CHAPTER 18
KAMMA
"All living beings have Kamma as their own."
-- MAJJHIMA NIKĀYA
Kamma
[1] is the law of
moral causation. Rebirth is its corollary. Both Kamma and Rebirth are
interrelated, fundamental doctrines in Buddhism.
These two doctrines were prevalent in India
before the advent of the Buddha. Nevertheless, it was the Buddha who
explained and formulated them in the completeness in which we have them
today.
What is the cause of the inequality that exists
amongst mankind?
How do we account for the unevenness in this
ill-balanced world?
Why should one be brought up in the lap of
luxury, endowed with excellent mental, moral, and physical qualities, and
another in absolute poverty, in abject misery? Why should one be born a
millionaire and another a pauper? Why should one be a mental prodigy and
another an idiot? Why should one be born with saintly characteristics and
another with criminal tendencies? Why should some be linguists, artists,
mathematicians, and musicians from the very cradle? Why should others be
congenitally blind, deaf, and deformed? Why should some be blessed and
others cursed from their birth?
Either there is a definite cause for this
inequality or there is not. If there is not, the inequality is purely
accidental.
No sensible person would think of attributing
this inequality to blind chance or pure accident.
In this world nothing happens to any person
that he does not for some reason or other deserve. Usually the actual
reason or reasons cannot be comprehended by men of ordinary intellect. The
definite invisible cause or causes of the visible effect may not
necessarily be confined to the present life, but could be traced to a
proximate or remote past birth. With the aid of telesthesia and
retrocognitive knowledge, may it not be possible for a highly developed
seer to perceive events which are ordinarily imperceptible to the physical
eye? Buddhists affirm such a possibility.
The majority of mankind attribute this
inequality to a single cause such as the will of a Creator. The Buddha
explicitly denies the existence of a Creator as an Almighty Being or as a
causeless cosmic force.
[2]
Now, how do modern scientists account for the
inequality of mankind?
Confining themselves purely to sense-data, they
attribute this inequality to chemico-physical causes, heredity, and
environment.
Julian Huxley, a distinguished biologist,
writes:
"Some genes control colour, others height or
weight, others fertility or length of life, others vigour and the reverse,
others shape or proportions. Possibly all, certainly the vast majority, of
hereditary characteristics are gene-controlled. For mental characters,
especially the more complex and subtle ones, the proof is more difficult,
but there is every evidence that they are inheritable, and no evidence
that their inheritance is due to a different mechanism from that for
bodily characters. That which is inherited in our personality and bodily
peculiarities depends somehow upon the interaction of this assorted
battery of genes with which we are equipped at fertilization.
[3]"
One must admit that all such chemico-physical
phenomena, revealed by scientists, are partly instrumental, -- but could
they be solely responsible for the subtle distinctions that exist amongst
individuals? Yet, why should identical twins who are physically alike,
inheriting like genes, enjoying the same privileges of upbringing, be
temperamentally, intellectually and morally totally different?
Heredity alone cannot account for these vast
differences. Strictly speaking, it accounts more plausibly for some of the
similarities than for most of the differences.
The infinitesimally minute chemico-physical
germ, which is supposed to be about 30 millionth part of an inch across,
inherited from parents, explains only a portion of man, his physical
foundation. With regard to the more complex and subtle mental,
intellectual, and moral differences we need more enlightenment. The theory
of heredity cannot satisfactorily account for the birth of a criminal in a
long line of honourable ancestors, for the birth of a Saint in a family of
evil repute, for the arising of infant prodigies, men of genius and great
spiritual teachers.
Dealing with this question of heredity, Dr. Th.
Pascal writes in his interesting book on 'Reincarnation' :
"To return to the role played by the germ in
the question of heredity we repeat that the physical germ, of itself
alone, explains only a portion of man; it throws light on the physical
side of heredity, but leaves in as great darkness as ever the problem of
moral and intellectual faculty. If it represented the whole man, one would
expect to find in any individual the qualities manifested in his
progenitors and parents -- never any other; these qualities could not
exceed the amount possessed by the parents, whereas we find criminals from
birth in the most respectable families, and saints born to parents who are
the very scum of society. You may come across identical twins, i.e.,
beings born from the same germ, under the same conditions of time and
environment, one of whom is an angel and the other a demon, though their
physical forms closely resemble each other. Child prodigies are
sufficiently numerous to trouble frequently the thinker with the problem
of heredity. In the lineage of these prodigies has there been found a
single ancestor capable of explaining these faculties, as
astonishing as they are premature? If, to the absence of a cause in
their progenitors is added the fact that genius is not hereditary,
that Mozarts, Beethovens and Dantes have left no children stamped from
birth as prodigies or genius, we shall be forced to the conclusion that,
within the limits it has taken up, materialism is unable to explain
heredity. Nor is heredity always realized; many a physical characteristic
is not reproduced, in families tainted with dangerous physiological
defects, many children escape the evil, and the diseased tendencies of the
tissues remain latent in them, although they often affect their
descendants. On the other hand extremely divergent mental types are often
met with in the same family,
[4] and many a
virtuous parent is torn with grief on seeing the vicious tendencies of the
child. So we find that heredity and environment either fail to fulfill
their promise or else give what was not theirs to give."
