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Karma (Sanskrit: कर्मन karman, Pāli: कमा Kamma) means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma.

In Buddhism, the term karma is used specifically for those actions which spring from :

which bring about a fruit (Pali, phala) or result (vipāka), either within the present life, or in the context of a future rebirth. Karma is the engine which drives the wheel of the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth (saṃsāra) for each being.

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Karma in Buddhism

In the (Anguttara Nikaya Nibbedhika Sutta) the Buddha said :

"Intention (cetana), monks, is karma, I say. Having willed, one acts through body, speech and mind".

Every time a person acts there is some quality of intention at the base of the mind and it is that quality rather than the outward appearance of the action that determines the effect. If a person professes piety and virtue but nonetheless acts with greed, anger or hatred (veiled behind an outward display of well-meaning intent) then the fruit of those actions will bear testimony to the fundamental intention that lay behind them and will be a cause for future unhappiness. The Buddha spoke of wholesome actions (kusala-kamma)—that result in happiness, and unwholesome actions (akusala-kamma)—that result in unhappiness.

There is a further distinction between worldly, wholesome karma that leads to samsāric happiness (like birth in higher realms), and path-consciousness which leads to enlightenment and nirvana. Therefore, there is samsāric good karma, which leads to worldly happiness, and there is liberating karma—which is supremely good, as it ends suffering forever. Once one has attained liberation one does not generate any further kamma, and the corresponding states of mind are called in Pali Kiriya. Nonetheless, the Buddha advocated the practice of wholesome actions: "Refrain from unwholesome actions/Perform only wholesome ones/Purify the mind/This is the teaching of the Enlightened Ones." Dhp v.183.

In Buddhism, the term karma is often used to refer only to samsāric karma, as indicated by the twelve nidanas of dependent origination.

Because of the inevitability of consequence, karma entails the notion of Buddhist rebirth. However, karma is not the sole basis of rebirth. The rebirths of eighth stage (and above) Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition refers to those liberated beings who consciously choose to be reborn in a future life in order to help others still trapped in saṃsāra. However, this is not 'uncontrolled' rebirth.

The Buddha explains what having conviction in karma means:

  • First, karma really is happening—it is not merely an illusion.
  • Second, you really are responsible for your actions. There is no outside force, like the stars or some good or evil being, acting through you. When you are conscious, you are the one who decides what happens.
  • Third, your actions have results—you are not just writing on the water—and those results can be good or bad depending on the quality of the intention behind the act.

Karma family

The dhyani Buddhas, also called Five Wisdom Buddhas , are built on five Buddha families (Kullas, Buddhakula. One of them is named the Karma family presided by Buddha Amoghasiddhi/Amogasiddha. The symbol/emblem of that family is the double vajra 1. 2.

Incorrect understandings of karma

In Buddhism, karma is not pre-determinism, fatalism or accidentalism, as all these ideas lead to inaction and destroy motivation and human effort. These ideas undermine the important concept that a human being can change for the better no matter what his or her past was, and they are designated as "wrong views" in Buddhism.

  1. Pubbekatahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering, including all future happiness and suffering, arise from previous karma, and human beings can exercise no volition to affect future results (Past-action determinism).
  2. Issaranimmanahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are caused by the directives of a Supreme Being (Theistic determinism).
  3. Ahetu-apaccayavada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are random, having no cause (Indeterminism or Accidentalism).3

Karma is continually ripening, but it is also continually being generated by present actions, therefore it is possible to exercise free will to shape future karma.

As the Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedika-sutra) states:

The happiness and suffering of all beings,
are due to karma, the Sage taught;
Karma arises from diverse acts,
which in turn create the diverse classes of beings4

P.A. Payutto writes, "the Buddha asserts effort and motivation as the crucial factors in deciding the ethical value of these various teachings on kamma."

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Symbolism of the five Dhyani Buddhas
  3. ^ Misunderstandings of the Law of Kamma P. A. Payutto
  4. ^ Mind Training, By Gźon-nu-rgyal-mchog, Thupten Jinpa, Dkon-mchog-rgyal-mtshan. Wisdom Publications, 2005. ISBN: 0861714407[2]

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