Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari Paṇṇāsa
4. Vibhaṇga Vagga

Sutta 136

Mahā Kamma-Vibhaṇga Suttaṃ

The Great Analysis of Kamma

Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds

Preface

The important things to know about kamma are:

1. Kamma is not a matter of 'an eye for an eye', but is greatly expanded according to the detachment of the actor, the aid to detachment of the deed and the detachment of the recipient.

2. The consequence of kamma accords with the intent with which it was created in terms of sensation. It is not the form which dictates the result.

3. The escape from kamma is found in the understanding of the consequences. Understanding here is not just a matter of intellectual knowledge, it is a matter of knowing through experience. Under-standing. To know that which underlies, stands under the intellectual knowledge.

[1][chlm][pts][than][than.2][nymo][upal] I Hear Tell:

{1} Once Upon a Time, The Lucky Man,
Rājagaha,
Bamboo Grove,
the squirrels' feeding place,
came-a revisiting.

Also there, at that time,
was Old Man Samiddhi,
who lived in a forest-hut.

{2} There then, Potali's-son, the wanderer,
an on-his-legs-liver,
always pacing back and forth,
always meandering around,
drew near Old Man Samiddhi,
and approached him.

Having approached Old Man Samiddhi,
together they exchanged polite greetings.

Having given polite talk,
he took a seat to one side.

Then seated to one side,
Potali's-son, the wanderer,
said this to Old Man Samiddhi:

{3} "Face-to-face, friend Samiddhi,
I have heard from the shaman Gotama,
face-to-face received it,
that:
'Useless is bodily-kamma,
useless is vocal-kamma,
only kamma of mind is true'.

And that there is attainment
which, attaining,
one attains no experience whatever."

{4} "Do not say this, Potali's-son!

Do not say this, Potali's-son!

Do not misrepresent Bhagava,
for it is not well to misrepresent Bhagava,
nor would Bhagava say:
'Useless is bodily-kamma,
useless is vocal-kamma,
only kamma of mind is true'.

And then that, friend, there is attainment
which, attaining,
one attains no experience whatever."

{5} "How long is it since you have gone forth, friend Samiddhi?"

"Not long, friend,
three rains."

"(What will an elder bhikkhu say,
when a novice bhikkhu
thinks to guard his master thus?)

{6} With, friend Simiddhi,
intentionally done kamma,
of body,
of speech,
of mind,
what does he experience?"

{7} "With, friend Potali's-son,
intentionally done kamma,
of body,
of speech,
of mind,
he experiences pain."

{8} There then Potali's-son,
neither accepting nor rejecting
Old Man Samiddhi's statement,
neither accepting
nor rejecting,
rose up from his seat and departed.

{9} There then Old Man Samiddhi
not-long after the departure of Potali's-son, the wanderer,
drew near Old Man Ānanda,
and approached him.

Having approached Old Man Ānanda,
together they exchanged polite greetings.

Having given polite talk,
he took a seat to one side.

Seated to one side then,
Old Man Samiddhi related to Old Man Ānanda,
as far as it was developed,
all that which he and Potali's-son, the wanderer
had talked over together in conversation.

This having been said,
Old Man Ānanda said this to Old Man Samiddhi:

{10} "Now then, this subject of conversation, friend Samiddhi
should be seen to by Bhagava.

Pray wait, friend Samiddhi,
until we can draw near Bhagava.

Having drawn near
this will be of advantage
to relate to Bhagava.

However Bhagava explains it,
that is how we should bear it in mind."

"Even so, friend'
replied Old Man Samiddhi to Old Man Ānanda.

{11} There then Old Man Ānanda
and Old Man Samiddhi
drew near Bhagava,
and approached him.

Having approached Bhagava,
they took seats to one side.

Seated to one side then,
Old Man Ānanda related to Bhagava,
as far as it was developed,
all that which Old Man Samiddhi and Potali's-son, the wanderer
had talked over together in conversation.

{12} This having been said,
Bhagava said this to Old Man Ānanda:

"But Ānanda,
I do not see the first proposition
of the case Potali's-son put forth;
how can I comment
on the whole conversation?

{13} And, Ānanda, this question
put by the wanderer Potali's-son
and answered by this foolish person, Samiddhi,
requiring an analytical response,
was responded to one-sidedly."^[1]

{14} This said, Old Man Udāyi said this to Bhagava:

"What if, Bhante,
Old Man Samiddhi had put together what he said as:
'That which is experienced,
that is pain'?"

