The Law of Karma and Its Effects

These beings who engaged in misconduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell; but these beings who engaged in good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right view, and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. (The Book of Causation, Samyutta Nikaya)

Karma is intentional action. Such actions leave latencies [states of existing but not yet being developed or manifest] on our mindstream that influence what we will experience in the future.

Karma has four general aspects. Relate each of these to events in your life:

1. Karma is definite. Happiness always comes from constructive actions and pain from destructive ones. Therefore, it is to our advantage to create the former and abandon the latter.

2. Karma is expandable. A small cause can lead to a large result. Thus we should take care to abandon even small negativities, and to do even small constructive actions.

3. If the cause hasn’t been created, the result won’t be experienced. If we don’t act destructively, we will not experience hardships and obstacles; if we don’t create the cause for realizations of the path, we will not gain them.

4. Karmic latencies do not get lost; we will experience their results. However, negative latencies can be purified by the four opponent powers and positive latencies can be impaired by our getting angry or generating distorted views.

Conclusion: Determine to observe your motivations and actions so you create the causes of happiness and avoid the causes of suffering.

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The Results of Karma

It is, monastics, as with seeds that are undamaged, not rotten, unspoiled by wind and sun, capable of sprouting and well embedded in a good field, sown in well-prepared soil: if there is plenty of rain, these seeds will grow, shoot up, and develop abundantly. Similarly, monastics, whatever action is done out of attachment, hatred, or confusion will ripen wherever the individual is reborn; and wherever the action ripens, there the individual experiences the fruit, be it in this life, or the next life, or in subsequent future lives. (Buddha, “Causes of Action,” Anguttara Nikaya)

Each complete action—that is, one with (1) preparation, (2) actual action, and (3) completion—brings three results.

Contemplating the relationship between specific actions and their effects helps us to understand (1) the causes of our present experiences and (2) the future results of our present actions.

This, in turn, enables us to take responsibility for our happiness by (1) avoiding destructive actions, (2) purifying those already done, and (3) acting constructively.

For each of the ten virtues and non-virtues, contemplate their:

1. Ripening result. In general, this refers to the body and mind we take in our future lives. All destructive actions result in unfortunate rebirths. All constructive actions result in happy rebirths.

2. Result corresponding to the cause:

• In terms of our experience. We experience things similar to what we have caused others to experience. For example, if we criticize others, we will receive unfair criticism.

• In terms of our actions. Each action causes us to form habitual behavior patterns. For example, frequent lying develops in us the habit of lying.

3. Environmental result. We live in a pleasant or unpleasant place. For example, divisive, disharmonious speech brings rebirth in an inhospitable environment with severe storms.

Conclusion: Not wanting to experience the painful or unpleasant results of your harmful deeds, resolve to purify them through applying the four opponent powers.

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Source: Based on Chodron, Thubten. Guided Buddhist Meditations (pp. 87-88). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.

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