2.2.10. Types of Karma

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

It is here, perhaps more clearly than anywhere before, that the architecture of karma reveals itself. When I sit quietly and reflect on my life — the small choices, the careless cruelties, the instinctive kindnesses — I see patterns. Not a static fate, but a dynamic unfolding, like a wheel turning beneath the subtle pressure of my own hand. In this chapter, we lay bare the types of karma that shape our journey, especially how they weigh upon the final moments of life, setting the stage for what comes next.

We have already explored how karma arises in the javana phase of the cognitive series — those rapid pulses of volition that impress each moment with ethical consequence. We have also examined the twelve unwholesome cittas, mental states that, when repeatedly indulged, form dark grooves in consciousness. To move from nigredo, the stage of confusion and impurity, toward albedo, the whitening of mind and character, means gradually eroding these unwholesome patterns.

Yet karma is not simple arithmetic. It does not accumulate in neat ledgers of merit and debt. Instead, it organises itself into a hierarchy of influence, particularly at the point of death when rebirth is determined. Understanding this helps us grasp why some actions echo so forcefully across lifetimes, while others fade almost without trace.

The Four Types of Karma Influencing Rebirth

I find it both reassuring and sobering to see this hierarchy so clearly outlined. It means that even if I have cultivated wholesome states such as jhāna, they cannot override certain grave misdeeds. Killing a parent, for instance, is so profoundly destabilising to the moral continuum that it virtually ensures a woeful rebirth, regardless of meditation attainments. The mind simply cannot rest; memories of such acts haunt the heart, making the stillness of higher states impossible.

Conversely, wholesome weighty karma — like repeatedly attaining deep jhāna — can powerfully steer rebirth toward sublime realms. Yet even this does not erase unwholesome seeds; it merely defers their ripening to a future time.

What then of the moment of death? In the absence of weighty karma, it is death-proximate karma that exerts the strongest influence. As death approaches, whatever memories surface most vividly — acts of kindness or moments of greed, hatred, confusion — shape the final cognitive series. This then seeds the rebirth-linking consciousness (paṭisandhi-citta) that arises at conception in the next life.

If neither weighty nor death-proximate karma is present, then our well-worn habits come into play. Habitual karma is forged by countless small decisions: the effortless courtesy extended without thought, the petty bitterness indulged daily. Over time, these habits carve channels into consciousness, naturally guiding it toward certain realms.

And if even these habits are faint, it is residual karma — the vast storehouse of past deeds — that fills the gap. It is the quietest influence, yet still sufficient to direct the next beginning.

Through this layered system, karma functions not as a simple tally but as a deeply textured moral momentum. Each thought, each fleeting volition, subtly shifts the currents of becoming. To walk from nigredo toward albedo is to refine this momentum, gradually purifying the mind so that at death — and at countless moments before — we incline naturally toward clarity, kindness, and peace.

This text is excerpted from the upcoming book Albedo: A Course in Modern Alchemy. The complete volume will include additional study guides, glossaries, and extended teachings. Learn more about the book here.