This Body is Old Kamma

Monks, this body is not yours, nor does it belong to others. It is old Kamma, to be seen as generated and created by volition (choices/decisions) as something to be felt.

Therein, Monks, the instructed Noble Disciple attends carefully and closely to Dependent Origination itself thus:

When this exists, that comes to be;

With the arising of this, that arises.

When this does not exist, that does not come to be;

With the elimination of this, that is eliminated.

That is,

With ignorance as condition, volitional formations (come to be);

With volitional formations as condition, consciousness:

With consciousness as condition, name-and-form;

With name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;

With the six sense bases as condition, contact;

With contact as condition, feeling;

With feeling as condition, craving;

With craving as condition, clinging;

With clinging as condition, existence;

With existence as condition, birth;

With birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of discontentedness.

But with the remainderless fading away and elimination of ignorance comes elimination of volitional formations (choices/decisions); with the elimination of volitional formations, elimination of consciousness, … (all aspects of dependent origination) … with the elimination of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure and despair is eliminated.

Such is the elimination of this whole mass of discontentedness.

(Reference: SN 12.37)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares what is “Old Kamma” and then shares “Dependent Origination” explaining how one comes into existence through birth.

There are three components that are needed to create a living being. An egg, sperm, and a consciousness (i.e. a mind). If these things are present, there is a living being.

When the mind comes together with the egg and sperm, it has not yet made any decisions, therefore, what it experiences in terms of the physical body is “old kamma”.

The physical body of the new being is experiencing the results of decisions from past lives.

If the new being has beneficial features and a healthy body, that is based on decisions from their prior life - old Kamma.

If the new being has unbeneficial features and an unhealthy body, that is based on decisions from their prior life - old Kamma.

New Kamma is generated based on current decisions while old Kamma are the results of decisions made in the past. The physical body is a perfect example of old Kamma as the condition of the physical body at birth is based on the results of decisions from previous lives.

Volition or volitional formations are the choices/decisions we make. It is our choices or decisions that lead to certain outcomes or results. The results of our decisions is our Kamma. The Natural Law of Kamma is “cause and effect” or “action and results”, essentially the results of our decisions.

A Practitioner would need to understand New and Old Kamma as well as Wholesome and Unwholesome Kamma to attain Enlightenment.

Old Kamma is the results of our decisions that we have made in the past. New Kamma is the results of our decisions that we are making right now. Any decisions that you are making right now, will produce certain outcomes or results referred to as new Kamma.

The fact that we are in existence right now as a human being is “old Kamma”.

The decisions that we have made in all our prior lives did not lead to Enlightenment, therefore, we have been reborn into this new existence. Any decisions we make now is new Kamma and will affect whether we will be reborn in the future or not.

Through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings, one eliminates ignorance (unknowing of true reality) which eliminates the condition that is causing rebirth as explained in Dependent Origination.

Dependent Origination is explaining the “cause and effect” or “action and result” of how beings come into existence through The Cycle of Rebirth and why we experience discontentedness.

Through ignorance (unknowing of true reality) one makes choices/decisions. This puts into motion a whole series of events that lead to birth, aging-and-death, and massive amounts of discontentedness.

But with the elimination of ignorance (unknowing of true reality) through acquiring wisdom, a being can improve the condition of the mind eliminating 100% of all discontentedness.

Dependent Origination is providing a step-by-step understanding of how discontentedness comes to be and how it is eliminated with ignorance being the primary causation of what keeps the unEnlightened mind in The Cycle of Rebirth, thus, wisdom being the primary remedy to eliminate The Cycle of Rebirth.

Through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings with guidance from a Teacher, a Practitioner can independently verify The Buddha’s Teachings to discover the truth to acquire wisdom.

Nothing in Gotama Buddha's Teachings is based on belief. All his Teachings can be learned and practiced to independently observe the truth as the mind gradually acquires wisdom through independent verification of his Teachings through practice of his Teachings.

This new found wisdom gradually improves the way the mind functions in the world through eliminating discontentedness of mind. The mind can completely eliminate all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. on The Path to Enlightenment.

Through learning and practicing Gotama Buddha's Teachings with guidance, the mind becomes Enlightened in that you can observe the improvement in the condition of the mind as you eliminate all discontent feelings where the mind can reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently. You are not believing The Teachings wishing for a positive outcome at some point in the future or after death. Instead, you are observing the improvements to the condition of the mind right now - in the present moment.

While Dependent Origination shares, in detail, the step-by-step causation of how ignorance leads to “birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair (i.e. discontentedness), a Practitioner will need to study this deeply with guidance from a Teacher. It is best if Dependent Origination is taught in an environment where Students can learn and then ask questions with a Teacher.

Detailed explanation of Dependent Origination is available in this same book series found in Chapter 14 of the book “The First Stage of Enlightenment (Stream-Enterer)” (Volume 5).