Different Kinds of Kammic Results

Different Kinds of Kammic Results

Narada Maha Thera, in The Buddha and his Teachings (1998) translates and narrates what the Buddha said about the karmic results of different types of actions. The following are some illustrations: –

The result of a good kamma reaped in this life:

“A husband and his wife possessed only one upper garment to wear when they went out-of-doors. One day the husband heard the Dhamma from the Buddha and was so pleased with the doctrine that he wished to offer his only upper garment, but his innate greed would not permit him to do so. 

He combatted with his mind and, ultimately overcoming his greed, offered the garment to the Buddha and exclaimed 'I have won, I have won.' The king was delighted to hear his story and in appreciation of his generosity presented him thirty-two robes. The devout husband kept one for himself and another for his wife and offered the rest to the Buddha.

(Buddhist Legends Dhammapadatthakathā, pt. 2, p. 262)

The result of a bad kamma reaped in this life:

(Narada 280)

“A hunter who went hunting to the forest, followed by his dogs, met by the wayside a Bhikkhu who was proceeding on his alms round. As the hunter could not procure any game he thought it was due to the unfortunate meeting of the Bhikkhu. While returning home he met the same Bhikkhu and was deeply enraged at this second encounter. In spite of the entreaties of the innocent Bhikkhu the hunter set the dogs on him. Finding no escape therefrom, the Bhikkhu climbed a tree. The wicked hunter ran up to the tree, and pierced the soles of the Bhikkhu’s feet with the point of an arrow. The pain was so excruciating that the robe the Bhikkhu was wearing, fell upon the hunter completely covering him. The dogs, thinking that the Bhikkhu had fallen from the tree, devoured their own master. (Buddhist Legends p. 282)

Subsequently Effective Kamma:

“A millionaire’s servant returned home in the evening after his laborious work in the field, to see that all were observing the Eight Precepts as it was the full moon day. Learning that he also could observe them even for half a day, he took the precepts and fasted at night. 

Unfortunately he died on the following morning and as a result of his good action was born A Spiritual Biography 

By: Ācariya Mahā Boowa Deva. (ibid., pt. i. p. 278)

“Ajātasattu, son of King Bimbisāra, was born immediately after death, in a state of misery as the result of the killing of his father.

Indefinitely Effective Kamma:

“No person is exempt from this class of kamma. Even the Buddhas and Arahants may reap the effects of their past kamma. (Narada 281)

“The Arahant Moggallāna in the remote past, instigated by his wicked wife, attempted to kill his mother and father. (According to some books he actually killed them.) As a result of this, he suffered long in a woeful state, and in his last birth was clubbed to death by bandits.

“To the Buddha was imputed the murder of a female devotee of the naked ascetics. This was the result of his having insulted a Pacceka Buddha in one of his previous births.

“The Buddha’s foot was slightly injured when Devadatta made a futile attempt to kill him. 

This was due to his killing a step-brother of his in a previous birth with the object of appropriating his property.

“There is another classification of kamma according to function (kicca):

1 janaka kamma (reproductive kamma),

2 upatthambaka kamma (supportive kamma),

3 upapīdaka kamma (counteractive kamma),

4 upaghātaka kamma (destructive kamma).

“Every subsequent birth, according to Buddhism, is conditioned by the good or bad kamma which predominated at the moment of death. This kind of kamma is technically known as reproductive (janaka) kamma.

“The death of a person is merely 'the temporary end of a temporary phenomenon.' 

Though the present form perishes another form which is neither absolutely the same nor totally different takes its place according to the thought that was powerful at the death moment since the kammic force which hitherto actuated it is not annihilated with the dissolution of the body. It is this last thought-process which is termed ‘reproductive kamma’ that determines the state of a person in his subsequent birth. (Narada 282)

“As a rule the last thought-process depends on the general conduct of a person. In some exceptional cases, perhaps due to favourable or unfavourable circumstances, at the moment of death a good person may experience a bad thought and a bad person a good one. The future birth will be determined by this last thought-process, irrespective of the general conduct.

“This does not mean that the effects of the past actions are obliterated. 

They will produce their inevitable results at the appropriate moment. 

Such reverse changes of birth account for the birth of vicious children to virtuous parents and of virtuous children to vicious parents.

“Now, to assist and maintain or to weaken and obstruct the fruition of this reproductive kamma another past kamma may intervene. 

Such actions are termed ‘supportive’ (upatthambhaka)  kamma and counteractive’ (upapīdaka) kamma respectively.