According to Buddhism this inequality is due
not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture",
[5] but also to the
operation of the law of Kamma or, in other words, to the result of our own
inherited past actions and our present doings. We ourselves are
responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own heaven. We
create our own hell. We are the architects of our own fate.
The Cause of Inequality
Perplexed by the seemingly inexplicable,
apparent disparity that exists amongst humanity, a young truth-seeker
named Subha approached the Buddha and questioned him regarding it.
"What is the reason, what is the cause, O Lord,
that we find amongst mankind the short-lived (appāyukā) and the
long-lived (dīghāyuka), the diseased (bavhābādhā) and the
healthy (appābādhā), the ugly (dubbannā) and the beautiful
(vannavantā), the powerless (appesakkā) and the powerful
(mahesakkā), the poor (appabhogā) and the rich (mahābhogā),
the low-born (nīcakulinā) and the high-born (uccakulinā),
the ignorant (duppaññā) and the wise (paññavantā)?
The Buddha's reply was:
"All living beings have actions (Kamma) as
their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their kinsman, their
refuge. It is Kamma that differentiates beings into low and high states.
[6]"
He then explained the causes of such
differences in accordance with the law of cause and effect.
If a person destroys life, is a hunter,
besmears his hand with blood, is engaged in killing and wounding, and is
not merciful towards living beings, he, as a result of his killing, when
born amongst mankind, will be short-lived.
If a person avoids killing, leaves aside cudgel
and weapon, and is merciful and compassionate towards all living beings,
he, as a result of his non-killing when born amongst mankind, will be
long-lived.
If a person is in the habit of harming others
with fist or clod, with cudgel or sword, he, as a result of his
harmfulness, when born amongst mankind, will suffer from various diseases.
If a person is not in the habit of harming
others, he, as a result of his harmlessness, when born amongst mankind,
will enjoy good health.
If a person is wrathful and turbulent, is
irritated by a trivial word, gives vent to anger, ill-will and resentment,
he, as a result of his irritability, when born amongst mankind, will
become ugly.
If a person is not wrathful and turbulent, is
not irritated even by a torrent of abuse, does not give vent to anger,
ill-will and resentment, he, as a result of his amiability, when born
amongst mankind, will become beautiful.
If a person is jealous, envies the gains of
others, marks of respect and honour shown to others, stores jealousy in
his heart, he, as a result of his jealousy, when born amongst mankind,
will be powerless.
If a person is not jealous, does not envy the
gains of others, marks of respect and honour shown to others, stores not
jealousy in his heart, he, as a result of his absence of jealousy, when
born amongst mankind, will be powerful.
If a person does not give anything for charity,
he, as a result of his greediness, when born amongst mankind, will be
poor.
If a person is bent on charitable giving, he,
as a result of his generosity, when born amongst mankind, will be rich.
If a person is stubborn, haughty, honours not
those who are worthy of honour, he, as a result of his arrogance and
irreverence, when born amongst mankind, will be of low-birth.
If a person is not stubborn, not
haughty, honours those who are worthy of honour, he, as a result of his
humility and deference, when born amongst mankind, will be of high-birth.
If a person does not approach the learned and
the virtuous and inquire what is good and what is evil, what is right and
what is wrong, what should be practised and what should not be practised,
what should be done and what should not be done, what conduces to one's
welfare and what to one's ruin, he, as a result of his
non-inquiring spirit, when born amongst mankind, will be ignorant.
If a person does approach the learned and the
virtuous and makes inquiries in the foregoing manner, he, as a result of
his inquiring spirit, when born amongst mankind, will be intelligent.
[7]
Certainly we are born with hereditary
characteristics. At the same time we possess certain innate abilities that
science cannot adequately account for. To our parents we are indebted for
the gross sperm and ovum that form the nucleus of this so-called being.
There they remain dormant until this potential germinal compound is
vitalized by the Kammic energy needed for the production of the foetus.
