desirable than others. Otherwise, there would be no point in developing a skill. (3) By observing one's mistakes one may learn from them and use that knowledge to act more skillfully in the future. This means that the mind is a crucial agent in determining actions and their results, and there is an opening for feedback to influence the process of action. It is thus a non-linear process, and there is room for free will. (4) Results can be observed while one is acting, as well as after the action is done. This means that actions have both immediate results and long-term results, a fact that makes the non-linear process very complex.
The passages in the second section discuss how these observations apply in practice. §5 discusses how the Buddha applied the principle of skillfulness to reach Awakening. §7 shows how to use it to decide what teachings are valid. §8 discusses how to apply it to all of one's actions. The remaining passages are self-explanatory.
The third section, on kamma, consists of passages that build a larger theory of action based on these observations. These passages are divided into three sub-sections, based on a classification given in §14:
A. Kamma & Causes
B. Results
C. Diversity & Cessation
Sub-section A is the most theoretical part of this study guide. It covers the
Buddha's basic theory of causation (§15) and treats the place of intention
-- the factor that the Buddha identified as the essence of kamma -- in the context
of the Buddha's analysis of physical and mental phenomena (name-&-form).
In the light of the Buddha's observation in §5 that views influence kamma
(views come under attention in the analysis of "name"), this sub-section
concludes with two levels of right view: mundane right view, which informs the
sort of good kamma that brings about happy results within the process of death
and rebirth; and transcendent right view, which informs the sort of kamma that
brings freedom from that process.
Sub-section B focuses on the issue of how long it takes for the results of kamma to appear, and gives particular attention to some of the complexities that arise from the fact that kamma is non-linear. Sometimes the results of an action don't appear immediately, or even in the immediate next life. §27 discusses the role that the mind plays in determining how the results of kamma are experienced, and §28 treats the intelligent way to use the Buddha's teachings on kamma when reflecting on one's own past bad kamma so as to train oneself in the proper frame of mind.
Sub-section C is divided into two further sub-sections, based on a classification in §29:
1. Black Kamma, White Kamma
2. Kamma Neither Black nor White
The first of these two sub-sections discusses types of actions and mental qualities
that lead to good or bad results within the process of rebirth and death. In
some passages the emphasis is on results in the present life; in others, on
results in future lives. The second of these two sub-sections discusses the
type of kamma -- and the right views underlying that kamma -- leading to freedom:
the cessation of kamma, the realization of nibbana. The concluding passages
make the point that transcendent right view contains the seeds for its own transcendence:
once it has done its duty in cutting away other attachments, it creates the
momentum so that the mind can then abandon attachment to views of any sort,
right or wrong, mundane or transcendent. That is how true freedom is gained.
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I. Non-Buddhist Theories
§ 1.
"Monks, there are these three sectarian guilds that -- when cross-examined,
pressed for reasons, & rebuked by wise people -- even though they may explain
otherwise, remain stuck in [a doctrine of] inactivity. Which three?
"There are priests & contemplatives who hold this teaching, hold this
view: 'Whatever a person experiences -- pleasant, painful, or neither pleasant
nor painful -- that is all caused by what was done in the past.' There are priests
& contemplatives who hold this teaching, hold this view: 'Whatever a person
experiences -- pleasant, painful, or neither pleasant nor painful -- that is
all caused by a supreme being's act of creation.' There are priests & contemplatives
who hold this teaching, hold this view: 'Whatever a person experiences -- pleasant,
painful, or neither pleasant nor painful -- that is all without cause &
without condition.'
"Having approached the priests & contemplatives who hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all caused by what was done in the past,' I said to them: 'Is it true that you hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all caused by what was done in the past?' Thus asked by me, they admitted, 'Yes.' Then I said to them, 'Then in that case, a person is a killer of living beings because of what was done in the past. A person is a thief ... unchaste ... a liar ... a divisive speaker ... an abusive speaker ... an idle chatterer ... covetous ... malevolent ... a holder of wrong views because of what was done in the past.' When one falls back on what was done in the past as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered & unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a contemplative....
"Having approached the priests & contemplatives who hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all caused by a supreme being's act of creation,' I said to them: 'Is it true that you hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all caused by a supreme being's act of creation?' Thus asked by me, they admitted, 'Yes.' Then I said to them, 'Then in that case, a person is a killer of living beings ... a holder of wrong views because of a supreme being's act of creation.' When one falls back on a supreme being's act of creation as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered & unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a contemplative....
