In Buddhism, the law governing the consequences of ones actions is known in Sanskrit as karma. It is as a consequence of our volitional actions, or "choices," that their fruits and benefits, or their harm and disbenefits are realised.

The Buddha presented the law of karma as a system of merit. He taught that meritorious wholesome actions of body, speech and mind give rise to progress on the path to enlightenment, and unmeritorious unwholesome actions of body, speech and mind give rise to the hindrance and regression of progress.

Karma Arises

Karma is an integral feature of the Buddha's teaching on dependent origination. For example, in Samyutta Nikaya chapter 12 verse 1, he asks:

And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination? With ignorance as condition, volitional formations come to be; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form ...

^{SN 12.1}

... and so on. It is ignorance of the Dharma that gives rise to unwholesome volitional formations, and these volitional formations act as one of the tethers to the wheel of life.

Karma is Integral to the Dharma

The Buddha taught that for penetrative understanding of the Dharma, one of the key aspects that should be understood is karma:

The source and origin of karma should be understood; the diversity of karma should be understood; the result of karma should be understood; the cessation of karma should be understood; the way leading to the cessation of karma should be understood.

^{AN III 411(5)}

Karma Depends on Volition

The Buddha goes on to explain that karma is inherently connected to volition (or "choice", "will", etc.):

It is volition, bhikkhus, that I call karma. For having willed, one acts by body, speech, or mind.

^{AN III 415(5)}

Karma thus means actions which arise from volition which may become manifest in the mind as thoughts, desires or plans, and may or may not then proceed to outward expression through bodily actions or verbal communication.

We Are Our Actions

Beings are owners of their actions, heirs of their actions; they originate from their actions, are bound to their actions, have their actions as their refuge.

^{MN 135(4)}

According to the Bhuddha, all ethically determinate volitional actions plant seeds with the potential to bring forth results (vipāka) or fruits (phala) corresponding to the moral quality of those deeds. Then, when internal or external conditions are suitable, the karma will ripen and come back to us, for benefit or for harm. This moment of fruition may be in the same life, or in a future rebirth, so long as we remain bonded to samsara.

Two Main Types of Karma

The Buddha separates karma into two main types: the unwholesome (akusala) and the wholesome (kusala). Unwholesome karma is detrimental to its creator, and arises from deeds that are counter to ethical principles. To understand whether an action is unwholesome, the origin of the action needs to be first understood. What was the intention behind the volitional formation of body, speech or mind? The three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion are the primary sources of unwholesome karma. The three poisons give rise to a wide variety of secondary defilements such as anger, deceit, hostility, selfishness, prejudice, envy and pride. From the three poisons and their secondary defilements, when volitionally engaged by body, speech or mind, arise defiled actions productive of unwholesome karma.

Wholesome karma, on the other hand, is the kind that ripens in positive outcomes. Its origin is in volitional formations that arise from non-ignorance which comes from understanding and applying the Dharma through the wholesome roots, or the antidotes to the three poisons. These antidotes are generosity, loving kindness and wisdom.

Two Kinds of Wholesome Karma

Actions that arise from wholesome roots can be of two kinds: mundane (lokiya) and supramundane, or world-transcending (lokuttara). Mundane wholesome actions ripen as benefits in this life or by giving rise to pleasant rebirths. Supramundane actions are those actions associated with following the Noble Eightfold Path and other aids to enlightenment, leading to liberation from samsara, the round of rebirths. Supramundane actions eventually lead to the breakdown of the entire process of karmic causation.

Dark and Bright Karma

Elaborating on the wholesome and the unwholesome, the Buddha further said that there are four potential combinations of karma and its outcomes:

There is dark karma with dark results; there is bright karma with bright results; there is karma that is dark and bright with dark and bright results; there is karma that is neither dark nor bright, with neither dark nor bright results, which leads to the destruction of karma.

^{AN II 232}

Here, "dark karma with dark results" means the karma arising from unwholesome actions, giving rise to bad outcomes. This is in direct contrast to "bright karma with bright results," which the Buddha describes as a "non-afflictive volitional formation of body, speech, or mind." This is the mundane kind of wholesome karma, which gives rise to a positive rebirth where pleasant feelings will be experienced.

The type of karma the Buddha describes as "dark and bright with dark and bright results" is a mixed type of karma, being both wholesome and unwholesome. This could arise perhaps by a combination of connected actions in close-proximity, each having an opposite karmic root, or by a single action that has different outcomes in benefit or affliction for different beings affected by the action.

The type of karma described as "neither dark nor bright, which leads to the destruction of karma" is the supramundane kind. This is associated with the will to abandon the connection to samsara and its law of karma entirely, by following the Dharma.

Ten Kinds of Unwholesome Conduct

The Buddha further breaks down unwholesome actions that give rise to unwholesome karma into ten kinds. This is the origin of the ten precepts undertaken by dedicated Buddhist practitioners:

[I]t is by reason of unwholesome conduct, conduct not in accordance with the Dharma, that some beings here, on the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell. It is by reason of wholesome conduct, conduct in accordance with the Dharma, that some beings here, on the breakup of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. ...

... [T]here are three kinds of unwholesome bodily conduct ... . There are four kinds of unwholesome verbal conduct ... . There are three kinds of unwholesome mental conduct ... .

