A closer look at karma

Karma (Pali: kamma) is one of the most widely discussed — and often misunderstood — aspects of Buddhist teaching. Popularly thought of as a system of cosmic reward and punishment, karma is more accurately understood as the natural law of cause and effect operating within ethical, volitional actions.

At its core, karma refers to intentional actions of body, speech, and mind. These actions generate habitual tendencies (saṅkhāras) that condition future experiences. The results (vipāka) of karma unfold according to the complexity of causes and conditions — not as fate, but as patterns that ripen over time.

Importantly, karma is not deterministic. While past actions shape present conditions, each present moment offers new possibilities for choice and transformation. Mindfulness allows the practitioner to interrupt habitual cycles, weakening unwholesome tendencies and cultivating wholesome ones.

Furthermore, not all experiences are the result of personal karma. Some conditions arise from collective karma, natural causes, or external events beyond individual control. The teaching on karma empowers practitioners by placing emphasis not on blame, but on responsibility: we may not control everything, but we do shape the qualities of our minds and our responses to circumstances.

Ultimately, the understanding of karma points to freedom. By purifying intention and relinquishing craving, one gradually disentangles from the binding web of causes and conditions. Liberation is the full cessation of karmic activity — the end of creating future becoming.

“It is volition, monks, that I call karma; for having willed, one acts by body, speech, and mind.”
— Aṅguttara Nikāya 6.63