{15} To this,
Bhagava responded to Ānanda:

"Do you see, Ānanda,
how this foolish person Udāyi
is off-track?

I knew, Ānanda,
that this foolish person Udāyī,
off-track as to the mental standpoint
from which this question originated,
would be off-track.

{16} Ānanda, the wanderer Potali's-son
was really asking about
the three sensations.

That foolish Beggar Samiddhi
should have answered this question
put by the wanderer Potali's-son
this way:

{17} [1] 'When, friend Potali,
one has done a deed
by body,
speech,
or mind,
with the intention of producing sensations of pleasure,
he experiences sensations of pleasure.

{18} [2] When, friend Potali,
one has done a deed
by body,
speech,
or mind,
with the intention of producing sensations of pain,
he experiences sensations of pain.

{19} [3] When, friend Potali,
one has done a deed
by body,
speech,
or mind,
with the intention of producing sensations of neither-pain-nor-pleasure,
he experiences neither painful nor pleasant sensations.'

Thus answered, Ānanda,
that foolish Beggar Samiddhi
would have best answered
the wanderer Potali's-son.

{20} Now, Ānanda,
there are foolish and inexperienced wanderers,
members of other sects,
who would come to know
the Tathāgata's Great Analysis of Kamma
if you, Ānanda, would listen
while he enumerates the details
of the Tathāgata's Great Analysis of Kamma."

{21} "Now is the time, Bhagava!

Now is the time, Wellgone!

Now is the time
that Bhagava should analyze
the Great Analysis of Kamma.

The Beggars having heard Bhagava,
will bear it in mind!"

{22} "Very well then, Ānanda,
listen up,
pay attention,
I will speak!"

"Even so Bhante!"
said Old Man Ānanda,
in response to The Lucky Man.

{23} The Lucky Man said this:

"There are, Ānanda,
four types of men
existing in the world.

What four?

{24} [1] Here, Ānanda, some person
slaughters living creatures,
takes what has not been given to him,
has low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
is one who speaks lies,
is one who speaks slanders,
is a lip-flapper,
is covetous,
is hard-hearted,
is one who holds low views.

He, at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

{25} [2] Here, Ānanda, some person
slaughters living creatures,
takes what has not been given to him,
has low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
is one who speaks lies,
is one who speaks slanders,
is a lip-flapper,
is covetous,
is hard-hearted,
is one who holds low views.

He, at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
some heaven world.

{26} [3] Here, Ānanda, some person
abstains from slaughtering living creatures,
abstains from taking what has not been given to him,
abstains from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstains from speaking lies,
abstains from speaking slanders,
abstains from lip-flapping,
is not hard-hearted,
holds consummate view.

He, at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
some heaven world.

{27} [4] Here, Ānanda, some person
abstains from slaughtering living creatures,
abstains from taking what has not been given to him,
abstains from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstains from speaking lies,
abstains from speaking slanders,
abstains from lip-flapping,
is not hard-hearted,
holds consummate view.

He, at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

{28} [1] Here, Ānanda, some shaman or Brahman
who,
as a result of ardor,
as a result of making effort,
as a result of being yoked to practice,
as a result of not being careless,
as a result of consummate mental discipline,
came into contact with such a serene-heart,
that with this composed heart,
he sees,
with the divine eye,
purified beyond that of mankind
that man
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
who abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spoke lies,
was one who spoke slanders
was a lip-flapper,
was covetous,
was hard-hearted,
was one who held low views,
who, at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

{29} He concludes:

'It is true,
there are deeds which can be called "bad",
there is a result of bad deeds.

That individual I saw here
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
who was one who spoke lies,
who was one who spoke slanders
was a lip-flapper,
was covetous,
was hard-hearted,
was one who held low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

{30} And then he goes on to say:

'It is true,
everyone who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
who was one who spoke lies,
who was one who spoke slanders
was a lip-flapper,
was covetous,
was hard-hearted,
was one who held low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

Those who say so
are telling the truth.

Those who say differently
are wrong.'

{31} And in this way
he stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

{32} [2] Here, Ānanda, some shaman or Brahman
who,
as a result of ardor,
as a result of making effort,
as a result of being yoked to practice,
as a result of not being careless,
as a result of consummate mental discipline,
came into contact with such a serene-heart,
that with this composed heart,
he sees,
with the divine eye,
purified beyond that of mankind
that man
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
who abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spoke lies,
was one who spoke slanders
was a lip-flapper,
was covetous,
was hard-hearted,
was one who held low views,
who, at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
some heaven world.

