Karma refers to intentional actions that cause effects through a natural law of cause and effect. Wholesome intentional actions like compassion and wisdom lead to good karma and happiness, while unwholesome actions like anger, greed, and delusion lead to bad karma and suffering. Karma can bear fruit in this life or in future lives, and the severity of results depends on factors like intention and repetition of actions. Purifying past negative karma involves regret, commitment to change, and cultivating positivity. The cycle of rebirth continues until karma is extinguished through enlightenment.

1. កម�
Karma

2. Definition of Karma
 Karma (Sanskrit) or Kamma (Pāli) means
"action" or "doing"; whatever one does,
says, or thinks is a karma.
 In Buddhism, the term karma is used
specifically for those actions which spring
from the intention (cetanā) of an
unenlightened being.
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3. What is Karma?
 In the Nibbedhika Sutta, the Buddha said:
"Intention (cetanā) I tell you, is kamma.
Intending, one does kamma by way of body,
speech, & mind.”
 Cetanā means volition or intention. Only
volitional action is called Karma.
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4. Fruit or Result of Karma
 The Buddha spoke of wholesome actions
(kusala-kamma) that result in happiness,
and unwholesome actions (akusala-
kamma) that result in unhappiness.
 These bring about a fruit (phala) or result
(vipāka), either within the present life, or
in the context of a future rebirth.
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5. Comprehension of Kamma
 Good or wholesome actions produce good results
 Evil or unwholesome actions produce bad results
 Action causes Reaction
 ‘Volition’ in itself is ‘Action’
 Present circumstances are reactions of the past
actions
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6.  ‘Kamma’ is not enforced by any mysterious
power
 ‘Kamma’ is a ‘Natural Law’ (like ‘Law of
Gravitation’)
 Not everything that happens is the result of
‘Kamma’
 We shall be responsible for our own actions.
Comprehension of Kamma…
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7. WHAT IS "GOOD" AND
"BAD" KARMA?
 Good karma is determined by good intentions
such as compassion, loving-kindness, and wisdom.
Bad karma is called when it arises based on three
defilements--anger, greed, and delusion.
 "All the suffering of this world arises from a
wrong attitude. The world is neither good or bad.
It is only the relation to our ego that makes it
seem the one or the other.” Lama Anagorika
Govinda
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8. Unwholesome Action
(Akusala Kamma)
There are ten types of unwholesome actions
which classified into three categories:
 Three types of bodily actions:
(1) Killing of living beings,
(2) Stealing, and
(3) Unlawful sexual intercourse.
These bodily deeds correspond to the first three
of the Five Precepts for people to follow.
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9.  Four types of verbal actions:
(1) Lying,
(2) Slander and tale-bearing,
(3) Harsh speech, and
(4) Frivolous and meaningless talk.
Except for lying, the other unwholesome deeds
performed by speech may be viewed as
extensions of the Fourth Precept.
Unwholesome Action
(Akusala Kamma) …
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10.  Three types of mental actions:
(1) Covetousness, or eagerly desirous
especially of things belonging to others,
(2) Ill-will, and
(3) Wrong view.
These three deeds correspond to the three evil
roots of greed, hatred and delusion.
Unwholesome Action
(Akusala Kamma) …
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11. Wholesome Action
(Kusala Kamma)
In contrast, there are ten types of wholesome
actions as well:
 Three types of bodily actions:
(1) Not Killing of living beings,
(2) Not Stealing, and
(3) Avoiding Unlawful sexual intercourse.
These bodily deeds correspond to the first three of
the Five Precepts for people to follow.11

12.  Four types of verbal actions:
(1) Not Lying,
(2) Not Slander and tale-bearing,
(3) Not using Harsh speech, and
(4) Not using Frivolous and meaningless talk.
Wholesome Action
(Kusala Kamma) …
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13.  Three types of mental actions:
(1) Uncovetousness,
(2) Good-will, and
(3) Holding right view.
These three deeds correspond to the three
wholesome roots of compassion, loving-
kindness and wisdom.
Wholesome Action
(Kusala Kamma) …
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14. Ten Meritorious Deeds
 Charity
 Morality
 Mental culture
 Reverence or respect
 Service in helping
others
 Sharing merits with others
 Rejoicing in the merits of
others
 Preaching and teaching
the Dhamma
 Listening to the Dhamma
 Holding right views
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15. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR
KARMA TO RIPEN?
 A previous action, or karmic potential.
 Conditions: the circumstances must be available
before I can undergo a specific result (vipāka).
 A deluded mind. Without delusions in our mind,
we will never experience the results of previous
actions. This happens to Arhats and Buddhas;
their minds have been purified from delusions,
and they are beyond the realm of karma.
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16. WHAT DECIDES THE SEVERITY
OF THE RESULTS?
The severity of the results of our actions
depends on various factors:
 Our intention or motivation - the
intention is the most important aspect by
far, as karma is mainly connected to the
intention of the action, be it positive or
negative.
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17. WHAT DECIDES THE SEVERITY
OF THE RESULTS? Con.
 The nature of the action: obviously,
gossiping is less severe than killing.
 The actual deed: whether we kill in self-
defence or sadistically torture someone to
death does make a difference, usually this
directly related to intention.
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18. WHAT DECIDES THE SEVERITY
OF THE RESULTS?​ Con.
 The basis or object: it does make a difference
whether we kill our mother or an ant.
 Repetition: how often do we repeat the action,
which reinforces the habit, and makes even
killing feel less negative.
 Doing the reverse: if we always behave
negatively to others and never try to do any
good, consequences will be severe.18

