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| 2.
Supportive Kamma (Upatthambhaka
Kamma)
That which comes near
the Reproductive Kamma and supports it. It is either good or bad and
it assists or maintains the action of the Reproductive Kamma
in the course of one's lifetime. Immediately after the conception till
the death moment this Kamma steps forward to support the Reproductive
Kamma. A moral supportive Kamma assists in giving health, wealth, happiness,
etc, to the person concerned. An immoral Supportive Kamma, on the other
hand, assists in giving pain, sorrow, etc., to the person born with
an immoral Reproductive Kamma as, for instance, to a beast of burden.
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| 3.
Obstructive Kamma (Upapidaka Kamma)
Obstructive or Counteractive
Kamma which, unlike the former, tends to weaken, interrupt and retard
the fruition of the Reproductive Kamma. For instance, a person born
with a good Reproductive Kamma may be subject to various ailments etc.,
thus preventing him from enjoying the blissful results of his good action.
An animal, on the other hand, who is born with a bad Reproductive Kamma,
may lead a comfortable life by getting good food, lodging, etc., as
a result of his good Counteractive Kamma preventing the fruition of
the evil Reproductive Kamma. |
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| 4. Destructive
Kamma (Upaghataka Kamma)
According to the Law of Kamma the potential energy of the Reproductive Kamma could be nullified by a more powerful opposing Kamma of the past, which, seeking an opportunity, may quite unexpectedly operate, just as a counteractive powerful force can obstruct the path of a flying arrow and bring it down to the ground. Such an action is called Destructive Kamma which is more effective than the previous two in that it not only obstructs but also destroys the whole force. This Destructive Kamma also may be either good or bad. |
| 1. Weighty Kamma (Garuka Kamma) Garuka which means either weighty or serious, may be either good or bad. It produces its results in this life or in the next for certain. If good, it is purely mental as in the case of the Jhanas. Otherwise it is either verbal or bodily. The five kinds of Weighty Kamma according to their gravity are :- a. The creation of
a schism in the Sangha These are also know as Anantariya Kamma because they will definitely produce their effects in the subsequent life. Permanent Scepticism (niyata micchaditthi) is also termed one of the Weighty Kamma. (i) If, for instance, any person were to develop the Jhanas and later were to commit one of these heinous crimes, his good Kamma would be obliterated by the powerful evil Kamma. His subsequent birth will be conditioned by the evil Kamma in spite of his having gained the Jhanas earlier. Devadatta lost his psychic powers and was born in an evil state because he wounded the Buddha and caused a schism in the Sangha. (ii) King Ajatasattu would have attained the first stage of Sainthood if he had not committed parricide. In this case the powerful evil Kamma acted as an obstacle to his gaining Sainthood. |
| 2.
Proximate Kamma (Asanna Kamma)
Asanna or Death-proximate Kamma is that which one does or remembers immediately before the dying moment. Owing to its significance in determining the future birth, the custom of reminding the dying person of his good deeds and making him do good acts on his death-bed still prevails in Buddhist countries. (i) Sometimes a bad person may die happily and receive a good birth if fortunately he remembers or does a good act at the last moment. A story runs that a certain executioner, who casually happened to give some alms to the Venerable Sariputta, remembered this good act at the dying moment and was born in a state of bliss. This does not mean that although he enjoys a good birth he will be exempt from the effects of the evil deeds, accumulated during his lifetime. They will have their due effects as occasions arise. (ii) At times a good person may die unhappily by suddenly remembering an evil act of his or by harbouring some unpleasant thought, perchance compelled by unfavourable circumstances. Queen Mallika, the consort of King Kosala, led a righteous life, but as a result of remembering, at her death moment, a lie which she had uttered, she had to suffer for about seven days in a state of misery. These are only exceptional cases. Such reverse changes of birth account for the birth of virtuous children to vicious parents and of vicious children to virtuous parents. As a rule the last thought-process is conditioned by the general conduct of a person. |
| 3.
Habitual Kamma (Acinna Kamma)
Acinna Kamma is that which one habitually performs and recollects and for which one has a great liking. Habits whether good or bad become second nature. They tend to form the character of a person. At leisure moments we often engage ourselves in our habitual thoughts and deeds. In the same way at the death-moment, unless influenced by other circumstances, we, as a rule, recall to mind such thoughts and deeds. (i) Cunda, a butcher, who was living in the vicinity of the Buddha's monastery, died squealing like a pig because he was earning his living by slaughtering pigs. (ii) King Dutthagamani
of Ceylon was in the habit of giving alms to the Bhikkhus before he
took his meals. It was this habitual Kamma that gladdened him at the
dying moment and gave him birth in Tusita Realm. |
| 4. Reserve Kamma
(Katatta Kamma)
Reserve or Cumulative Kamma.
All actions that are done once and soon forgotten belong to this category.
This is as it were the reserve fund of a particular being. |
| The advent of death is fourfold - namely, a. through the expiration
of the age-limit The first three types of death are collectively called kalamarana (timely death), and the last one is known as akalamarana (untimely death). Illustration : An oil lamp, for instance, may be extinguished owing to any of the following four causes - namely, the exhaustion of the wick, the exhaustion of oil, simultaneous exhaustion of both wick and oil, and some extraneous cause like the gust of a wind. Death of a person may similarly be caused by any of the afore-said four ways. To those who are about to die, at the moment of death, by the power of Kamma, one of the following will present itself through any of the six doors :- (i) A Kamma that produces
rebirth in the subsequent birth enters (ii) An object (Kamma
nimitta) such as a pre-perceived form and the like, or (iii) A symbolic destiny
sign (Gati nimitta) that where one would be
Death is the temporary end
of a temporary phenomenon. Death is not the complete annihilation
of a being. |
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They are :
1. Utu Niyama, physical inorganic order; |
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