^{MN 41 (5), (7)-(10)}

The Buddha lists the three kinds of unwholesome bodily conduct as:

1. Physically harming living beings.
2. Taking what is not given.
3. Committing sexual misconduct.

The Buddha then says that the four kinds of unwholesome verbal conduct are:

4. Speaking falsehoods.
5. Speaking maliciously.
6. Speaking harshly.
7. Engaging in idle talk.

Finally, the Buddha lists the three kinds of unwholesome mental conduct:

8. Covetousness.
9. Ill will.
10. Wrong view.

In most Buddhist traditions, these ten kinds of unwholesome conduct are adapted into The Ten Precepts. They are adopted by the practitioner as an undertaking to abstain from each form of conduct, thereby ending the creation of any unwholesome karma.

The Ten Positive Precepts

In the Triratna Buddhist Order, these traditional precepts of abstention remain important, but they are further extended with the addition of The Positive Precepts, which focus on generating wholesome karma:

1. With deeds of loving kindness, I purify my body.
2. With open-handed generosity, I purify my body.
3. With stillness, simplicity and contentment, I purify my body.
4. With truthful communication, I purify my speech.
5. With kindly communication, I purify my speech.
6. With helpful communication, I purify my speech.
7. With harmonious communication, I purify my speech.
8. Abandoning covetousness for tranquillity, I purify my mind.
9. Changing hatred into compassion, I purify my mind.
10. Transforming ignorance into wisdom, I purify my mind.

From the perspective of the Bodhisattva ideal, if we are to help all beings to attain enlightenment, the wholesome karma one generates would therefore ideally be of the supramundane kind, the kind which leads to the future non-arising of karma. That is not to say that mundane karma should be avoided, but that a greater benefit in the long run comes by generating karma that is neither dark nor bright, but which is conducive to furtherance along the path to enlightenment.

In that regard, I have tried to come up with examples of supramundane karma that might arise from the application of the Positive Precepts.

1. With deeds of loving kindness, I purify my body.

Here, we might care for someone who is sick to help alleviate their physical suffering. We might adopt an abandoned animal if we have sufficient resources for their comfortable living. We might go out of our way to raise a child with love and care, always mindful of their wellbeing. We should practice the Dharma and be kind to ourselves if we make mistakes, resolving to act in a more wholesome way in the future.

2. With open-handed generosity, I purify my body.

We might give a gift of money, tangibles or time to a Buddhist charity, which is then applied directly to the teaching of the Dharma to others. We could donate money or give our time to other charities, particularly those that align with Buddhist ethical values such as the alleviation of suffering in living beings. We could give more of our time to connect with others, particularly if we feel like they have wronged us in some way. Offering forgiveness without an expectation of anything in return is a form of generosity.

3. With stillness, simplicity and contentment, I purify my body.

We might become an example of a peaceful, calm and happy person, through equanimous responses to challenging situations. For those who have a partner, we might develop and exemplify greater understanding and mindfulness towards them, particularly when thinking about them and when engaging verbally and physically. When engaging with anyone, we might try to do so in a way that brings about stillness, simplicity and contentment in them too.

4. With truthful communication, I purify my speech.

We might think more about what we say before we say it, especially when what we are about to say could be controversial or in dispute. What may seem true to us, might not seem true to another, as truth is grounded in world views and not everyone shares the same world view. If we adopt second-hand or third-hand information as our own without having understood it fully, we are adopting the volitional formations of others as our own and amplifying existing karma, whether wholesome or unwholesome. Therefore, it may be preferable to only speak about matters of which we have direct knowledge or have understood fully or are trying to understand fully.

5. With kindly communication, I purify my speech.

Here, we might rejoice in the merits of others. We might speak in ways that encourage connection and are conducive to Sangha amongst friends and strangers alike.

6. With helpful communication, I purify my speech.

We might point out someone's good points when they do something that is beneficial to their path or to another's path, particularly when they may be having difficulty in their practice. More generally, we might think more about the benefit of what we are about to say, and say only those things which are of benefit.

7. With harmonious communication, I purify my speech.

We might choose to speak on topics that are likely to resonate positively with others and give rise to positive outcomes for ourselves and others from a Dharmic perspective. This could include talking about the Dharma and the positive attributes of others.

8. Abandoning covetousness for tranquillity, I purify my mind.

We might guide our thoughts towards tranquil imagery such as a blue sky mind when faced with thoughts of desire. We might cultivate the opposite of covetousness, by practicing metta towards ourselves, feeling into the underlying need within us that is giving rise to the desire. We might contemplate the consequences that can lead from thoughts of sensual desire.

9. Changing hatred into compassion, I purify my mind.

We might bring a difficult person to mind in meditation, in the fourth stage of the metta bhavana for example. Eventually, if we are in contact with someone who has been difficult in our lives, we might think of how we might rebuild a lost relationship in a way that will be of benefit to all involved.

10. Transforming ignorance into wisdom, I purify my mind.

We might study the Dharma, read the teachings, listen to the teachings, go on retreat and meditate on all that we learn from our practice.

In conclusion, reflecting on our actions of body, speech and mind is an important part of Buddhist practice, and these examples are just some of the ways in which we can cultivate wholesome karma in the world. I would encourage everyone to think about their own actions of body, speech and mind and consider which category they fall into — whether supramundane or mundane wholesome karma, or unwholesome karma. If unwholesome, think how you might stop those actions in the future. If wholesome, think how you might increase their arising in future, especially the karma of the supramundane kind, the kind that helps you and everyone else on the path to enlightenment.

The Wisdom Timer app has meditations that can help cultivate wholesome karma, such as the meditation on loving kindness, or "metta bhavana".

With kindness,

Chris James

Chris is a Buddhist from Nottingham, England.