The Elixir of Nectar

When we are certain about all that is explained here, whether or not we put this into practice and take up the Dharma will depend on the aspiration towards the Dharma that we have gained through our contemplation. And the arising of this aspiration depends on contemplating the effects of our actions. As Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (7:40) says:

Aspiration, so the Sage has said,

Is the root of every kind of virtue.

And the root of aspiration is meditating

Constantly on the fruits of action.

This section has two parts:

1. Contemplating the effects of actions in general

2. Contemplating specific types of action

1. Contemplating the effects of actions in general

This has two parts: 1) the certainty of karma, and 2) the proliferation of effects.

i. The certainty of karma

A sūtra says:

When his time has come, even a king has to die,

And neither his friends nor his wealth can follow him.

So for us—wherever we stay, wherever we go—

Karma follows us like a shadow.

When we enter the next life, it is certain that we will be accompanied only by our positive and negative actions. It is also certain that we ourselves will be the ones to experience the results of whatever actions we have accumulated; these results will not ripen on others. A sūtra says:

The actions that we have done and accumulated,

Will not ripen externally upon the ground,

Nor will they ripen in the water or fire or wind,

They will not ripen in the expanse of space,

But will ripen in our aggregates, in our own experience.

And the King of Samādhi Sūtra says:

Having carried out an action, you can not avoid its result,

And you will not experience what has been done by others.

Why? It is said that the results of our actions will not go to waste, and we will not face the results of acts we have not committed.

We might feel it is uncertain that actions performed a long time ago will still produce results. But any karma that has not been rendered ineffective by adverse factors will not disappear simply because a long time has passed. When the right circumstances come together, it will surely bear its fruit. As the Hundred Actions tells us:

The actions of beings never go to waste,

Even after a hundred aeons,

When the conditions are assembled,

They will certainly bear fruit.

As for the order in which actions ripen, the Sthavira Rāhulabhadra[i] says:

Whichever actions carry the greatest effect,

Whichever are closest, whichever most habitual,

And whichever were done first—

These will be the very first to ripen.

That is to say, strongest actions will be the first to ripen. If actions are of equal strength, that which is more recent, and clearest in the mind at the time of death will ripen first. If they are equal in this respect as well, it will be whichever action is most habitual, and if equal too in this respect, whichever action was done first will be the first to ripen.

ii. The proliferation of effects

Although we may be certain about the effects of major positive or negative actions, we might think that lesser actions do not bring about effects. But that is not so, because inner causality involves vast proliferation. As it says in the Collection of Meaningful Expressions:

Even a small misdeed,

Can bring terrors in the next life,

And lead eventually to ruin,

Just like poison in the stomach.

Even a small good deed,

Can bring great joy in the next life,

And the fulfilment of great purpose,

Just like crops produced from grain.

Certainty with regard to this can be gained by recalling the stories of the nāga king Elapattra[ii] and King Māndhātṛi[iii], and how great results come from minor causes.

Well, you might wonder, what is the difference between great and small? The Letter to a Friend (v.42):

Constancy, motivation, lack of counteragent,

And the field of excellence—these determine

The five kinds of major virtue and non-virtue.

Of these, strive for conduct that is virtuous.

As this says, actions performed constantly, with a strong motivation, without remedies such as regret which would cancel them out, and arising from a field of excellence, such as the Three Jewels, or the teacher, or from a field of benefit, such as one’s parents, are major actions. Their opposites are minor actions.

Moreover, premeditated actions are referred to as “committed and accumulated”, whereas unintentional acts are said to be “committed but not accumulated.”

The Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (5:81) says:

Constantly inspired by a strong motivation,

Or motivated by the remedial forces,

Actions before the fields of excellence, benefit

Or misery, become major deeds of virtue.

And the Treasury of Abhidharma (4:119) says:

The conclusion,[iv] field, and basis,

The preparation and the intention—

According to whether these are great or small,

The action itself will be great or small.

2. Contemplating specific types of action

This is divided into two parts: 1) contemplating negative actions and 2) contemplating positive actions.

i. Contemplating negative actions

This has three parts: contemplating 1) the actions, 2) their results, and 3) avoiding them.

1.1 Contemplating the actions

Although, generally speaking, there are unimaginable varieties of positive and negative actions, we can summarize them, as the Treasury of Abhidharma (4:66) says:

Summarizing the most evident of these,

There are said to be ten courses of action,

Virtuous and non-virtuous respectively.

As this says, there are principally ten forms of negative action, consisting of:

three of the body: 1) taking life, 2) taking what is not given, 3) sexual misconduct;

four of the speech: 4) lying, 5) divisive talk, 6) harsh speech, and 7) idle gossip; and

three of the mind: 8) covetousness, 9) malice, and 10) wrong view.

