All Men are Born Equal?: A Discussion on Kamma

Post updated: 30th Aug 2011 (See note under comments)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."

~ United States Declaration of Independence

All men are created equal. This is a very powerful statement and it embodies perhaps the single most potent idea that has captured the imagination of modern civilisations. The idea of equality of all men (and women) has wide ranging influence on and is very entrenched in our modern civilised world, particularly in western societies. It serves as one of the fundamental principles of any democratic institutions and is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The appealing idea expressed by this statement seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory. But let us explore its meaning a bit further in order to try to understand it better. Here of course we are looking from the perspective of one who is a Buddhist. Therefore we have to leave aside the idea of creationism which is implicit in the statement because Buddhists do not subscribe to the idea that the universe and all lives that exist in it was created by a supreme almighty being. Be that as it may be we can still approach a discussion of its meaning generally by replacing the expression created equal with born equal. So instead of saying all men are created equal we can say all men are born equal.

But, when we look at this statement that all human beings are born equal the first question that immediately comes to mind is this: But are all human beings really born equal? If we think about it honestly we have to concede that human beings are never really equal at birth. We are each born  into circumstances that are very different one from another. And these circumstances do assert their influence over the opportunities that are open to us in life. Factors like the family into which we are born, its social and financial standings, our gender, race, skin colour, physical appearance, whether we have any physical defects or not, etc., all these may have a bearing on the doors of opportunities that may or may not be open to us in our life. This truth is difficult to accept for some believers in human equality but it is nevertheless, and sadly so, still a reality of our human society in many parts of the world even in this 21st century.

Other factors like the country and the society into which we are born, its cultural norms, religious beliefs, philosophical inclinations, political systems, even the language spoken, the education level and moral standards of our parents and elders, the historical epoch into which we are born, all these also contribute towards influencing the path that our life will take, the experiences that we are likely to experience, and the kind of person that we are likely to become. And there are still many other factors, including internal factors like all the habits and mental dispositions that we bring with us from our past lives. But the fact is that human beings are never born equal. This is a fact of life.

Let us discuss this a bit further. Now why is it that even though we are all humans yet we are not born equal? Herein lies one argument that is often held against creationism. If indeed all men were created by an almighty supreme being and if, as its adherents assert, this supreme being is also all-loving and merciful, then why does this all-loving and merciful being create men and put them into very different circumstances, some to suffer their entire life and some to enjoy the blessing of a pampered life? Why bless some with perfect body and limbs while condemning others to be born without limbs? This must be a very cruel and unfair being rather than an all-loving and merciful one. So creationism cannot satisfactorily explain the disparities that exist among men. It doesn't hold out.

"He who has eyes can see the sickening sight;
Why does not Brahma set his creatures right?
If his wide power no limits can restrain,
Why is his hand so rarely spread to bless?
Why are his creatures all condemned to pain?
Why does he not to all to all give happiness?
Why do fraud, lies, and ignorance prevail?
Why triumphs falsehood, -- truth and justice fail?
I count your Brahma one among the unjust,
Who made a world in which to shelter wrong."

~ Bhūridatta Jātaka

This question on disparity among humans was once put forward to the Buddha by the young Brahmin named Subha, the son of Todeyya. He asked:

"Master Gotama, what is the reason, what is the cause, why among human beings, although all are human beings, there are seen both the inferior and the superior? For, Master Gotama, there are seen humans who are short-lived and those who are long-lived; there are seen those who are sickly and those who are healthy; there are seen those who are ugly and those who are beautiful; there are seen those who are of little influence and those who are of great influence; there are seen those who are of little wealth and those who are of great wealth; there are seen those of humble family and those of noble family; there are seen those who are foolish and those who are wise. What is the reason, Master Gotama, what is the cause, why among human beings, although all are human beings, there are seen both the inferior and the superior?"

~ Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta, Majjhima-Nikāya Sutta 135

The Buddha's reply to Subha's question was this:

"Young man, beings have kamma (action or deed) as their possession, kamma as their inheritance, kamma as their origin, kamma as their relative, kamma as their refuge. It is kamma that differentiate beings as either inferior or superior."

The Buddha then went on to explain in detail how kamma, the actions or deeds one has performed can bring about this inferiority and superiority among humans. For example in the case of the pair who are short-lived and long-lived the Buddha explained that if one commits acts of killing, is cruel and is inclined to killing and destroying, having no compassion for beings, then on passing away one will be reborn in a miserable state of existence (apāya), a fallen state (vinipāta), the realm of incessant suffering (niraya). But if one is not reborn in such a place but is instead reborn as a human one will be short-lived.