"Having approached the priests & contemplatives who hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all without cause, without condition,' I said to them: 'Is it true that you hold that ... whatever a person experiences ... is all without cause, without condition?' Thus asked by me, they admitted, 'Yes.' Then I said to them, 'Then in that case, a person is a killer of living beings without cause, without condition. A person is a thief ... unchaste ... a liar ... a divisive speaker ... an abusive speaker ... an idle chatterer ... covetous ... malevolent... a holder of wrong views without cause, without condition.' When one falls back on lack of cause and lack of condition as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered & unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a contemplative."
[AN III.62]
§ 2.
King Ajatasattu: "Purana Kassapa said to me, 'Great king, in acting or
getting others to act, in mutilating or getting others to mutilate, in torturing
or getting others to torture, in inflicting sorrow or in getting others to inflict
sorrow, in tormenting or getting others to torment, in intimidating or getting
others to intimidate, in taking life, taking what is not given, breaking into
houses, plundering wealth, committing burglary, ambushing highways, committing
adultery, speaking lies -- one does no evil. If with a razor-edged disk one
were to turn all the living beings on this earth to a single heap of flesh,
a single pile of flesh, there would be no evil from that cause, no coming of
evil. Even if one were to go along the right bank of the Ganges, killing and
getting others to kill, mutilating and getting others to mutilate, torturing
and getting others to torture, there would be no evil from that cause, no coming
of evil. Even if one were to go along the left bank of the Ganges, killing and
getting others to kill, mutilating and getting others to mutilate, torturing
and getting others to torture, there would be no evil from that cause, no coming
of evil. Through generosity, self-control, restraint, and truthful speech there
is no merit from that cause, no coming of merit' ....
"Ajita Kesakambala said to me, 'Great king, there is nothing given, nothing
offered, nothing sacrificed. There is no fruit or result of good or bad actions.
There is no this world, no next world, no mother, no father, no spontaneously
reborn beings; no priests or contemplatives who, faring rightly and practicing
rightly, proclaim this world and the next after having directly known and realized
it for themselves. A person is a composite of four primary elements. At death,
the earth (in the body) returns to and merges with the (external) earth-substance.
The fire returns to and merges with the external fire-substance. The liquid
returns to and merges with the external liquid-substance. The wind returns to
and merges with the external wind-substance. The sense-faculties scatter into
space. Four men, with the bier as the fifth, carry the corpse. Its eulogies
are sounded only as far as the charnel ground. The bones turn pigeon-colored.
The offerings end in ashes. Generosity is taught by idiots. The words of those
who speak of existence after death are false, empty chatter. With the break-up
of the body, the wise and the foolish alike are annihilated, destroyed. They
do not exist after death' ....
"Pakudha Kaccayana said to me, 'Great king, there are these seven substances -- unmade, irreducible, uncreated, without a creator, barren, stable as a mountain-peak, standing firm like a pillar -- that do not alter, do not change, do not interfere with one another, are incapable of causing one another pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain. Which seven? The earth-substance, the liquid-substance, the fire-substance, the wind-substance, pleasure, pain, and the soul as the seventh. These are the seven substances.... And among them there is no killer nor one who causes killing, no hearer nor one who causes hearing, no cognizer nor one who causes cognition. When one cuts off [another person's] head, there is no one taking anyone's life. It is simply between the seven substances that the sword passes.'"
[DN 2]
§ 3.
"There are, monks, some contemplatives & priests who, being asked questions
regarding this or that, resort to verbal contortions, to eel-like wriggling,
on four grounds....There is the case of a certain priest or contemplative who
does not discern as it actually is that 'This is skillful,' or that 'This is
unskillful.' The thought occurs to him: 'I don't discern as it actually is that
"This is skillful," or that "This is unskillful." If I...were
to declare that "This is skillful," or that "This is unskillful,"
desire, passion, aversion, or irritation would occur to me; that would be a
falsehood for me. Whatever would be a falsehood for me would be a distress for
me. Whatever would be a distress for me would be an obstacle for me.' So, out
of fear of falsehood, a loathing for falsehood, he does not declare that 'This
is skillful,' or that 'This is unskillful.' Being asked questions regarding
this or that, he resorts to verbal contortions, to eel-like wriggling: 'I don't
think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think
not. I don't think not not.'