Their respective natures are described in the Treasury of Abhidharma (4:73–74):

Taking life is to kill another,

Deliberately and without error.

Taking what is not given is to appropriate,

By force or stealth, another’s possessions.

Sexual misconduct is to have intercourse,

Lustfully, and with an unsuitable partner.

Lying is to speak while believing the opposite,

To someone who comprehends one’s speech.

And (4:76):

Divisive talk is to cause others to separate

Through speech motivated by destructive emotions.

Harsh speech is to use unpleasant words.

Gossip includes all talk motivated by destructions emotions.

And (4:77–78):

Covetousness is to desire others’ wealth.

Malice is to feel hatred towards beings.

Wrong view is to deny right and wrong.

Three are courses of action; seven are also action.

As this says, these can be understood in terms of basis, intention, execution and completion.

Moreover, the three poisonous destructive emotions and actions motivated by them are called “nonvirtuous.” As the Precious Garland (1:20) says:

Desire, anger and delusion,

And actions arising from them are nonvirtuous.

1.2 Contemplating Effects

Each of these types of negative conduct has its own 1) fully ripened effect, 2) effect resembling the cause, and 3) ruling effect. As it says in the Treasury of Abhidharma (4:85):

Everything is said to bring forth its ruling,

Cause-resembling and fully-ripened effects.

1.2.1 Fully Ripened Effect

According to the scale of an action and the motivation behind it, we might be reborn among the three lower realms such as the hells, or in the higher realms but with physical and mental suffering. The Precious Garland (1:21) says:

From non-virtue comes all suffering,

And all the lower realms too.

And (3:29):

            Through desire, we will go to the preta realm.

            Through anger, we will be flung into the hells.

            Through delusion, we will become an animal.

And the Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (7:41) says:

Physical suffering, unhappiness,

And all the various kinds of fear,

As well as separation from what we desire

All arise from an unwholesome way of life.

And (7:43):

Acting negatively, we may wish for happiness,

But no matter where we go,

We will always, as a result of our wrongdoing,

Be destroyed by the weapons of suffering.

And (7:45):

As a result of my many wrongs, I will be brought low, my skin flayed off by Yama’s minions,

Liquid bronze, melted in the hottest fires, poured upon my body,

Pierced by burning swords and knives, and my flesh split

Into a hundred pieces, falling upon the ground of white-hot iron.

You might doubt this, as there are some who do wrong but still appear to be happy. Yet such doubts are out of place, for their happiness is also the result of positive deeds they have done in the past, whereas the effects of present negative actions will mostly be experienced after death. The Letter to a Friend (v.31) tells us:

Although acting in wrong and harmful ways

Does not hurt us, like a weapon, right away,

When the time of death is upon us,

The results of harmful actions will be clear.

1.2.2 Effects Similar to the Cause

1) Experiences similar to the cause mean that even if, due to some other actions, we are reborn as human beings, we will experience a short life and so on. The Precious Garland (1:14–16) puts it like this:

By taking life, our own life will be curtailed.

Violence will bring much harm upon us.

Through stealing we will lack possessions.

Through adultery we will encounter rivals.

Speaking falsely will cause us to face slander.

Divisive talk will separate us from our friends.

Through harsh speech we’ll hear unpleasant words.

Incoherent talk will mean our speech is not respected.

Covetousness will destroy our hopes.

Malice will bring us many fears.

And wrong view will bring inferior beliefs.

2) ‘Actions similar to the cause’ means that we will continue to act just as we have in the past, or in similar ways.

1.2.3 The Ruling Effects

This refers to all kinds of hostile effects in our outer environment and circumstances, such as our possessions being unimpressive, there being too much or too little precipitation, and so on. As the same text also says:

Externally, there will be little prosperity, and many hailstorms,

Swirling dust, smells, undulating terrain,

Salt plains and erratic seasons.

Harvests will be minimal or non-existent.[v]

1.3 Contemplation on Avoiding these Actions

When we are certain that unwholesome actions produce suffering as their result, we must confess, by means of the four powers, all the harms that we have done in the past, and vow never to act harmfully again, even at the cost of our lives. As it says in the Letter to a Friend (v.88):

The seeds of these, the effects of non-virtue,

Are harmful actions of body, speech and mind.

Strive therefore, and muster all your skill,

To avoid even the slightest such misdeeds.

And the Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (1:62) says:

How can I free myself from non-virtue,

The source from which sufferings arise?

At all times of the day and night,

This should be my one concern.

You might wonder whether it is permissible to act in harmful ways for the sake of friends or relatives. It is not. The Letter to a Friend (v.30) provides the reason:

Do not act harmfully for the sake of monks,

Brahmins, gods, honoured guests,

Your parents, queen, or those around you—

The result in hell will not be shared.