On the other hand if one does not entertain any thoughts of killing but instead one abstains from the act of killing, abandons cruelty, is ashame of evil deeds, is compassionate towards all that live and is solicitous of their welfare, then on passing away one will be reborn in the celestial world of the devas. However, if one is not reborn there but in the human world instead then one will be long-lived.

For the Buddha's explanation on the other pairs of disparity mentioned by Subha please refer directly to Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta. In brief any kamma or action that is motivated by defiled intention, i.e. intention under the influence of greed, hatred, or delusion, will result in or bring about inferior states of existence and conditions of life. And any kamma or action that is motivated by pure or noble intention, i.e. intention under the influence of generosity, kindness, or wisdom, will result in or bring about superior states of existence and conditions of life.

So the Buddha explained the disparities, the differences that exist among human beings in the world, and, indeed, among all beings in the universe by means of the law of kamma or the universal law of moral causation. This law states that each time one performs an action (kamma), whether bodily, verbal, or even mental, that is motivated by an intention or volition (cetana), it is like sowing a seed that has the potential to produce fruit or result in the future. The quality of the seed of kamma depends on the intention that motivates it. Infact, according to the Buddha it is intention that is actually kamma because it is intention that drives our actions. Unwholesome intention that are associated with defiled states of mind, such as greed, hatred, and delusion, is like an inferior seed that bears the potential to produce undesirable result. And wholesome intention that are associated with noble states of mind, such as generosity, kindness, and wisdom, is like a superior seed that bears the potential to produce desirable result.

"According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit you reap there from,
Doer of good will gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps,
Sown is the seed and thou shalt taste
The fruit thereof."

~ Saṃyutta-Nikāya, Sakkasaṃyutta, Sutta 10

According to the Buddha's teaching this law of kamma is not a law that was created by anyone, not even Buddha. It is a natural law that exists naturally as part of the natural order of things, just like the law of gravity. But unlike the law of gravity that operates purely in the realm of the physical, the law of kamma operates in the realm of the mental, although it does affect the physical world to some extent. The law of kamma is part of the law of cause and effect that exists in nature. In the case of the law of kamma the cause is specifically all the intentions that motivates our actions. And because our intentions are tied up with our moral values it can also be called the law of moral causation.

This natural law of kamma is not created by the Buddha but was merely discovered by him while he was meditating under the Bodhi tree on the eve of his enlightenment. He was meditating and investigating deeply into the nature of our existence at that time when he discovered that the intention behind our actions bears the potential to produce consequences in the future which result in suffering in the world.

Now, for kamma to ripen or produce its result favourable conditions must be present. Without such favourable conditions the potential of kamma to produce its result remains dormant in the mental continuum of beings. Some sets of conditions are favourable for the ripening of unwholesome kamma while some other sets of conditions are favourable for the ripening of wholesome kamma. So depending on the conditions that are present at a particular moment in our life sometimes wholesome kamma produce results and sometimes unwholesome kamma. And we have all performed countless actions in our innumerable past lives, both wholesome and unwholesome. All these kammas have the potential to produce their result whenever the right set of conditions is met with. So depending on these circumstances and conditions that are present sometimes we have pleasant experience in life and sometimes we have unpleasant experience. And since we have all perform our individual kammas that are very different from each other and since each of us also encounters very different sets of conditions in our life, both the external and internal conditions, our experiences of life are different from each other. And so disparities exist in our lives.

Now while we are still on the subject of kamma let us say something more about it. In addition to being a natural law that is not created by anybody the law of kamma also operates naturally on its own without the intervention of anyone. There is no almighty being who oversees this law of kamma. There is no one who sits in some lofty heaven somewhere high up there who passes judgement on our every actions, who determines whether they are good or bad, wholesome or unwholesome, and who decides what is the appropriate reward or punishment to be meted out. The law of kamma as we mentioned is part of the natural law of cause and effect and as such it can operate quite naturally on its own as part of the natural order of things.

