Karma-vibhaṅgam

Description

On the night of his Awakening the Buddha had three principal insights: he had been reborn in many different forms and lives over the course of an inconceivably long period of time; that beings are traveling through saṁsāra(the round of births and deaths) according to their deeds, good and bad (karmavipāka); and the insight into the four noble truths, which included as the fourth truth the eightfold noble path. The teaching of karma-vipāka (deeds and their results) was therefore a fundamental insight for the Buddha, which provided the basis for his Awakening, and it has remained central to the teaching throughout the development of Buddhism in its various traditions. In the original teachings deeds and their results are presented quite subtly, as everyone, of course, produces many millions of intentional deeds, both good and bad, over the course of their lifetime. And the deeds themselves are often motivated by a mixture of good and bad intentions, which are not purely one or the other. In the later teachings these subtleties were often obscured by the didactic need to present the message in a clear and unambiguous way, and we find what is in essence a very complex teaching reduced to something rather simplistic: do this bad deed in this life, get a complimentary bad result in the next; do this good deed, get this good result. Although things are not quite so simple as this, it does form the backdrop to many of the later texts and teachings in the Buddhist traditions, and provided simple explanations of events that could be utilised very successfully in stories which exemplified the centrality of causality in the working out of events in people’s lives. It is this theme that is elaborated on in this discourse, and the many stories that accompany it. Introduction to Karma-vibhaṅga The Doctrine The Text Parallels Verses and Metre Index of Proper Names Acknowledgements The Analysis of Deeds Eulogy [Opening of the Discourse] [1-14: Health and Wealth] [1. Short Life] 1a 1b 1c 1d [2. Long Life] 2a 2b 2c [3. Much Illness] [4. Little Illness] [5. Ugliness] [6. Beauty] 6a [7. Undistinguished] [8. Distinguished] 8a [9. Low Family] [10. High Family] 10a [11. Little Wealth] [12. Great Wealth] 12a [13. Little Wisdom] 13a 13b 13c [14. Great Wisdom] 14a [15-22: Rebirths] [15. Rebirth in Hell] [16. Rebirth as an Animal] 16a 16b [17. Rebirth in Yama’s World] 17a [18. Rebirth in the Asura World] [19. Rebirth in the Human World] [20. Rebirth in Heavenly Sense Worlds] [21. Rebirth in Heavenly Form Worlds] [22. Rebirth in Heavenly Formless Worlds] [23-50: Permutations] [23. Deeds Done that are not Accumulated] [24. Deeds that are accumulated (even) when not Done] [25. Deeds that are accumulated when Done] 25a [26. Deeds not really Done] [27. Hell for a Full Time] 27a [28. Hell for a Half Time] [29. Hell for a Short Time] 29a [30. Specific Rebirth] 30a [31. Non-Specific Rebirth] [32. Another Country] 32a 32b 32c 32d 32e 32f 32g 32h 32i 32j 32k 32l 32m 32n 32o 32p 32q [33. Happy then Unhappy] 33a 33b [34. Unhappy then Happy] 34a 34b [35. Happy and Happy] 35a 35b [36. Unhappy and Unhappy] 36a [37. Well-Off and Selfish] 37a [38. Poor but Generous] 38a [39. Well-Off and Generous] 39a [40. Life Exhausted not Deeds] 40a 40b 40c 40d [41. Deeds Exhausted not Life] [42. Deeds and Life Exhausted] 42a [43. Merits Exhausted and Life] 43a 43b [43.bis Life not Exhausted nor Deeds] [44. Happy in Body not in Mind] 44a [45. Happy in Mind not in Body] 45a 45b [46. Happy in Body and in Mind] 46a 46b [47. Happy neither in Body nor in Mind] [48. Lower Realms and Handsome] [49. Lower Realms and Ugly] [50. Lower Realms and Undeveloped] [51-61: Unwholesome Deeds] [51. Ten Unwholesome Deeds] [52. Killing] [53. Taking what is not Given] [54. Sexual Misconduct] 54a [55. False Speech] [56. Divisive Speech] [57. Harsh Speech] [58. Frivolous Speech] [59. Avarice] [60. Ill-Will] [61. Wrong View] 61a 61b [62-80: Wholesome Deeds] [62. Saluting the Memorial Buildings in the Middle Country] 62a 62b [63. Saluting the Memorial Buildings (Elsewhere)] [64. Giving a Parasol] 64a 64b [65. Giving a Temple Bell] 65a [66. Giving Clothes] 66a [67. Giving Seats] [68. Giving Vessels] [69. Giving Food] 69a [70. Giving Vehicles] 70a 70b [71. Giving Refuge] 71a [72. Giving Drinks] 72a [73. Giving Garlands] 73a 73b [74. Giving Loose Flowers] 74a [75. Giving Lights] 75a 75b 75c 75d [76. Giving Incense] 76a [77. Going Forth] [78. Living in the Wilderness] [79. Living on Alms Food] [80. Ten Confidences]