The contents
1. Karma and the cycle of rebirths
(transmigration)
2. The different kinds
of karma and their significance
3. The Principle underlying Karma and its relation
to Cause and Effect
4. The Principle of Karmic Effects and its Revelations
Karma and the Cycle of Rebirths (Transmigration)
Karma is a Sanskrit term which carries the meaning of 'behaviour' in a person, 'activities' in society, 'operation' in the natural environment, or 'actions' and 'deeds' in general. It includes all forms of personal conduct, collective activities, and volitional impulses of the body and mind. In Buddhism, all deeds and conduct affected by our body, words and thoughts are known respectively as the karma of the body, mouth (speech) and mind.
Happiness, sorrow, fortune and misfortune experienced during one's lifetime are all determined by the karma of one's thoughts, words and deeds. The Karmic force produced by our volitional activities, be they good or evil, will drive us into committing further deeds, which in turn will generate new forces of karma. This 'deed - karmic force - deed' sequence forms the basis of a chained reaction cycle, whereby the karmic forces produced are stored in our Eighth Consciousness, also known as the Alaya Consciousness*. When the right conditions arise for these seeds of karma to bear fruit, the appropriate effects will result. Retribution caused by unbecoming karmic forces will render rebirth in the Three Evil Paths, while felicitous consequences as a result of good karma will bring about rebirth as devas (celestial beings) or humans. This can be compared to criminals who cannot refrain from undergoing their prison sentence once their guilt is established. Similarly, those who have done good cannot refuse the consequence of a good reputation for their meritorious deeds. With reference to karmic forces, there is such a saying :" However reluctant to be born, you are forced to be born; however reluctant to die, you are forced to die." Not only do the karmic forces generated by our deeds determine our birth into this world, they are also responsible for the timing of our death when the conditions for our karma to take effect have been exhausted in this particular life. In both instances, we are in no position to have any amount of control. The influence of karmic forces, therefore, spans through the lives of the past, present and future. This continuity through time of karmic forces also explains the cosmic law of 'cause and effect', which is fundamental to the cycle of rebirths, or transmigration. In Buddhism, therefore, it is advocated that any blessing or misfortune in life is directly a result of the karma we generate through our own deeds. Whatever 'cause' we have planted will 'effect' whatever fruit for us to bear. This idea of 'self-inflicted karma' is one of the most important aspects of Buddhist teaching.
Karma is generally classified into three categories: mental, verbal and physical. The will or intention to do something belongs to the mental aspect, or the karma of thought. When this is manifested or realised in words or actions, it becomes respectively the karma of the mouth or the body.
Any form of karma, be it mental, verbal or physical, can be good, bad or neutral in significance.
1. Good karma includes all deeds that comply with morality and are beneficial to other beings. Examples of these are acts of releasing animals from captivity; charitable donations with pure intentions; words of honesty; consolation and encouragement to others; contemplation on the impurities of the human body, compassion and the 'causes and conditions' of all phenomena etc..
2. Bad karma includes all deeds that benefit oneself at the expense of others, or are detrimental to oneself as well as others. Examples of these are acts of killing, theft and sexual misconduct; words of deceit, glibness, double-tongue and ill will; thoughts of greed, detestation and perversion etc..
3. Neutral karma includes all deeds which are neither good nor bad, such as involuntary acts etc..
Any kind of good or bad karma will necessarily induce becoming or unbecoming consequences respectively, as the karmic forces so generated will lead to the relevant karmic fruits. Neutral karma, however, will not generate any effective force for retribution and rewards.Karma can also be classified as Collective or Individual.
Collective karma:
Karmic forces which are collectively generated will induce environmental conditions which are shared by all those responsible. Examples of these are natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods etc., and the natural environment that exist around us, i.e. weather conditions, common landscape etc..
Within Collective karma, there is a further distinction between what is individually shared and collectively shared. For example, people who experience the same hurricane or rainstorm may not experience the same degree of discomfort or damage; or some people will die a fatal death in the same accident which others may survive.
Individual karma:
Karmic forces individually generated will induce consequences that are peculiar to the individuals concerned. The five sensual organs of each individual are therefore unique by birth, and each of us may feel and respond very differently to happenings around us.
Similarly, there is a further classification in collectively shared and individually shared individual karma. Different members of the same family usually feel the same sorrow and share the same joy over certain events. On the contrary, two strangers will not normally experience common feelings over the same event.Karma can be either Determinate or Indeterminate.
Both good karma and bad karma that entail a definite form of consequence at a determined time are called Determinate karma. Karma which leads to consequences yet to be determined, and only to be determined when the right conditions arise are called Indeterminate karma.An even finer distinction of karma with reference to its cause and effect can be identified as karma of :
1. Bad cause, bad effect.
2. Good cause, good effect.
3. A mix of both good and bad cause and effect..
4. No relative notions of good or bad - karma which is free from defilements, or totally liberated, and hence not conducive to becoming or unbecoming consequences.
A common problem with the conviction of the principle of 'cause and effect' is that people who have committed evil are often witnessed to enjoy a life of wealth and ease, while those who do good suffer the misfortunes of poverty and miserable deaths. Such phenomena appear to contradict with the explanation of cause and effect under the influence of karmic forces.