If there were an almighty being who sits in judgement of all our actions then, just like a human judge can be offered bribe to influence his judgement so too this almighty judge can be influenced by prayers and offertories. In fact this is exactly what many believe in and practice as part of their religious observance. When this happen there is a tendency for religion to become nothing more than a bargain or an agreement between the adherents and their almighty being. As long as the prayers and offertories keep coming and you maintain your belief in the potency of the almighty being everything is fine and everybody are kept happy. You can then do anything you like including killing, stealing, cheating, etc. It is alright because your security and happiness does not depend on the observance of any moral code of conduct. It depends on you maintaining your faith in the almighty being, saying your prayers, and keeping the offertories coming. In fact there are those who have committed evil deeds all their life, and when they are about to pass away, being gripped by the fear of death and the uncertainties ahead, out of their desperation for some solace, profess their belief in an almighty being believing that by doing so all their wrong doings will be somehow cleared away. When a person holds such a belief there appears to be no good reason at all to do good or to avoid evil. For doing good and avoiding evil is inconsequential to one's happiness and security. Such a belief will lead to break down of moral values and therefore chaos in society.

But since the law of kamma is a natural law of cause and effect that operates naturally on its own uninfluenced by any beings it is totally impersonal and is impartial to prayers and offertories. And so the result of an action will match perfectly with the action itself. Just as in accordance with the law of gravity whenever there are two objects there must always exists a force of attraction between the two, the force of which is in proportion to the mass of these objects. So also in accordance with the law of kamma whenever an unwholesome action is performed it will always bear the potential  for undesirable consequences and vice versa. No amount of prayers or offertories can influence or change this course of kamma.

A person who has committed an evil action may justify to others all he wants about the nobleness of his action. For example those who kill in the name of defending their religion may twist and spin facts and justify all they want saying that this is good and wholesome because this is what is required of their religion. But they cannot hoodwink the law of kamma that is impartial to any justification. Killing is killing regardless of the justification and it is always unwholesome because it always involves intense unwholesome anger on part of the killer.

The law of kamma also does not obey any man-made secular laws. We cannot justify our actions based on what is or is not allowable under secular laws. Nor can we judge the result of kamma based on the same. For example some countries allow abortion under certain circumstances. And death sentence is also sanctioned by the laws of many countries. But the legality of abortion and death sentence according to secular laws does not make them kammically wholesome. They are still unwholesome because the law of kamma is an immutable law of nature that does not change according to subjective human understanding of what is legal and what is not legal. Buddhists must of course conform with the secular laws of their respective countries so long as these laws do not compel them to do anything kammically unwholesome.

Another thing about the law of kamma is that it is a universal law. This means it applies to everyone regardless of whether you believe in it or not. Since it is a natural law it affects everybody. Your belief in it is irrelevant. It is just like even though you don't believe in the natural law of gravity it does not mean that you are not going to be stuck to this earth like everybody else who do believe in it and will begin to experience weightlessness. Similarly your belief in the law of kamma is not important. As a natural law it operates on everybody regardless of whether they believe in or accept it or not.

Then it may be asked, if good wholesome action begets desirable result while unwholesome evil action begets undesirable result, why is it then that in this world we often observe that there are very good, noble, and virtuous people who have to suffer a lot of difficulties in life and at the same time there are also those who are evil, corrupted, and wicked who seem to have an easy and good life? It seems from this observation that either the law of kamma cannot be true or it allows for some anomalies.

But this observation is actually incomplete because it is based on only the present life of that person or even on just a section of his present life. To appreciate the law of kamma we need to look at it from the perspective of the totality of our saṃsāric existence consisting of incalculable number of lives stretching back in time to an unimaginable beginning-less time. During this inconceivably long period of time a person had performed innumerable kammas, both the wholesome and the unwholesome.

He had been at times noble and at times evil. Yes, because of the fragility and ephemeral nature of saṃsāric conditioning a Mother Theresa of today may turn into an Adolf Hitler of tomorrow and vice versa. All of us are capable of both good and evil nature. Sometimes the good nature in us is dominant while at other times the evil nature in us is prominent. This is actually one of the danger of saṃsāric existence, especially for those who lack the guidance of the Dhamma or some other teaching that expound wholesome moral values.

"As a person who is born blind,
A man without a guide to mind,
Proceeds at times by a path correct,
Other times upon a faulty track,
So while the foolish man wanders on,
The round of births from a guide withdrawn,
At times merit he carries out,
At times demerit too he wrought,
But when Dhamma with knowledge he pervade,
When the truths he shall come to penetrate,
Then ignorance is laid to rest,
With peace he shall walk abreast."