According to the law of kamma the potential energy of the reproductive kamma can be totally annulled by a more powerful opposing past kamma, which, seeking an opportunity, may quite unexpectedly operate, just as a counteractive force can obstruct the path of a flying arrow and bring it down to the ground. 

Such an action is termed ‘destructive’ (upaghātaka) kamma which is more powerful than the above two in that it not only obstructs but also destroys the whole force.

“As an instance of the operation of all the four, the case of Venerable Devadatta who attempted to kill the Buddha and who caused a schism in the Sangha may be cited. His reproductive good kamma destined him to a birth in a royal family. His continued comfort and prosperity were due to the action of the supportive kamma. The counteractive kamma came into operation when he was subjected to such humiliation as a result of his being excommunicated from the Sangha. Finally the destructive kamma brought his life to a miserable end. (Narada 283)

“The following classification is according to the priority of effect

(vipākadānavasena):

1 garuka kamma,

2 asanna kamma,

3 acinna kamma, and

4 katattā kamma.

“The first is garuka kamma which means a weighty or serious action. It is so called because it produces its effects for certain in this life or in the next.

“On the moral side the weighty actions are the jhānas or ecstasies, while on the immoral side they are the subsequently effective heinous crimes (anantariya kamma) – namely, matricide, parricide, the murder of an Arahant, the wounding of the Buddha, and the creation of a schism in the Sangha.

“If, for instance, any person were to develop the jhānas and later to commit one of these heinous crimes, his good kamma would be obliterated by the powerful evil kamma. His subsequent birth will be conditioned by the evil kamma in spite of his having gained the jhānas earlier. For example, Venerable Devadatta lost his psychic powers and was born in a woeful state because he wounded the Buddha and caused a schism in the Sangha.

“King Ajātasattu, as the Buddha remarked, would have attained the first stage of sainthood if he had not committed parricide. In this case the powerful evil kamma obstructed his spiritual attainment. (Narada 284)

“When there is no weighty kamma to condition the future birth a death-proximate (āsanna) kamma might operate. This is the action one does, or recollects, immediately before the dying moment. Owing to its significance in determining the future birth, the custom of reminding the dying person of his good deeds and making him do good on his death-bed still prevails in Buddhist countries.

“Sometimes a bad person may die happily and receive a good birth if, fortunately, he remembers or does a good act at the last moment. This does not mean that although he enjoys a good birth he will be exempt from the effects of the evil deeds he has accumulated during his life-time. 

At times a good person, on the other hand, may die unhappily by suddenly remembering an evil act or by conceiving a bad thought, perchance compelled by unfavourable circumstances.

“Habitual (ācinna) kamma is the next in priority of effect. It is the kamma that one constantly performs and recollects and towards which one has a great liking. Habits whether good or bad become second nature. They more or less tend to mould the character of a person. 

At leisure moments, we often engage ourselves in our habitual thoughts and deeds. In the same way at the death-moment, unless influenced by other circumstances, we, as a rule, recall to mind our habitual thoughts and deeds.

“The last within this category is cumulative (katattā) kamma (Literally, 'because done') which embraces all that cannot be included in the foregoing three. This is as it were the reserve fund of a particular being. (Narada 285)

“The final classification is according to the plane in which the effects take place. They are:—

1 Evil actions (akusala) which may ripen in the sense-sphere (kāmaloka).

2 Good actions (kusala) which may ripen in the sense-sphere.

3 Good actions which may ripen in the realms of form (rūpaloka), and

4 Good actions which may ripen in the formless realms (arūpaloka).” (Narada 286)

The above breakdown suggests points we can concentrate upon and techniques we can cultivate within the gradual development of our practice.

Reference

Narada Maha Thera. 1998. The Buddha and His Teachings. Taipei:The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation.

https://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/buddha-teachingsurw6.pdf

Edited and formatted by Prof Ajahn David Dale Holmes

Doing What Has to Be Done By David Dale Holmes

Doing What Has to Be Done
By David Dale Holmes 

Insight wisdom provides the power of mind to see and understand that all things are impermanent.

The development of insight wisdom is a gradual awakening process in which, over time and through persistent practice, we gradually begin to see arising phenomena—one mind-object after another. We come to see how all perceptual phenomena are insubstantial and not as real or as solid they seem or appear to be.

This is true not only of big things but also of small things, such as subtle mental-sense impressions as they impinge upon our minds. 