Consideration of the timing for effects of karma to materialise can help explain this. Three kinds of karma can be distinguished with reference to the 'timing' factor:
1. Karma caused during the present life, and which gives rise to effects in the present life.
2. Karma caused during the present life, but which gives rise to effects in the next life.
3. Karma caused during the present life, but which gives rise to effects in any future life beyond the next.This can be compared to plants which flower annually, biennially or perennially. There are two reasons for the occurrence of effects at different times:
1. The inherent nature of the different causes may render the sooner or later maturation of effects.
2. The conditions necessary for the causes to bear fruit may be different, thus affecting the relative strength of force for effects to occur. A stronger force resulting from more suitable conditions will bring about an earlier occurrence of the effect, while a weaker force will probably delay its occurrence.
This is analogous to a seed planted in conditions of abundant water and sunshine which flowers sooner than one which is planted in a dry and shady corner.
It follows, therefore, that people who do good in the present life but suffer from misfortunes are actually reaping the fruits of bad karma in past lives that happen to take effect under the right conditions in this life. Such misfortunes are therefore totally unrelated to the good deeds they are doing now.
Those who have done good during this life but whose 'causes and conditions' are weak will have to wait till the next or subsequent lives before the good effects can be realised.
This principle can similarly be applied to explain why those who do bad are witnessed to be enjoying good fortune.From the above, two important aspects of karma are revealed:
1. 'Causes and effects' cannot be dissolved. Once 'causes' have been initiated, they will be stored in the Eighth Consciousness awaiting the right conditions to arise, when they will then take their 'effects'.
2. Good and bad karma cannot eliminate one another. Bad 'causes' which have been created will certainly lead to retribution. They cannot be eliminated or redeemed by other good deeds.The fruition of the effects of karma is dependent upon the following three factors :
1. The more serious the influence of the deed committed and hence the stronger the force, the sooner will the effects occur.
2. The more habitual the practice of the deeds, the more likely will the effects be sooner realised. An example of this is the Amitabha chanting method as advocated by the Pure Land Sect, which purports that regular chanting of the name of Amitabha Buddha (which makes us mindful of the Pure Land), will help to enable rebirth in the Pure Land.
3. Thoughts we are most mindful of will determine our inclinations. A man standing aimlessly at the junction of crossroads may suddenly remember his friend in Western Avenue and thus head west. Similarly, a person at the deathbed will experience karmic effects in accordance with the thoughts he is mindful of at that moment, and these will affect his disposition in the life to follow.
The Buddha had taught that all phenomena are impermanent. Yet, karmic forces can extend through the past, present and into the future. Two analogies cited from the Sutras may help us to better understand this. The Buddha had compared karma to 'seeds' and 'habits'.
1. Like a seed that has gone through the process of sprouting, growing, flowering and bearing fruits, the final remains of a dead plant will be another lot of seeds. Each one of these seeds will develop into a new plant and produce new fruits when suitable conditions for them to grow arise. This is similar to karmic forces inducing different effects which will generate new karmic forces.
2. When a bottle has been consistently used for holding perfume, the fragrance in the bottle will remain even after the perfume has been used up. This helps to explain the 'habitual' aspect of karma, which will generate forces through time to produce the various effects.From the explanations above, three principles can be derived:
1. Karmic forces will not dissipate, and will continue to exist through time.
2. Such a cause will induce such an effect.
3. Self-inflicted karma will affect consequences for the self to bear.It is because of karma that sentient beings are forever transmigrating in the currents of life and death. Karma is like a string which threads the beads together so that they would not be scattered and lost. Karma is the link which holds us in the constant cycle of rebirths within The Six Paths. Although our physical bodies may come and go, life in its true sense will be deathless. Like a cup of tea which is spilt on the floor, the cup will be broken into pieces without hope of being resumed to its previous form. But the tea will be absorbed into the ground, the carpet or the mop which soaks it up. The tea will not have lessened in quantity.
The body is like the cup, and the karma is like the tea which will not be lost. Whether the karma we generate is good or bad, its effect will have to be borne by ourselves. What we have to live through is not at the will or command of the gods or the demons.Certain conclusions can be derived from the above:
1. Karmic forces are self-induced. They are not imposed on us extraneously by the gods, nor can they be counteracted by supernatural powers. Of all the worldly forces, that of karma overrides all others. We have to reap the effects caused by the deeds we have committed.
2. Under the defined law of karmic effects, chances for retribution and rewards are equal for all. The fact that rewards go with good karma and retribution go with bad karma applies to all, regardless of rank and status.
3. With the understanding of karma, we can be sure that the future is bright and hopeful. Just like our savings in the bank, we know that however much good karma we have stored up will one day be exhausted if we do not continue to do good. Similarly, like a debtor who has repaid his loan and is cleared of debt, retribution generated by past bad deeds will eventually be totally absorbed if we turn around to do good right now. The future lies in our own hands, and it can be a happy and glorious one.
4. With the good or bad karma we have caused, the respective consequences will definitely be effected. The law of cause and effect pervades. There is a saying :"Your can know your past by what you are going through at present; you can know your future by what you are doing now." With this understanding, we know we can mould our own future. We will never again blame external forces for our afflictions, but will only strive to change for the better by being good.A further revelation is that the round of rebirths in the different Paths means that all sentient beings may have been closely related to one another in one life or another. This should inspire us with equal compassion for all. With this understanding of karma and its relationship with 'cause and effect', we are not only looking at the present, but also the future, which is totally within our own grasp.
* The first five kinds of consciousness are those of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. The sixth is the mental sense or intellect; the seventh is the discriminating sense, considered to be the cause of all egoism. The eighth is the Alaya consciousness which is considered the store-house or basis from which all 'seeds' of consciousness arise.