~ Visuddhimagga XVII.119

What determines which nature is dominant in us at any one time? While there are many factors it depends primarily on the direction in which we bend our intentions towards at that time. In this we have a choice although we are mostly influenced by our surroundings,  e.g. our upbringing, our education level, and especially the people we associate with. But we do have a choice in deciding which direction to incline our intentions towards. And this is the free will that the law of kamma accord beings.

So even though a person can be a very noble and virtuous person right now it does not mean that he do not have any bad kamma from his past. Similarly just because a person is right now a very evil and wicked person it does not mean that he do not have any good kamma in store. And because kamma, both the good and the bad ones, are constantly ripening as and when the right conditions fall into place, therefore we see that even noble and virtuous person can suffer the consequences of the unwholesome kamma performed in the past while evil and wicked person can enjoy the result of wholesome kamma.

If we look at the law of kamma from the perspective of a single lifetime then things do not seem to be fair for many people. Some do good and avoid evil but life deals them difficulties after difficulties. Some do a lot of wicked deeds and never bother nor believe in doing good and yet life treats them so well. It does not seem fair. But if you look at the law of kamma from the perspective of the totality of saṃsāra then everything is exactly fair. Everybody get their just deserts.

So coming back to the question: Are all men born equal? According to the teaching of the Buddha no, all men are born unequal. But yet everything is fair. So does that mean that the statement all men are born equal is wrong? No it is not if we understand it in its proper context. Nowadays when it is said that all men are born equal it usually means that they are born with equal rights that are recognised, accorded, and assured by the law of the country. They are equal in terms of the rights they possess by the law, not by the circumstances of their birth or their life. As Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights goes:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

When the law of a country assures equal rights for all her citizens it means they have equal access to the opportunities available in the country provided they are willing to work hard to avail themselves to it. This ensures fair and equal opportunities for all her citizens to compete and be successful in life regardless of the circumstances of their birth, their gender, race, religion, etc. And as Buddhists we support and uphold this concept of equal rights by the law because it reflects a just and righteous (dhammika) mode of governance which is fully in accordance with the spirit of the Dhamma, the Buddha's teaching.

But some may argue that if due to the law of kamma there will always be disparity among human beings then wouldn't the concept of equality by the law go against the nature of things as they really are, against the Dhamma? After all there will always be the rich and the poor, the weak and the powerful, the upper and the lower class, etc. This is the way things are due to kamma, it had always been and will continue to be this way. There will never come a time when all men will be completely equal. So why bother with such concept and idea of equality of men in any form?

We bother because as we understand it the law of kamma does not advocate a fatalistic idea. The view that there will always exists the rich and the poor, etc. because of kamma and so why bother, this view assumes that the poor will always be poor and the rich always rich, etc. While it is true that there will always exist disparity among we human beings yet our individual path in life is not set in stone. It is not fatalistically predetermined by our kamma. We are neither condemned to suffer the same bad kamma all our life nor are we assured of enjoying the same good kamma all our life. Since we each have a large store of both wholesome and unwholesome kamma from our past and since the circumstances and conditions of our life are ever in a dynamic flux, now favourable and now unfavourable, our fortune in life can also change according to changes in our life's circumstances and conditions.

And with a fair amount of diligent effort, knowledge and intelligence, a person is capable of influencing and changing the circumstances of his or her life for the better. The law of kamma as mentioned earlier allows us free will to choose our intentions in life. We can always incline or bend our intention one way or another. This allows us to influence and alter the course of our life. Making effort and applying knowledge and intelligence to influence and change our life circumstances for the better is something that we learn from a proper understanding of the law of kamma.

Many Buddhists, especially laid back ones, have the attitude of leaving everything in life to past kamma. They usually think If I have good kamma I will get what I want, otherwise it is just my bad kamma and there is nothing that I can do about it. This is a wrong understanding of the law of kamma because firstly not everything that we experience in life is due to our past kamma. There are many other factors involve that have bearing on our present life experience, kamma being only one of them. And secondly if one understands the law of kamma properly one understands that while it is true that we do have past kamma to contend with and there is nothing that we can do about them because they have already been performed in the past, there is something that we can actually do in the present that can help to turn our life's circumstances around. That is our present kamma.