They tingle our perceptions, making them seem as we wish them to be or do not wish them to be ─ especially when we are foolhardy enough to allow ourselves to go grasping after whatever we vainly think will be satisfying in the fleeting-nebulous illusions of sense perception.

Further, we need insight to develop the clear, incisive knowledge and wisdom necessary to see through the clever, sly, subtle tricks of the sense aggregates as being nothing more than biased, bursting energy bundles. 

They try to fool the mind, to deceive it into perceiving arising phenomena in the way that the aggregates want to be seen, so that they can get their greedy hooks into resultant, arising feeling levels of delusive sense awareness. 

Because of the power of these sly tricks of the sense aggregates, we urgently need to develop and depend on keen alertness and active mindfulness to constantly guard the doors of the six senses to the city of the mind. This city is teeming and swarming with hoards of deceptive appearances and phantasms after which the untrained mind will, consciously or unconsciously, want to chase and grasp in order to devour and enjoy or crush and kill.

Indeed, we crucially need to develop and depend on the combined defensive forces of sila, sati, and nana (right conduct, awareness, and insight knowledge), all working together to secure the citadel of the mind. Working to stand as mental forces and serve as guards against approaching deceptive apparitions, which have the potential during incautious mental lapses to penetrate security, when the mind is unconsciously relaxed and unguarded and then slips back into old habits.

We must note, also, that the normal worldly mind can become defensive and aggressive when it is compulsively grasping after tempting illusions and sensations. It aggressively dislikes being curbed or hindered. 

It wants what it wants, and it does not easily tolerate anything getting in its way. This is why it becomes agitated, aggravated, and sometimes even out of control when things don’t turn out the way the unruly mind desires them to be. It may even act with defiance and violence against anything trying to control and train it to change its ways.

So how do we become trainers of the mind?

The untrained mind is much like a monkey or a child that grasps at things, following the momentary impulses of the eye. It sees and wants, even though, in reality, such impulses to grasp and clutch onto everything in sight are just momentary, empty sense perceptions and phantasms that bring no ultimate satisfaction. 

The Buddha made the ingenious analogy that although the normal mind is naughty and greedy and uncontrolled, it can be compared to a wild elephant or stallion, which resists being controlled. However, the wild elephant or stallion has the potential to be calmed and tamed and eventually trained to become a beneficial and useful friend. We may come to see ourselves as similar to such an elephant or stallion, and when we do, we will know what to do, without anyone telling us how. The decision becomes ours alone.

When we are beginning to try to develop the mind, it is not easy. At first, we are very unskilled and have little success in controlling our impulsive, stubborn, grasping tendencies. 

But then, as we slowly begin to understand the ever-recurring dangers that impulsiveness and compulsiveness inevitably cause, we begin and continue to develop the capacity for judgment (discernment) through direct observation and experience of what is a beneficial action and what is not, and what the result will be. 

To reiterate, cultivating insight knowledge means slowly developing wisdom through the experience of knowing what is beneficial and what is not beneficial. What brings fulfillment and happiness and what brings a lack of fulfillment and unhappiness. This invariably leaves a person who is accustomed to worldly grasping with a sense of let down expectations and disappointment will inevitably follow in its train.

To pinpoint the source of delusion more precisely, the mind watching the mind eventually recognizes that the illusion of what we, at first, falsely considered to be “our mind” or “our thoughts” or “our self” is actually nothing more than another impermanent, accumulating aggregate of illusive sensations; impressions, impulses, and desires arising and ceasing. 

The detached mind watching the mind eventually comes to realize that what we have always considered to be “our mind”─ working away in a worldly way ─ is just another impermanent accumulation or bundle of interacting perceptual phenomena, lacking any actual abiding reality. 

The point is succinct, yet it is not so easy to see.

When the mind watching the mind sees that there is no “our self,” no “our mind,” no “our thoughts” as an independent entity, then, with time and discernment, the mind gradually comes to realize that there are only the flashing instants of mind watching mind. It becomes clear through insight that the mind is, in fact, only a tool to be used in a process of observation and analysis, and then to be laid down and set aside once its task of locating and sorting and dissolving the delusions of phenomenal existence has been accomplished. 

When we are young, our minds are untrained and we are unwise and unskillful and follow every whim. But as we become older and wiser, we keep learning from our mistakes and become more skillful in directing our choices and actions. 

As we become older and more experienced, some of us who have learned about the powers of mindfulness begin practicing insight meditation as a way to be more watchful, to learn to mend and to mind our ways. And, as we become more skillful in discernment, we begin to know how to choose which actions will be constructive and which will not. 

