Kamma and Vipāka- That Which is Life Itself

One of the most discussed concepts within the belief system of Buddhism is that of Kamma (or Karma in Sanskrit), it is also one of the most misunderstood. Most people think of Kamma (I will use the Pali spelling of the concept, as that is where my focus lies) as the consequence of one's actions, but this is a misleading and reductionist view of the process of act and consequence within Buddhism. This process of Kamma, the act, and Vipāka, the consequence, is a vital quality of the Dhamma, which should be understood for anyone who is serious about the Buddha's teachings. This process is actually quite complex in regards to its mechanics and is not simply Kamma waiting to punish people who have done wrong. In fact, a view of Kamma as some contraption of  comeuppance is a wrong view, often times with qualities of revenge, and it itself is an act of unwholesome Kamma. To fully understand the process of Kamma and Vipāka, the process that actualizes our very being within existence, would take years, dare I say decades, of study and meditation. However, by grasping a few important characteristics of this process, one can understand that Kamma itself is not the consequence of action and have a clearer notion of what is happening within this paramount and intricate quality of the Dhamma.

Kamma itself is the act. It is reaction. It is what is wholesome or unwholesome. Kamma is actions of thought, speech, and body, these actions are reactions to the environment, either physical or mental, and are not consequences of acts in themselves. Within the framework of the Buddha's teachings, one has the freedom to choose their actions, this is Kamma. No matter what assails us, we have the freedom to either act wholesomely or unwholesomely. At the most intimate level with one's self, nothing can influence that decision, we have control of our reaction to the environment. This freedom is an extraordinary difficult task to achieve, yet there it is, freedom to choose our actions. This Kamma, or action, is based upon intention, what we intend to do when we act. In the Upali Sutta, the Buddha discusses the difference between an act that produces unsatisfactory results without intention and an act that produces the same unsatisfactory results with intention: 

“What do you think, householder? Here some Nigantha might be restrained with four checks - curbed by all curbs, clamped by all curbs, cleansed by all curbs, and claimed by all curbs - and yet when going forward and returning he brings about the destruction of many small living beings. What result does the Nigantha Nataputta describe for him?”

“Venerable sir, the Nigantha Nataputta does not describe what is not willed as greatly reprehensible.” 

“But if one wills it, householder?” 

“Then it is greatly reprehensible, venerable sir.”

This passage is discussing a situation where someone would kill a beetle while walking without intending to kill that beetle compared to the same man killing the beetle with intention. The Buddha stresses that the act where the beetle is killed intentionally is more reprehensible. The intention of the act is what produces Kamma, one could say that Kamma is the intention of an act, or simply, Kamma is intention. These intentions will either be wholesome or unwholesome, in the intention, in the act, in the moment. Each intention makes wholesome or unwholesome Kamma, which will then be later experienced as results of Kamma, or Vipāka. The Vipaka, the results of Kamma, is not Kamma itself. This can not be stressed enough, Vipāka is not Kamma. When someone reaps the consequences of what they have sown, that is Vipāka, which are results of past Kamma being experienced. Vipāka is past Kamma coming into contact with an individual, the individual then reacts to that Vipāka with an intended reaction, this would be new Kamma. Vipāka comes in as an experience, Kamma is the intentional act towards that experience. This cycle continues for eternity until one escapes rebirth, like a wheel. 

The most natural reaction one can have is that of hate or desire. If an experience is painful, one naturally hates it (in Buddhism, hate is a catch-all concept for fear, wrath, revenge, envy or any negative emotion). If an experience is pleasurable, one naturally has desire for it, or greed. These are intended reactions to experience that are unwholesome, in other words, unwholesome Kamma. These acts of unwholesome Kamma will produce unwholesome Vipāka. This unwholesome Vipāka will then create a painful experience, which will naturally lead one to react with hate, this reaction being one with unwholesome intentions, which will create more unwholesome Kamma, which will lead to more unwholesome Vipāka. This is the cycle of suffering, or samsara.  

One does have the freedom to react wholesomely to any experience, but it takes great effort to take control of that freedom. One must find the control, which means finding one's initial reactions, this is a process done through meditation. According to the Buddha's teachings, it is in this way, that we gradually become a being that reacts more and more wholesomely, eventually becoming enlightened and escaping the cycle of suffering that is known as life. 

When one says Karma will catch up to another being, they are misunderstanding the teachings, and the quality of what Karma is itself. Kamma was their choice, their implementation of their free will upon the world, they have already sown the seeds that will come to fruition, What one should say is, the results of their Kamma, or Vipāka, will catch up to them. However, that is also a misinterpretation of the teachings, as the results of Kamma are not a punishment, rather it is the shackles to existence. The very leash that keeps us tied to the state of being. Vipāka is that which thrusts us into existence through never ending rebirth. It is not a punishment, it is life itself. When one wishes another to be punished, they do nothing but tighten the leash of suffering upon themselves, intending unwholesome Kamma and creating that very same Vipāka they wish upon someone else.