The word kamma itself literally means action or work while its actual meaning is volition or intention behind an action. If we want to have something good in our life we need to first perform the kamma or work that can lead towards that goal. This means to bend our intentions towards taking action or doing work that can help us to achieve that goal. This is present kamma and it involves making effort, and applying knowledge and intelligence right now to do the necessary work. And we have control over the choice of our present kammas unlike past kammas that have already been performed and done with.

So if a student wants to pass his examination he has to incline his intentions to work hard, study diligently and intelligently to acquire the necessary knowledge to pass. Similarly to be successful in business one must bend one's intentions towards working very hard to first of all acquire knowledge and skill relating to the trade, then to build up one's social network and relationship, to build one's professional reputation, to apply intelligence and knowledge in recognising strengths and weaknesses, in striking business deals and agreement, etc.

If one is willing to work hard in life and apply knowledge and intelligence one is not only performing present kamma that leads to success, but by doing so one is also essentially altering one's life circumstances and conditions so that they become favourable for one's past wholesome kamma to ripen and brings success in one's life. However, this is provided the law of the country assures equal rights to available opportunities for all its citizens. If instead of this the law allows for some kind of discrimination, for example discrimination based on race, or gender, or religion, etc. then if one happens to fall into the category of those who are discriminated against, one may work as hard as anybody else but will not be able to succeed as well as those who are not discriminated against. In this case the law itself becomes an unfavourable condition that hinders the ripening of one's wholesome kamma. It becomes an obstruction.

Sure, one may argue that it is bad kamma to be born in a country whereby one is discriminated against by the law. And in a globalised world like ours one can, as part of one's present kamma, always choose to migrate to another country where things are fairer. This is true, and it is definitely an option that many  have taken. But as Buddhists we also believe that a government of a country should be just and righteous and should enact laws that are similarly just and righteous. Part of being just and righteous is to be kind and compassionate. So a righteous government is not one that unduly obstructs its citizen from accessing the opportunities available in the country because this is neither kind nor compassionate. Rather a righteous government is one that facilitates its citizens in their pursuit of wealth, prosperity, and happiness. The only obstruction to this pursuit should come from the citizens themselves, e.g. if they are lazy or laid back then it can't be help that they become failures in life. But if a citizen is willing to work hard and work intelligently then a wise and compassionate government would do well to facilitate his effort. It is wise because the success of  every citizen in the country contributes to the success of the country in general. So even though as Buddhists we understand that due to kamma there will always be disparity among human beings we still nevertheless support the idea of equal rights for all by the law as part of the principles of good, just, and righteous mode of governance that is in accordance with the fundamental spirit of the Dhamma.

So as mentioned above an understanding of the law of kamma teaches us that if we want something in our life we need to work towards it. We must prepare the suitable conditions that will allow us to achieve what we want. The law of kamma is not a lazy man excuse to wait around for something good to happen, for some good kamma to ripen.

On a personal level if we want to see some positive change in our life we must work personally for it. And similarly on our societal level if we want to see some positive change in our society we must also work collectively for it. Positive change in a society does not just happen when everybody just sit around doing nothing and yet hope that things will somehow change for the better. Too often have the excuse that one should be detached been used by some Buddhists to justify doing nothing and not being concerned with the society and world around. This excuse may be suitable for Buddhist monks especially those meditating monks who usually live a secluded meditative life away from the society. But it is definitely not suitable for a lay Buddhist who is totally engaged and involved with the society at large on a daily basis. Buddhists must be active participants in the process of positive change they want to see in their society. If there is something wrong in the society one lives in and yet one does nothing to correct it nor do one participate in someone else's effort to correct it then one really have no business or right to complain about the wrong. As they say If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.

Actually even Buddhas and arahants can be motivated to act when there is a need to do so. The Buddha for example is known to have intervened several times to prevent war from breaking out between two factions. And he also spent forty five years of his life from the time after his enlightenment right until the last moments of his life travelling untiringly the length and breadth of the Ganges Valley in order to share the Dhamma he had realised with men and gods for their welfare and benefits. After he attained enlightenment he could have just as easily decided on an easier life of meditating in the forest enjoying the bliss of his attainment of enlightenment (which he almost did) instead of bothering with the more demanding and troublesome task of teaching. But yet out of compassion for suffering beings he decided to devote the remainder of his life to sharing the Dhamma with them for their welfare and benefits.