Some of us who are disposed thereto will seek a teacher who can guide us in following the Buddha’s instructions, as outlined in the Pali Canon. We will then go on to do what we need to do; to seek a way through the tangle of the tangle. To clear the path of self-made obstacles and hindrances within the the jungle of the wild, untamed mind. To try to unravel the seemingly hopelessly entangled networks of insecurities and anxieties related thereto.

References

Viriyang, Luang Phor. 1999. Meditation Instructor Course. Bangkok: Willpower Institute (private printing of internal handout).

About the author: --

Prof. David Dale Holmes taught English and World Literature and Creative Writing for the University of Maryland, Munich Campus, European Division, from 1966–92, after which he moved to Asia to lecture at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, and later at the World Buddhist University in Bangkok. From 1986–92, he traveled yearly between Munich, Germany, and Kandy, Sri Lanka, to study and learn under Venerable Nyanaponika and Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi. Here he became familiar with the body of literature disseminated by the Buddhist Publication Society, and later assisted in editing the BPS Wheel Series to make it digitally available online for free download. 

Theravada Teachings is published monthly.

The Importance of Mindfulness

The Importance of Mindfulness

Ven. Piyadassi  in The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (1980),  begins by stressing the importance of mindfulness.

“Buddha-dhamma is the teaching of enlightenment. One who is keen on attaining enlightenment, should first know clearly the impediments that block the path to enlightenment.

                                                          (Piyadassi 2-9, 1980)

“Life, according to the right understanding of a Buddha, is suffering; and that suffering is based on ignorance or avijjá. Ignorance is the experiencing of that which is unworthy of experiencing ... 

“Further, it is the non-perception of the conglomerate nature of the aggregates; non-perception of sense-organ and object in their respective and objective natures; non-perception of the emptiness or the relativity of the elements; non-perception of the dominant nature of the sense controlling faculties; non-perception of the thus-ness — the infallibility of the four Truths and the five hindrances (pañca nìvaraóáni) are the nutriment of (or condition for) this ignorance. 

“They are called hindrances because they completely close-in, cut- off, and obstruct. They hinder the understanding of the way to release from suffering. 

“These five hindrances are: sensuality (kámacchanda), ill-will (vyápáda), obduracy ... and mental factors (thìnamiddha), restlessness and flurry (uddhaccakukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchá).

“And what is the nutriment of these hindrances? The three evil modes of life (tìni duccaritáni), bodily, vocal, and mental wrong-doing.

“This threefold nutriment is in turn nourished by non-restraint of the senses (indriya asaívaro), which is explained by the commentator as the admittance of lust and hate into the six sense-organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

“The nutriment of non-restraint is shown to be lack of mindfulness and of complete awareness (asati asampajañña). In the context of nutriment, the drifting away of the object (dhamma) — the lapsing, from the mind, of the knowledge of the lakkhaóas or characteristics of existence  (impermanence, suffering and voidness of self), and forgetfulness of the true nature of things — is the reason for non-restraint. It is when one does not bear in mind the transience and the other characteristics of things that one allows oneself all kinds of liberties in speech and deed, and gives rein to full thought imagery of an unskillful kind.

“Lack of complete awareness is lack of these four: 

(i) complete awareness of purpose (sáttha sampajañña), improvement; 

(ii) when one forgets the dhamma, which is the true resort of one who strives; 

(iii) when one deludedly lays hold of things, believing them to be pleasant, beautiful, permanent, and substantial — 

(iv) when one behaves thus, then too non-restraint is nourished.

“And below this lack of mindfulness and complete awareness lies unsystematic reflection (ayoniso manasikára). The books say unsystematic reflection is reflection that is off the right course; that is, taking the impermanent as permanent, the painful as pleasure, the soulless as a soul, the bad as good. The constant rolling-on that is saísára, is rooted in unsystematic thinking. 

“When unsystematic thinking increases, it fulfills two things: nescience and lust for becoming. 

Ignorance being present, the origination of the entire mass of suffering comes to be. Thus a person who is a shallow thinker, like a ship drifting at the wind’s will, like a herd of cattle swept into the whirl pools of a river, like an ox yoked to a wheel-contraption, goes on revolving in the cycle of existence, saísára.

“And it is said that imperfect confidence (assaddhiyaí) in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha is the condition that develops unsystematic reflection; and imperfect confidence is due to non hearing of the True Law, the dhamma (asaddhamma savanaí). 

