KAMMA, ITS ENDING & PATH LEADING TO ITS ENDING

We need to know what kamma[1] is in order to end it. The Buddha has preached,

kammana waththathi loko - kammana waththathi paja
kamma nibandanaa saththa - rathassa'neeva yayathe

The world exists due to kamma and the worldly beings exist due to kamma. Beings that are caught up in kamma, exist in the world just as a cart keeps moving supported by its wheels.

Cart is in motion as long as the linchpin holds its wheel in place and likewise beings continue in Samsara as long as they are entrapped by kamma. If the linchpin is removed the cart that carries birth, decay & death cannot move anymore and similarly when one discards kamma his (or her) Samsaric journey ends there freeing the person from suffering due to birth, decay & death..

Teachings further define kamma as old kamma & new Kamma.

Addressing his disciples one day, the Buddha announced, ‘Bhikshus, I will teach you new and old karma, the ending of karma, and the way to the ending of karma. Listen, pay close attention to it, I will speak.’

And what, bhikshus, is old karma?

The eye, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt.

The ear, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt.

The nose, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt.

The tongue, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt.

The body, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt.

The mind, bhikshus, is to be regarded as old karma, put together, thought out, something to be felt. —This, bhikshus, is called old karma.

And what, bhikshus, is new karma?

Whatever deed, bhikshus, one does now through the body, through speech, through the mind—this, bhikshus, is called new karma.[2]

Let us examine what is referred to as old kamma

The eye is to be regarded as old kamma put together (or rooted on) by volition as an object for feeling. The eye creates eye consciousness when met with an external object causing contact that lead to a sense experience. The visual experience ends as soon as it arises and hence Buddha preached to Bahiya,’in the seen will be merely what is seen’.[3]

This is similar to what a toddler in a cradle experiences looking at the colourful mobile hanging above him. He (or she) only sees a trace of a visible form and is unable to differentiate the colour variations, say as red, blue etc., like an adult does. An adult's experience is identical to that of the toddler seeing a trace of an object created by the eye. The resultant contact leading to sensation makes the adult to think upon it & form opinion about what is seen which occur at mind consciousness level. The two occurrences take place in isolation of each other but we combine them together due to delusion (or ignorance) letting the latter (our conceptions) to land on the former (contact bases).

Consider two banks of a river. A person walking on one bank sees an attractive object or a scenery on the other bank & begins to think upon it but he cannot have any interaction with that object other than the visual experience, ‘What is seen is merely what is seen.’ Whatever action that results from his thinking upon what he sees, whether its verbal, physical or mental remains on this bank and has no connection to the object on the other bank. The person could get attached to the object mentally but not physically.

‘The visual experience is old kamma and the person’s response to it from this side of the river is new kamma’ says Ven Sudassana.

If the two occurrences are considered to be linked, what occur on one bank persist due to that which occur on the other bank. In other words, our responses in form of mental, verbal or bodily action are retained due to what’s seen on the other bank or we can say what is seen there continue to exist due to our responses that occur on this side of the river. The occurrences that take place on the opposite bank arise and cease on the same side while those that arise on this side arise and cease on this bank. One cannot see the two occurrences apart as delusions come into play. In other words if one believes that the responses he makes on this side of the bank bears upon the object on the opposite bank that’s due to his delusion.

Sense experiences create Name-Matter (Name & Form) as a result of sense contact as sensation, perception & formation. Our responses through mind, speech & bodily action on the above, forms our consciousness. Name-Matter belongs to the bank on the opposite side of the river and our responses belong to the bank on this side. 

As we let our consciousness to position on the Name-Matter, i.e. either on form, sensation, perception or formation, conditioned by delusion, we gather kamma. The two in this context are said to be interdependent Name-Matter conditioning Consciousness & visa versa. If we can discard delusion we can comprehend the two states apart and thus we will not gather (new) kamma.

The Buddha continues,

And what, bhikshus, is the ending of karma? When, bhikshus, one reaches liberation with the ending of these deeds of the body, of speech, and of the mind—this, bhikshus, is called the ending of karma.

This in other words is ending deeds or kamma made through mind, speech and bodily action, in such away the three states of liberation is accomplished.  The teachings refer to three forms of liberation as Animitta (signless), Appanihita (desireless), Sunnata (emptiness). When we know that the two, i.e, sense experience & our deeds, occur in isolation of each other and our responses in form of thoughts, speech & bodily action has no connection to the external object we do not leave impressions (animitta), we do not have anything substantial that we can long to (appanihitta) & we do not see self or see as sentient or person (sunnata).

The path to end kamma is the Noble eight fold path with the Right View as the forerunner in perfecting the above wisdom, as declared by the Buddha in the Sutra,

And what, bhikshus, is called the path leading to the ending of karma? It is this noble eightfold path, that is, right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. —This, bhikshus, is the path leading to the ending of karma.

In essence the Sutra (Discourse on (New-Old ) Kamma) is a restatement of the four Noble Truths in terms of Kamma, Old Kamma is Suffering & New Kamma is Cause for Suffering. Cessation of Suffering is the Ending of Kamma & the Path to Cessation of Suffering is the Path Leading to Ending of Kamma.

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[1] Also known as Karma in Sanskrit, meaning Deeds in English

[2] The Discourse on (New and Old) Karma , (Nava- Purana) Kamma Sutra (SN)- Translation by Piya Tan 2003

[3] ’in the seen will be merely what is seen; in the heard will be merely what is heard; in the sensed will be merely what is sensed; in the cognised will be merely what is cognised.’ – Bahiya Sutra