He concludes:

'It is not true,
that there are deeds which can be called "bad",
there is no result of bad deeds.

That individual I saw here
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
who abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spoke lies,
was one who spoke slanders
was a lip-flapper,
was covetous,
was hard-hearted,
was one who held low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
some heaven world.

And then he goes on to say:

'Everyone
who slaughters living creatures here,
takes what is not given
who abandons his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
is one who speaks lies,
is one who speaks slanders
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
who holds low views,
re-arises in
some heaven world.

Those who say so
are telling the truth.

Those who say differently
are wrong.'

And in this way
he stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

{33} [3] Here, Ānanda, some shaman or Brahman who,
as a result of ardor,
as a result of making effort,
as a result of being yoked to practice,
as a result of not being careless,
as a result of consummate mental discipline,
came into contact with such a serene-heart,
that with this composed heart,
he sees,
with the divine eye,
purified beyond that of mankind
that man
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what had not been given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
was not covetous,
was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
who at the body breaking up at death,
re-arose in
some heaven world.

He concludes:

'It is true,
there are deeds which can be called "good",
there is a result of good deeds.

That individual I saw here
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what had not been given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
was not covetous,
was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
some heaven world.

And then he goes on to say:

'It is true, everyone who
abstains from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstains from taking what is not given to him,
abstains from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstains from speaking lies,
abstains from speaking slanders,
abstains from lip-flapping,
who is not covetous,
who is not hard-hearted, who holds consummate view,
re-arises in
some heaven world.

Those who say so
are telling the truth.

Those who say differently
are wrong.'

And in this way
he stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

{34} [4] Here, Ānanda, some shaman or Brahman
who,
as a result of ardor,
as a result of making effort,
as a result of being yoked to practice,
as a result of not being careless,
as a result of consummate mental discipline,
came into contact with such a serene-heart,
that with this composed heart,
he sees,
with the divine eye,
purified beyond that of mankind
that man
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what had not been given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
was not covetous,
was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
who, at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

He concludes:

'It is not true,
there are no deeds which can be called "good",
there is no result of good deeds.

And then he goes on to say:

'Everyone who
who abstains from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstains from taking what is not given to him,
abstains from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstains from speaking lies,
abstains from speaking slanders,
abstains from lip-flapping,
who is not covetous,
who is not hard-hearted, who holds consummate view,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

Those who say so
are telling the truth.

Those who say differently
are wrong.'

And in this way
he stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

{35} [1] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
whatever shaman or Brahman says:

'There are bad deeds,
there is result of doing bad deeds.'

This much I give him.

And if he says:

'I saw such and such an individual
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given
who abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spokes lies,
was one who spoke slanders
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
who held low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arise in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

This much I also give him.

But if he says:

'Everyone who
slaughtered living creatures here,
took what was not given
who abandoned his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
is one who spokes lies,
is one who spoke slanders
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
who held low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.'

This I do not give him.

And if he says:

'Those who know this
know the truth,
those who say otherwise
are wrong.'

This I do not give him.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

This I do not give him.

{36} [2] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
whatever shaman or Brahman says:

'There are no bad deeds,
there is no result of doing bad deeds.'

This much I do not give him.

And if he says:

This much I give him.

But if he says:

'Everyone who
slaughters living creatures here,
takes what is not given
who abandons his ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
is one who speaks lies,
is one who speaks slanders
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
who holds low views,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arises in
some heaven world.

This I do not give him.

And if he says:

'Those who know this
know the truth,
those who say otherwise
are wrong.'

This I do not give him.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

This I do not give him.

{37} [3] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
shaman or Brahman says:

'There are good deeds,
there is result of doing good deeds.'

This much I give him.

And if he says:

'I saw such and such an individual
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what is not given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
who was not covetous,
who was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
at the body breaking up at death
re-arise in
some heaven world.

This much I also give him.

But if he says:

This I do not give him.

And if he says:

'Those who know this
know the truth,
those who say otherwise
are wrong.'

This I do not give him.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

This I do not give him.

{38} [4] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
whatever shaman or Brahman says:

'There are no good deeds,
there is no result of doing good deeds.'

This much I do not give him.

And if he says:

This much I give him.

But if he says:

This I do not give him.

And if he says:

'Those who know this
know the truth,
those who say otherwise
are wrong.'

