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Briefly, when viewed from their nature, karma or actions can be classified into two types: intentional and operational. Intentional karma is the mental factor that motivates or creates the impulse to act. When one engages in an action either verbal or physical, it is an operational karma. Hence, intentional karma precedes the operational karma. In terms of effects, there are three types, meritorious, non-meritorious and neutral karma. The meritorious karma impels one into happy rebirths in the three higher realms while non-meritorious karma impels one into three lower realms. Neutral karma impels one to the upper realms of both form and formless. In terms of how the effects are experienced, karma can be divided into those resulting in effects experienced in this very life, those experienced in the next life and those experienced in any future life beyond the next. The law of karma or cause and effect can be understood generally with four key points: i. How karma is fixed;
According to the Transmission of the Vinaya, whatever karma is created, there will be a corresponding result. It simply means that virtuous karma will result in happiness while non-virtuous deeds will result in suffering. Karma is fixed in this aspect. One cannot obtain happiness from non-virtuous deeds. This is an important point. If one is sick, there are occasions that one may not get well despite having many rituals performed. This is so because the sickness is a result of some previous negative karma while rituals conducted with good intentions like compassion, etc, are causes for happiness in a future time. An example given is that when one grown a chili plant, he cannot make the chili sweet by planting peach or grape trees around this chili plant. Each tree will bear fruits according to their nature. ii. A karma can produce great results - its increase is also something which is definite.
Once when the Buddha was in city of Nyagrodhika, a woman gave him alms of sweetmeats made of sesame out of pure motivation. The Buddha then predicted that she will be reborn as a Buddha called Susvasti in a future life. The woman’s husband could not believe that such a small action would have such a great result. The Buddha then gave the analogy of the seed of a pipal tree, which is the size of a mustard seed. Yet from this small seed, grows a tree so huge that its shadow falls over five hundred chariots that are placed with gaps among them. Similarly from trivial misdeeds, one could also experience extreme sufferings. There was a story of a monk who used to tell people off with remarks such as, ‘Your voice is like a dog’s bark,’ or ‘like a frog’s croak’ or ‘like a monkey’s chatter’. That monk had to take 500 corresponding rebirths for each insult. If we reflect on how karma is fixed in terms of its effects and causes and its increasing nature, we should cultivate even the smallest virtue and abandon even the smallest negativity. iii. One will not experience a result for which one has not planted the cause for its arising;
At the time of the Buddha, there was a group of arya bhikshunis (fully ordained nuns) who were living in a hermitage together with an ordinary woman who was their cook. One day, a Brahmin set their huts on fire, and the arya bhikshunis, who could fly, tried to escape with their powers. However, the force of their karma was so great that they were pulled back into the fire. At that moment, the most spiritually advance of the group, Shyamavati, saw that in one of their past lives, the group as children, had set fire to a Pratyekabuddha’s hut. The only person in the group who opposed this deed then was the cook. Hence, all the bhikshunis perished except the cook who escaped via a ditch full of water. Other examples would be people who escape death despite being involved in major accidents which killed many other people. These are the people who have not planted the cause that would result in their perishing under such circumstances. iv. Once created karma will not disappear on its own
This simply means that karma will not wane or disappear even after hundreds of eons. It will ripen sooner or later. Venerable Maudgalyayana who was Buddha’s most powerful disciple in terms of miraculous powers was not able to avoid being beaten into a pulp by some priests. He was unable to use his miraculous powers as he was overpowered by his karma for saying something insulting to his own mother in a previous life. Another account was that Maugalyayana had killed his blind parent/s in a previous life by bringing them to a jungle clearing and making noises as if there were bandits before killing them, hence he couldn’t escape being killed the same way, though already an Arhant. Nagarjuna, who had gained knowledge of immortality through wisdom of emptiness died by losing his head as a result of a past karma of slicing an ant’s head while cutting grass in a previous life. Since it is impossible for karma to become non-existent, one must modify one’s action even on the subtlest level.
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