“Finally, one does not hear the dhamma through lack of contact with the wise, through not consorting with the good (asappurisa sansevo).

Thus, want of kalyáóamittatá, good friendship, appears to be the basic reason for the ills of the world. 

“And conversely, the basis and nutriment of all good is shown to be good friendship. That furnishes one with the food of the sublime dhamma, which in turn produces confidence in the Triple Gem,  the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha. 

“When one has confidence in the Triple Gem there come into existence profound or systematic thinking, mindfulness and complete awareness, restraint of the senses, the three good modes of life, the four arousings of mindfulness, the seven factors of enlightenment and deliverance through wisdom, one after another, in due order ...    

“Mindfulness … is the instrument most efficacious in self-mastery, and whosoever practices it has found the path to deliverance. It is fourfold: mindfulness consisting in contemplation of the body (káyánupassaná), feeling (vedanánupassaná), mind (cittánupassaná), and mental objects (dhammánupassaná).

“The man lacking in this all-important quality of mindfulness cannot achieve anything worthwhile. The Buddha’s final admonition to his disciples on his death bed is this: 'Transient are all component things. Work out your deliverance with heedfulness!' (vaya-dhammá sankhárá, appamádena sampádetha). 

“Man cannot be heedful unless he is aware of his actions — whether they are mental, verbal, or physical — at every moment of his waking life. Only when a man is fully awake to and mindful of his activities can he distinguish good from bad and right from wrong. It is in the light of mindfulness that he will see the beauty or the ugliness of his deeds.

“The word appamáda, throughout the tipitaka, is used to denote sati, mindfulness; pamáda is defined as absence of mindfulness. Says thBuddha in the Anguttara Nikáya:

'Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of good thoughts if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil thoughts if already arisen, as heedfulness.'

“In him who is heedful, good thoughts not yet arisen, do arise, and evil thoughts, if arisen, do wane.

“Constant mindfulness and vigilance are necessary to avoid ill and perform good. The man with presence of mind, who surrounds himself with watchfulness of mind (satimá), the man of courage and earnestness, gets ahead of the lethargic, the heedless (pamatto), as a racehorse outstrips a decrepit hack. 

“The importance of mindfulness in all our dealings is clearly indicated by the following striking words of the Buddha:

 'Mindfulness, O disciples, I declare is essential in all things everywhere. It is as salt is to the curry.'  

                                              MA, satipaþþhána commentary.

“The Buddha’s life is one integral picture of mindfulness. He is the sadá sato, the ever-mindful, the ever-vigilant. He is the very embodiment of mindfulness. There was never an occasion when the Buddha manifested signs of sluggish inactivity or thoughtlessness.

“Mindfulness is the chief characteristic of all wholesome actions tending to one’s own and others’ profit. Appamádo mahato attháya sanvattati –- “mindfulness is conducive to great profit” — that is, highest mental development — and it is through such attainment that deliverance from the sufferings of saísára is possible. 

                                                             SN. Sagáthaka Vagga

'The man who delights in mindfulness and regards heedlessness with dread, is not liable to fall away. He is in the vicinity of  Nibbána.'”

                                                                                    Dhp 32

Reference:

Piyadassi Maha Thera. 1980. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment. Kandy Buddhist Publication Society Online Edition.

Edited and formatted by Ajahn David Dale Holmes

The Consequences of Moral and Immoral Actions By David Dale Holmes 😁❤️🙏

The Consequences of Moral and Immoral Actions
By David Dale Holmes   😁❤️🙏

Cetanaham Bhikkhave kamman vadami.

Bhikkhus, I say that kamma is intention.

According to the Theravada Buddhist tradition, before we may attain a full understanding of advanced topics such as rebirth and nibbana, first, as a foundation, we need to clear and clean house, both bodily and mentally, by cultivating moral purity in the practice of everyday morality (sila).

Before we commit any act, either mentally or physically, we should be capable of discerning whether the intention leading to the performance of the action springs from good or bad intentions.

Mind is forerunner all conditions . . . conditions are mind made.

If one speaks or acts with a wicked mind...pain follows.

If one speaks or acts with a good mind...happiness follows.

Right Concentration, quite literally, means firm intent, and if we intend to enjoy positive results on the path, we need to concentrate upon:

Cultivating good intentions and actions;

Cutting out bad intentions and actions.