Not only the Buddha but his arahants disciples too work for the benefit of the people in the society they live in. Like the Buddha many of his arahants disciples spent their time actively sharing the Dhamma with whoever is interested. Not only that they were also involved in the more important task of compiling, preserving, and passing on the Dhamma to future generations in a way that will ensure that the Buddha's teaching will remain long in the world. After the Buddha's parinibbāna (passing away), Ven. Mahā Kassapa saw that there was a real possibility then that the Buddha was no longer around that some of the monks will begin not to follow or teach the Dhamma and Vinaya as the Buddha had taught them, but will begin to cherry-pick, follow, practice, and teach only those part of the Dhamma and Vinaya that they like. This will of course lead to a weakening of the Sāsana (dispensation of the Buddha) and will cause it to totally disappear very quickly from and be forgotten by the world.

He was thereby spurred to take action. He managed to convince the Saṅgha (the order of the monks) to convene a meeting in order to collect, compile, and recite all the teaching of the Buddha so as to preserve it for future generations. The Saṅgha charged him to select suitable monks for the purpose. And he selected five hundred very learned arahant elders including the Ven. Ānanda (at that time not yet an arahant). And all these five hundred elders participated actively to convene what is now called the First Buddhist Council. They participated not only in the council itself but also in the preparation leading up to the council. Together they decided upon Rājagaha as the suitable place to hold the council. They also agreed collectively that it should be held during the Vassa (the annual Rains Residence of the monks during the rainy season) and that during that time no other monks other than the five hundred should take up residence in Rājagaha. This is so that the meeting will not be unduly interrupted by monks who may hold dissenting views.

When they have arrived at Rājagaha they decided that it is not proper to convene the council before first looking into the repairs of the monasteries in Rājagaha which were in a broken and dilapidated state after they were abandoned by the monks who all left for Kusināra when they heard that the Buddha had passed away there. So they decided to spend the first month of the Vassa doing repair work and only convene the council in the second month. They even approach the King, Ajātasattu for his patronage and support for both the repair work as well as to prepare a suitable place to convene the council.

Throughout the Ven. Mahā Kassapa showed great leadership in the matters concerning the convening of the council while the five hundred arahant elders participated actively. Had it not been for their effort, had they decided that they should be detached and have no concern for the welfare of future generations (they were after all arahants) we of today would not have the good fortune to still be able to learn and practise the Dhamma.

The law of kamma can be applied not only in daily life but also in meditation practise. Meditation is the practise of cultivating powerful wholesome state of mind. For example in the case of mettā meditation one develop very powerful state of concentrated mettā (loving kindness) towards beings. And in the case of satipaṭṭhāna meditation one develops very powerful state of concentrated mindfulness and clear-comprehension of the nature of realities. To meditate successfully  one must bend one's intentions towards arousing these wholesome states of mind and towards sustaining them continuously so that they can grow in momentum and strength. It is intentions (cetanā) that will these wholesome states to arise and it is intentions also that will them to be continuously present. So in meditation one uses this will-power that is intention to arouse and develop the necessary wholesome mental states. And when the wholesome mental states willed by intentions becomes strong and powerful due to continuous repetition they become concentrated. Concentration arises and the wholesome intention accompanying these wholesome mental states also becomes concentrated and powerful. This concentrated intention is powerful kamma. Meditation practises are powerful wholesome kamma that are capable of purifying the mind and bringing about rebirth in the higher world of the spiritual brahmas. And in the case of Satipaṭṭhāna Vipassanā meditation the powerful wholesome kamma that is generated is called vivaṭṭa-gāmi-kusala-kamma or wholesome kamma that leads to the dismantling of the round of suffering.

In general spiritual practise whether in doing dāna (act of generosity), observing sīla (code of virtuous moral conduct), or practising bhāvana (wholesome mental cultivation or meditation) one can apply the law of kamma by inclining or bending one's intentions towards the wholesome states of mind engendered by these practises. All these practises turn the mind away from unwholesome states of mind and turn them towards the wholesome. One practises them by using one's intention to will the mind to turn away from the unwholesome towards the wholesome. Spiritual practise is a struggle between the wholesome and unwholesome forces in the mind. Which forces will eventually become dominant in the mind depends on where one directs one's intention towards. Will power is involved here and the law of kamma gives us the free-will to choose between the wholesome and unwholesome. The question is are we willing? Do we have the will power to choose the wholesome over the unwholesome? The law of kamma is perfectly fair.



NB: For a more detail treatment of the law of kamma read Buddhist Theory of Kamma by Ven. Narada Mahāthera