(The second case is virtually identical with the first, substituting 'clinging'
for 'falsehood.')
"There is the case of a certain priest or contemplative who does not discern as it actually is that 'This is skillful,' or that 'This is unskillful'....'If I, not discerning as it actually is that "This is skillful," or that "This is unskillful," were to declare that "This is skillful," or that "This is unskillful" -- There are priests and contemplatives who are pundits, subtle, skilled in debate, who prowl about like hair-splitting marksmen, as it were, shooting philosophical positions to pieces with their dialectic. They might cross-question me, press me for reasons, rebuke me. I might not be able to stand my ground, that would be a distress for me...an obstacle for me.' So, out of a fear for questioning, a loathing for questioning...he resorts to verbal contortions, to eel-like wriggling....
"There is the case of a certain priest or contemplative who is dull & exceedingly stupid. Out of dullness & exceeding stupidity, he -- being asked questions regarding this or that -- resorts to verbal contortions, to eel-like wriggling: 'If you ask me if there exists another world [after death], if I thought that there exists another world, would I declare that to you? I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think not. I don't think not not. If you asked me if there isn't another world...both is & isn't...neither is nor isn't...if there are beings who transmigrate...if there aren't...both are & aren't... neither are nor aren't...if the Tathagata exists after death... doesn't...both...neither...I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think not. I don't think not not.'"
[DN 1]
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II. Skillfulness
§ 4.
"Abandon what is unskillful, monks. It's possible to abandon what is unskillful.
If it were not possible to abandon what is unskillful, I would not say to you,
'Abandon what is unskillful.' But because it is possible to abandon what is
unskillful, I say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.' If this abandoning of
what is unskillful were conducive to harm & suffering, I would not say to
you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.' But because this abandoning of what is unskillful
is conducive to benefit & happiness, I say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.'
"Develop what is skillful, monks. It's possible to develop what is skillful.
If it were not possible to develop what is skillful, I would not say to you,
'Develop what is skillful.' But because it is possible to develop what is skillful,
I say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.' If this development of what is skillful
were conducive to harm & suffering, I would not say to you, 'Develop what
is skillful.' But because this development of what is skillful is conducive
to benefit & happiness, I say to you, 'Develop what is skillful.'"
[AN II.19]
§ 5.
"Before my self-awakening, when I was still just an unawakened Bodhisatta,
the thought occurred to me: 'Why don't I keep dividing my thinking into two
classes?' So I made thinking imbued with sensuality, thinking imbued with malevolence,
& thinking imbued with harmfulness one class, and thinking imbued with renunciation,
thinking imbued with non-malevolence, & thinking imbued with harmlessness
another class.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued
with sensuality arose. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with sensuality has
arisen in me; and that leads to my own affliction or to the affliction of others
or to the affliction of both. It obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, &
does not lead to Unbinding.'
"As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others...to the affliction of both...it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with sensuality had arisen, I simply abandoned it, destroyed it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence. (Similarly with thinking imbued with malevolence & harmfulness.)
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with sensuality, abandoning thinking imbued with renunciation, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with sensuality. (Similarly with thinking imbued with malevolence & harmfulness.)
"Just as in the last month of the Rains, in the autumn season when the crops are ripening, a cowherd would look after his cows: He would tap & poke & check & curb them with a stick on this side & that. Why is that? Because he foresees flogging or imprisonment or a fine or public censure arising from that [if he let his cows wander into the crops]. In the same way I foresaw in unskillful qualities drawbacks, degradation, & defilement, and I foresaw in skillful qualities rewards related to renunciation & promoting cleansing.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with renunciation arose. I discerned that 'Thinking imbued with renunciation has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night...even for a day...even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.' So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed. (Similarly with thinking imbued with non-malevolence & harmlessness.)
"Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking & pondering, that becomes the inclination of his awareness. If a monk keeps pursuing thinking imbued with renunciation, abandoning thinking imbued with sensuality, his mind is bent by that thinking imbued with renunciation. (Similarly with thinking imbued with non-malevolence & harmlessness.)
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