Kamma is therefore the indispensable conceptive cause of this being.
The accumulated Kammic tendencies inherited, in
the course of previous lives, at times play a far greater role than the
hereditary parental cells and genes in the formation of both physical and
mental characteristics.
The Buddha, for instance, inherited, like every
other person, the reproductive cells and genes from his parents. But
physically, morally, and intellectually there was none comparable to Him
in His long line of honourable ancestors. In the Buddha's own words, He
belonged not to the Royal lineage, but to that of the Ariyan Buddhas. He
was certainly a superman, an extraordinary creation of His own Kamma.
According to the Lakkhana Sutta
[8] the Buddha
inherited exceptional physical features such as the thirty-two major
marks, as the result of his past meritorious deeds. The ethical reason for
acquiring each physical feature is clearly explained in the discourse.
It is obvious from this unique case that Kammic
tendencies could not only influence our physical organism, but also
nullify the potentiality of the parental cells and genes -- hence the
significance of the Buddha's enigmatic statement: "We are the heirs of our
own actions."
Dealing with this problem of variation the
Atthasālini states:
"Depending on this difference in Kamma appears
the difference in the birth of beings, high and low, base and exalted,
happy and miserable. Depending on the difference in Kamma appears the
difference in the individual features of beings as beautiful and ugly,
high-born and low-born, well-built and deformed. Depending on the
difference in Kamma appears the difference in worldly conditions of beings
as gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, happiness and
misery".
"By Kamma the world moves, by Kamma men
Live; and by Kamma are all beings bound
As by its pin the rolling chariot wheel.
By Kamma one attains glory and praise.
By Kamma bondage, ruin, tyranny,
Knowing that Kamma bears fruit manifold,
Why say ye, 'In the world no Kamma is'.
[9]"
Thus, from a Buddhist standpoint, our present
mental, moral, intellectual, and temperamental differences are
preponderantly due to our own actions and tendencies, both past and
present.
Everything is not due to Kamma
Although Buddhism attributes this variation to
the law of Kamma, as the chief cause amongst a variety, it does not
however assert that everything is due to Kamma. The law of Kamma,
important as it is, is only one of the twenty-four causal conditions (paccaya),
described in Buddhist Philosophy.
[10]
Refuting the erroneous view that "Whatsoever
weal or woe or neutral feeling is experienced, is all due to some previous
action (pubbekatahetu)," the Buddha states:
"So, then, owing to previous action, men will
become murderers, thieves, unchaste, liars, slanderers, babblers,
covetous, malicious, and perverse in view. Thus for those who fall back on
the former deeds as the essential reason, there is neither the desire to
do, nor effort to do, nor necessity to do this deed or abstain from that
deed.
[11]
This important text contradicts the belief that
all physical circumstances and mental attitudes spring solely from past
Kamma. If the present life is totally conditioned or wholly controlled by
our past actions, then Kamma is certainly tantamount to fatalism or
pre-determination or pre-destination. One will not be free to mould one's
present and future. If this were true, freewill would be an absurdity.
Life would be purely mechanical, not much different from a machine.
Whether we are created by an Almighty God who controls our destinies and
fore-ordains our future, or are produced by an irresistible past Kamma
that completely determines our fate and controls our life's course,
independent of any free action on our part, is essentially the same. The
only difference then lies in the two words God and Kamma. One could easily
be substituted for the other, because the ultimate operation of both
forces would be identical.
Such a fatalistic doctrine is not the Buddhist
law of Kamma.
The Five Niyāmas
According to Buddhism there are five orders or
processes (Niyāmas)
[12] which
operate in the physical and mental realms.
They are:-
1. Utu Niyāma, physical inorganic
order; e.g., seasonal phenomena of winds and rains, the unerring order of
seasons, characteristic seasonal changes and events, causes of winds and
rains, nature of heat, etc. belong to this group.
2. Bīja Niyāma, order of germs
and seeds (physical organic order); e.g., rice produced from rice seed,
sugary taste from sugar-cane or honey, and peculiar characteristics of
certain fruits. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical
similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.
3. Kamma Niyāma, order of act and
result; e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good
and bad results.
As surely as water seeks its own level, so does
Kamma, given opportunity, produce its inevitable result, -- not in the
form of a reward or punishment but as an innate sequence. This sequence of
deed and effect is as natural and necessary as the way of the sun and the
moon, and is the retributive principle of Kamma.
Inherent in Kamma is also the continuative
principle.