This I do not give him.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to
and sticks to
the view formulated by himself
based on what he has seen for himself as
'This alone is the truth,
everything else is false.'

This I do not give him.

{39} [1] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
in the case of some person here
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given to him,
had low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spoke lies,
was one who spoke slanders,
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
was one who held low views
who at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell
either bad Kamma to be experienced as pain
was done by him earlier,
or bad Kamma to be experienced as pain
was done by him later,
or at the time of dying
a low view was adopted
and firmly held by him.

It was because of this
that at the body breaking up at death
he re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

He who is of such Kamma
and of such views
experiences its fruition
either in the here and now
or in some other way.

{40} [2] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
in the case of some person here
who slaughtered living creatures,
took what was not given to him,
had low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
was one who spoke lies,
was one who spoke slanders,
a lip-flapper,
covetous,
hard-hearted,
was one who held low views
who at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
in some heaven world —
either good Kamma to be experienced as pleasure
was done by him earlier,
or good Kamma to be experienced as pleasure
was done by him later,
or at the time of dying
consummate view was adopted
and firmly held by him.

It was because of this
that at the body breaking up at death
he re-arose in
some heaven world.

He who is of such Kamma
and of such views
experiences its fruition
either in the here and now
or in some other way.

{41} [3] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
in the case of some person here
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what had not been given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
was not covetous,
was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
who at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
some heaven world —
either good Kamma to be experienced as pleasure
was done by him earlier,
or good Kamma to be experienced as pleasure
was done by him later,
or at the time of dying
consummate view was adopted
and firmly held by him.

It was because of this
that at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
some heaven world.

He who is of such Kamma
and of such views
experiences its fruition
either in the here and now
or in some other way.

{42} [4] As far as this goes, Ānanda,
in the case of some person here
who abstained from slaughtering living creatures here,
abstained from taking what had not been given to him,
abstained from low ethical conduct
in the pursuit of pleasure,
abstained from speaking lies,
abstained from speaking slanders,
abstained from lip-flapping,
was not covetous,
was not hard-hearted, who held consummate view,
who at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell,
either bad Kamma to be experienced as pain
was done by him earlier,
or bad Kamma to be experienced as pain
was done by him later,
or at the time of dying
a low view was adopted
and firmly held by him.

It was because of this
that at the body breaking up at death
re-arose in
the woeful ways,
painful,
ruinatious,
Niriaya Hell.

He who is of such Kamma
and of such views
experiences its fruition either in the here and now
or in some other way.

{43} So you see then, Ānanda, that there is
[1] bad kamma
where the results look bad,
[2] bad kamma
where the results look good,
[3] good kamma
where the results look good,
[4] good kamma
where the results look bad.^[2]

Thus spoke the Lucky Man.

^{[ 1 ]} This means that while Samiddhi's answer was not exactly wrong in ultimate terms in that the eventual outcome as seen by Buddhists is that as a consequence of the attachment involved, even pleasant consequences of action come to an end bringing pain, what was needed was to point out this more expanded way of seeing things to the Wanderer so as to make the Dhamma more palatable to him.

^[2] The Pāḷi is: 'a-bhabba/bhabba'. I have not found a one-word translation that really works for this. The (PED) dictionary would have it as 'impossible kamma that looks impossible', etc., but this kamma is not impossible. If we go back to the root, it is '√bhū' 'being' or 'earthly' which makes no sense here. Lord Chalmers uses 'inoperative/operative', but the kamma spoken of is not inoperative. Horner follows Lord Chalmers. Bhk. Ñanamoli, uses 'capable/incapable' and brackets '(of good results)'. Bhk. Thanissaro first follows Bhk. Ñanamoli, then in his revised work uses 'ineffectual/effectual'; but again this kamma is not ineffectual. Sister Upalavanna uses 'impossible/possible'. I have unhappily ignored the Pāḷi and gone for a translation which reflects meaning only.

References:

WP: The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi: The shorter Exposition of Action, pp1053
PTS: Middle Length Sayings, III, translated by I.B. Horner: Discourse on the Lesser Analysis of Deeds, III.254
ATI: The Shorter Exposition of Kamma, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans

Majjhima Nikāya III. Upari Paṇṇāsa 4. Vibhaṇga Vagga

Sutta 136

Mahā Kamma-Vibhaṇga Suttaṃ

The Great Analysis of Kamma

Preface

References:

Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari Paṇṇāsa
4. Vibhaṇga Vagga