On one hand: --
Good actions/deeds will result in good results/consequences, for example, there are 10 kinds of wholesome moral intentions/actions which lead to beneficial results, they are:

Generosity (dana)
Morality (sila)
Meditation (bhavana)
Reverence (apacayana)
Service (veyyavacca)
Transference of merit (pattidana)
Rejoicing in others' merit (anumodana)
Hearing the doctrine (dhammasavana)
Expounding the doctrine (dhammadesana)
Forming correct views (ditthijjukamma)

Wholesome actions become the root causes of resultant good effects, for example:

Generosity yields wealth;

Morality causes one to be born in noble families in happiness;
Meditation gives birth in planes of form and formless planes, and helps to gain higher knowledge and emancipation;
Reverence is the cause of noble parentage;
Service is the cause of a large retinue;
Transference of merit causes one to be able to give generously in future rebirths;
Rejoicing in the merit of others is productive of joy wherever one is born;
Both hearing and expounding the doctrine are conducive to wisdom.

Wholesome roots and causes yield wholesome effects, and this should not be difficult for the devotee to understand.

Whereas, on the other hand:--
Unwholesome roots will yield unwholesome fruits. To explain further:
Immoral kamma is rooted in greed (lobha), anger (dosa), and delusion (moha). These kinds of actions must be rooted out because they are dangerous for our mental health and development, so this is where we have to concentrate with aroused energy and due diligence.
There are 10 kinds of immoral actions which lead to unbeneficial, undesirable, and harmful results. For example:

Killing, stealing, and unchastity are caused by deeds;
Lying, slandering, harsh language, and frivolous talk are caused by words;
Covetousness, ill-will, and false view are caused by thoughts.

Of these 10, killing means the destruction of any living being, including animals and creatures of all kinds. To commit the offense of killing, five conditions are necessary, namely: a being, having consciousness that it is a being, having the intention of killing, effort, and consequent death. The evil effects of killing are: short life, being prone to disease, feeling constant grief caused by separation from loved ones, and constant fear.

To commit the offense of stealing, five conditions are necessary, namely: the property of other people, consciousness that it is so, having the intention of stealing, effort and resultant removal. The effects of stealing are: poverty, wretchedness, unsatisfied desires, and dependent livelihood.

To commit the offense of unchastity or sexual misconduct, three conditions are necessary, namely: the intention to enjoy the forbidden object, effort, and possession of the desired target. The effects of unchastity are: having many enemies, having undesirable wives, being born as a woman, or born as a eunuch.

To commit the offense of lying, four conditions are necessary, namely: untruth, the intention to deceive, effort, and communication of the matter to others. The effects of lying are: being tormented by abusive speech, being subject to vilification, incredibility, and stinking mouth.

To commit the offense of slandering, four conditions are necessary, namely: division of persons, the intention to separate them, effort, and communication. The effect of slandering is the dissolution of friendship without any sufficient cause.

To commit the offense of using harsh language, three conditions are necessary, namely: someone to be abused, angry thought, and use of abusive language. The effects of harsh language are: being detested by others although blameless and having a harsh voice.

To commit the offense of frivolous talk, two conditions are necessary, namely: the inclination toward frivolous talk and its narration. The effects of frivolous talk are: disorders within bodily organs and unacceptable speech.

To commit the offense of covetousness, greed, and avarice (abijjha), two conditions are necessary, namely: coveting another’s property and having a strong desire for it, saying, “Would that this property were mine.” The effect of covetousness is unfulfillment of one’s wishes.

To commit the offense of ill-will (vyapada), two conditions are necessary, namely: another being and the intention of doing harm. The effects of ill-will are: ugliness, various diseases, and a detestable nature.

Committing the offense of false view (micchaditthi) means seeing things wrongly, without being able to understand what they are truly. To complete this false view, two conditions are necessary, namely: the perverted way in which an object is viewed and the misunderstanding of it according to that wrong view. The effects of false view are: base attachment, lack of wisdom, dull wit, chronic disease, and blameworthy ideas.

As long as we are feeling mentally unsettled due to the consequences of our  unwholesome, immoral actions, we will not yet have developed the mental stability or the peace of mind to be able to cultivate the skills in concentration necessary for reaching higher states of mental purity.

According to the law of kamma, we must:

Bear the moral consequences of our bad intentions;
Benefit from the consequences of our good intentions.

We are the owners and heirs of our kamma, and, fortunately, we are able to influence the direction in which our kamma leads, dependent upon whether we are acting based respectively on good intentions or acting based on bad intentions.