Guest Author - Samten Tsomo

The literal translation of karma is action or cause. Everything word spoken, every action, every thought positive or negative is karma or the cause. How the karma manifests itself is called Vipaka, which means result or effect.

The best way that I have heard Karma explained is by comparing your every action to that of a fruit seed, with Vipaka as the fruit that ripens. Every action is like a seed and every result is the fruit of that seed. In other words, “you reap what you sow.”

Some times a seed will be planted nearby and then grow to its full potential. Other time the seed maybe far away before it will grow. Some seeds will grow immediately some seeds will stay dormant for a long time. Some seeds only grow for a short time and not fully mature and some will never ripen.

According to the Karma Sutra there are four types of karma.

Old Karma

Old kamma is what makes up a person’s current body that is “fabricated and willed, capable of being felt.” Basically we are here because of our own ignorance.

New Karma.

New karma is what you are doing with you old karma that has ripened.

End of Karma

The end of karma is just that, the ending of mental, verbal, bodily karmic actions.

The path leading to the end karma

To end the karma that propels one through samsara one must follow the eightfold path.