2. contemplating positive actions

This has three parts: contemplating 1) the actions, 2) their effects, and 3) adopting them.

2.1. Contemplating the actions

The intention and the practice of avoiding the ten ways of negative conduct mentioned above comprise the ten principal forms of virtuous action. As the Precious Garland (1:8–9) says:

Not killing, not stealing,

Renouncing others’ wives,

Refraining entirely from false,

Divisive, harsh and senseless speech,

Avoiding all covetousness and malice,

And the views of the nihilists—

These are the ten ways of positive action.

Moreover, actions committed in the absence of the three poisons, and motivated by faith and such like, are described as virtues or positive deeds. As the same text (1:20) says:

Non-desire, non-hatred, non-ignorance,

And the actions they generate are virtues.

And (1:10):

Not drinking alcohol, leading an ethical life,

Avoiding harm, giving to others respectfully,

Honouring the worthy, and being loving—

This, in short, is the practice of Dharma.

2.2 Contemplating their effects

The fully ripened effects are the opposites of those described above for the non-virtues. As the same text (1:19) says:

Whatever effects are described

For the so-called “non-virtues”,

In the case of the virtues,

It is their opposites that occur.

And (1:21):

From virtues come higher realms,

And happiness in all lives.

And (1:23–24):

Through these practices, we will be freed from the hells,

And the realms of pretas and animals.

Among gods and human beings,

We will find happiness, fortune and dominion.

Through the concentrations, immeasurables, and formless meditations,

We will experience the bliss of Brahmā and so forth.

The attitude and the conduct of the Mahāyāna in particular will yield its own results. As the same text (5:38) says:

Generosity brings wealth, discipline happiness,

Patience yields an attractive form, diligence glory,

Meditation brings peace, and wisdom liberation.

Compassion brings the fulfilment of all wishes.

In short, we can be certain that the cause of all the happiness of the higher realms and the definite goodness of liberation is nothing other than virtuous action. As the Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (7:42) tells us:

Through virtuous deeds, well considered,

Then no matter where I go,

There I will be honoured

By the results of all my merit.

2.3 Contemplation on adopting these actions

When we are certain about this causal relationship, we must strive to carry out virtuous deeds, however we can, in both thought and deed. As the same text (7:46) says:

Therefore I will aspire towards virtue,

And train myself in it devotedly.

And Letter to a Friend (v.5) says:

Constantly apply yourself with body, speech and mind

To these ten ways of virtuous conduct.

Refrain from alcohol, and

Take delight in a wholesome way of life.

With a knowledge of what must be adopted, we must take up these actions constantly and devotedly, without relying on anything or anyone else at all. As it says in the Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (5:82):

With knowledge and with faith,

I shall constantly undertake these deeds.

And in whatever actions I perform,

I shall not depend on others.

Moreover, we should also understand the cause and effect of neutral actions and the cause and effect of partially positive, partially negative actions, and, for specifically positive or negative actions, the distinction between propelling karma and completing karma, and the distinction between karma experienced in this life, the next life, or in subsequent lives, or karma that is uncertain to be experienced. With this understanding, we must strive to transform neutral actions into positive ones and so on, adopting whatever must be adopted and avoiding whatever must be avoided.

In particular, we must purify the most serious of negative actions, including wrong view—which destroys the sources of our virtue—as well as anger and forsaking the Dharma. We must confess such actions, vow never to repeat them in future, and put our energy into applying the most powerful antidotes. This is a crucial instruction.

In short, it says in the Clear Differentiation of the Three Sets of Vows (1:42–43):

Virtue is wholesome practice

And brings happiness as its result.

Non-virtue is unwholesome practice

And brings suffering as its result.

As this says, we must always maintain a correct view, certain of the effects of both positive and negative action. If we have this, we will possess the vital artery leading to the higher realms and liberation. But without it, we will have nothing. The Letter to a Friend (v. 47) has this to say:

If you wish to reach higher states and liberation,

You must become familiar with the correct view.

Someone whose view is incorrect, even if acting positively,

Will experience only unbearable results.

Once we gain certainty about the general and particular effects of our actions, we will certainly take pains to adopt even the slightest positive actions and to avoid even the slightest negative ones. Most importantly, we will strive to ensure that precious bodhicitta arises, remains and increases. To stay mindful of this, we should recite verses such as the following, which is from the Moon Lamp Sūtra, and reflect on their meaning:

Actions, once performed, will not come to nothing.

Positive or negative, they will bear fruit accordingly.

This doorway to the way of reasoning is excellent,

Subtle and hard to see, for it lies within the buddhas’ purview.

*

With certainty gained through infallible logic,

Concerning the specific effects of deeds, both positive and negative,

Which are like fruits born of medicinal or poisonous seeds,

To adopt and avoid with diligence—this is the heart of the Dharma.