19. THE FOUR LAWS OF
KARMA
 Results are similar to the cause. Positive
actions have happiness as a result;
"negative" actions lead to suffering as a
result.
 No results without a cause. As is obvious
within science, things do not just appear
out of nothing.
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20. THE FOUR LAWS OF
KARMA Cont.
 Once an action is done, the result is never
lost. Similarly as above, things do not just
disappear into nothing.
 Karma expands. Once we have an imprint of
an action in our mind, it tends to be habit-
forming. As is often said in wars for example,
killing the first enemy is tough, but after a
handful, one quickly loses count and it
becomes "normal”. 20

21. WHAT CAN I DO TO REMOVE
PREVIOUS NEGATIVE KARMA?
 To avoid having negative thoughts that
lead to negative actions in the future, we
need to observe and control our own
thoughts and behaviour, and destroy our
negative attitudes.
 Similarly, we can observe/study (meditate)
our own mind and encourage positive
thoughts that lead to positive actions.
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22. WHAT CAN I DO TO REMOVE
PREVIOUS NEGATIVE KARMA? Con.
 We can avoid negative karmic seeds to
ripen by purifying it, using the four powers
of purification (see below). Although this
does not eliminate the negative karmic
actions, it can avoid the results to occur.
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23. THE FOUR POWERS OF
PURIFICATION
 Power of the Object: One should should
take refuge in Three Jewels (Buddha,
Dharma and Sangha) and practice
compassion to all sentient beings.
 Power of Regret: This should not be
senseless guilt or self-recrimination, which
are said to be useless emotional torture.
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24. THE FOUR POWERS OF
PURIFICATION Con.
 Power of Promise: As a logical consequence of the
above, one should promise not to repeat these
negative actions.
 Power of Practice: Basically any positive action with
a good motivation can be used as practice.
The most essential mental factor that one requires is
sincerity or honesty with oneself. When one wants to
purify past negative karma, one has to do some action
with the correct motivation.
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25.  "Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad. The
effects of karma (actions) are inevitable, and in previous
lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma which will
inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives. Just as
someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will
eventually be caught and punished, so we too must face the
consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the
past, there is no way to be at ease; those actions are
irreversible; we must eventually undergo their effects.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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26. Rebirth
 It is often referred to as walking the wheel
of life (samsara). It is the process of being
born over and over again in different times
and different situations, possibly for many
thousand times.
 As long as there is anger, greed, and
delusion, and as long as passions are not
extinguished, we generate karma.
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27.  Because we eventually accumulate
unmaterialised karma, there is a next lifetime
in which the accumulated karma will take
form. Only when all accumulated karma is
realised and the generation of new karma is
calmed, one can enter the stream that leads to
Nirvana. This process continues until Nirvana
is reached, which signifies the cessation of
rebirth and, hence, the end of suffering.
Rebirth (con.)
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28. Karma with Regard to Time of
the Effects
 Immediately Effective Karma
(ditthadhammavedaniya Karma)
 Subsequently Effective Karma
(uppapajjavedaniya Karma)
 Indefinitely Effective Karma
(aparapariyavedaniya Karma)
 Defunct or Ineffective Karma (ahosi Karma)
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29. Karma With regard to potency
 Weighty kamma (garuka kamma) — that which produces
its results in this life or in the next for certain, namely, the
five heinous crimes (anantariya-kamma)
 Proximate kamma (āsanna kamma) — that which one
does or remembers immediately before the dying
moment.
 Habitual kamma (āciṇṇa kamma) — that which one
habitually performs and recollects and for which one has
a great liking.
 Reserve kamma (kadattā kamma) — refers to all actions
that are done once and soon forgotten.
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30.  "I am the owner of my karma. I inherit my
karma. I am born of my karma. I am related
to my karma. I live supported by my karma.
Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil,
that I shall inherit.” Buddha
I AM THE OWNER
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31. yaTisM vb,et BICM taTisM
lPet plM
បុគ�លសបេ្រពះនូវព រែមងបានផ
េនាះ្រតឡប់មកវ។
One reaps what one sows.
The Law of Karma
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32. No Place to Hide
 Not in the sky, nor in the middle of the
ocean, nor in the cave of a mountain, is
there a place, where one may escape from
the consequences of evil deed.
(Dhammapada)
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33. Control Just One Thing
 If we can control just one thing, that is our
mind, we shall enjoy the human
happiness, the celestial happiness and the
supreme happiness of Nibbana. Buddha
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34. References
 Kamma, The Real Creator by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon
 http://viewonbuddhism.org/karma.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_in_Buddhism
 http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/karma.html
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35. Thank You!
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