Kamma
By Sujin Boriharnwanaket
 
  Generally, when something happens one would say it is the person's kamma, which, to be perfectly accurate, one should say it is the result of the person's kamma.  It would make us understand more clearly which instants are the results and which are the kamma.  If we shorten the saying to "It's the person's kamma," those who are unfamiliar with the cause of the result of realities might misunderstand and mistake the vipaka for the kamma.

 When one has studied and understood about citta being the reality where kamma-kilesa accumulates vipaka, one would understand realities as they really are.  Without the dvara: eye, ear, nose, tongue, bodysense and mind, which are ways of perceiving the aramana, there would be no vipaka-citta in daily life arising to receive the results of kamma.  The instant of seeing is a vipaka, the result of kamma.  Even though one was not in an accident, or has not received fortune and fame, the instant of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, knowing bodysense contact in ordinary daily life is already the result of past kamma already accomplished.  Vipaka-citta is not only when there is illness, fortune or poverty, fame or degradation.  And sati is able to be mindful of realities that are vipaka when there is seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and knowing bodysense contact in daily life.

 Vipaka-citta would arise as results of accomplished kamma-paccaya.  It is hard to know which past kamma caused the vipaka-citta that arises through each dvara.  For example, which kamma resulted in the vipaka-citta that hears children playing football.  Kamma is very difficult to know because it is acinteyya, or something one should not ponder.  Accomplished kamma which is the cause in the past even though very long ago in samsara-vatta is still paccaya for vipaka-citta to arise.  Therefore, if anyone ventured to guess which kamma resulted in seeing a certain thing, and which kamma caused that certain hearing, one would never be free from ignorance and frustration because one is guessing at something that one does not have the panna at the level to really know. Yet the vipaka which is the result of kamma is now appearing through eye, ear, nose, tongue and body sense.

[From Summary of Paramattha-dhamma, Citta Ch. 7, pp. 171-3]
July 24, 2000