Manifold experiences, personal characteristics,
accumulated knowledge, and so forth are all indelibly recorded in the
palimpsest-like mind. All these experiences and characters transmigrate
from life to life. Through lapse of time they may be forgotten as in the
case of our experiences of our childhood. infant prodigies and wonderful
children, who speak in different languages without receiving any
instruction, are note-worthy examples of the continuative principle of
Kamma.
4. Dhamma Niyāma, order of
the norm; e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the birth of a
Bodhisatta in his last birth. Gravitation and other similar laws of
nature, the reason for being good, etc. may be included in this group.
5. Citta Niyāma, order of mind or
psychic law; e.g., processes of consciousness, constituents of
consciousness, power of mind, including telepathy, telesthesia,
retro-cognition, premonition, clair-voyance, clair-audience,
thought-reading, and such other psychic phenomena, which are inexplicable
to modern science.
Every mental or physical phenomenon could be
explained by these all-embracing five orders or processes which are laws
in themselves. Kamma as such is only one of these five orders. Like all
other natural laws, they demand no lawgiver.
Of these five, the physical inorganic order,
the physical organic order and the order of the norm are more or less of
the mechanical type though they can be controlled to some extent by human
ingenuity and the power of mind. For example, fire normally burns, and
extreme cold freezes, but man has walked unscathed over fire and meditated
naked on Himalayan snows; horticulturists have worked marvels with flowers
and fruits; and Yogis have performed levitation. Psychic law is equally
mechanical, but Buddhist training aims at control of mind, which is
possible by right understanding and skilful volition. Kamma law operates
quite automatically and, when the Kamma is powerful, man cannot interfere
with its inexorable result though he may desire to do so; but here also
right understanding and skilful volition can accomplish much and mould the
future. Good Kamma, persisted in, can thwart the reaping of bad.
Kamma is certainly an intricate law whose
working is fully comprehended only by a Buddha. The Buddhist aims at the
final destruction of all Kamma.
Kamma-Vipaka
(fruit of action) is one of the four
unthinkables (acinteyya), states the Buddha in the Anguttara Nikāya.
[13]
[1]
Samskrit: Karma
[2] See chapter 23
[3] The Stream of
Life, p. 15.
[4] Of Shakespeare,
Col. lngersol writes: "Neither of his parents could read or write. He
grew up in a small and ignorant village."
[5] "Human
inequality springs from two sources, nature and nurture". J.B.S. Haldane,
The Inequality of Mankind." p. 23.
[6] Kammassakā
mānava sattā, Kammadāyādā, Kammayoni, Kamma-bandhu,
Kammapatisaranā, Kammam satte vibhajati yadīdam hinappanitatāyā’ti.
Majjhima Nikāya, Cullakammavibhanga Sutta, No.
135, Cf. Venerable Nāgasena's reply to the identical question put by King
Milinda.
See Warren, Buddhism in Translation -- p. 214.
[7] With respect to this similarity of action and
reaction the following note by Dr. Grimm will perhaps be of
interest to the readers: "It is not difficult in all these cases also to
show the law of affinity as the regulator of the grasping of a new germ
that occurs at death. Whosoever devoid of compassion, can kill men or,
animals, carries deep within himself the inclination to shorten life. He
finds satisfaction or even pleasure in the short-livedness of other
creatures. Short-lived germs have therefore some affinity which makes
itself known after his death in the grasping of another germ which then
takes place to his own detriment. Even so, germs bearing within
themselves the power of developing into a deformed body, have an affinity
for one who finds pleasure in ill-treating and disfiguring others.
"An angry person begets within himself an
affinity for ugly bodies and their respective germs, since it is the
characteristic mark of anger to disfigure the face. "Whoever is jealous,
niggardly, haughty, carries within himself the tendency to grudge
everything to others and to despise them . Accordingly germs that are
destined to develop in poor, outward circumstances, possess affinity for
him.
"It is, of course, only a consequence of the
above, that a change of sex may also ensue.
"Thus it is related in the Dīgha Nikāya
No. 21 that Gopikā, a daughter of the Sākya house, was reborn after her
death as Gopaka Devaputta, because the female mind has become repulsive to
her, and she had formed a male mind within herself." The Doctrine of
the Buddha. p. 191.
[8] Dīgha Nikāya,
iii, 142, No. 30.
[9] P. 65; The
Expositor, i. 87.
[10] See
Compendium of Philosophy, p. 191, Manual of Abhidhamma by
Nārada Thera.
[11] Anguttara
Nikāya -- i, 173; Gradual Sayings, i. 157.
[12] See
Abhidhammāvatāra, p. 54; Mrs. Rhys Davids, Buddhism, p. 119.
[13] See Gradual
Sayings, part 2, p. 90.
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