Nyanatiloka Buddhist Dictionary

(1.) "Through ignorance are conditioned the karma-formations" (avijjá-paccayá sankhárá), i.e.all wholesome and unwholesome actions (karma, q.v.) of body, speech and mind, areconditioned through ignorance. By 'karma-formations' are meant karmically wholesome andunwholesome volitions (cetaná), or volitional activities, in short karma (q.v., and Fund. II).In view of the many misconceptions current in the West, it is necessary to repeat here thatkarma (q.v.), as a technical term, never signifies anything but moral or immoral action, i.e. theabove mentioned volitional activities, or karma-formations, as either causing results in thepresent life or being the causes of future destiny and rebirth. Thus karma, as a philosophicalterm, never means the result of action, as often wrongly conceived by Western authors.Now, in what way are the karma-formations conditioned through ignorance? As concerns theunwholesome karmaformations associated with greed, hate or delusion (lobha, dosa, moha),these are always and in all circumstances, conditioned through the simultaneous ignoranceinseparably associated therewith. Thus, ignorance is for the unwholesome karma-formationsa condition by way of conascence (sahajáta-paccaya), association (sampayutta-paccaya),presence (atthi-paccaya), etc. Ignorance further may be for them a condition by way ofdecisive support or inducement (upanissaya-paccaya), if, for instance, ignorance coupled withgreed induces a man to commit evil deeds, such as killing, stealing, unlawful sexualintercourse, etc. In these cases, therefore, ignorance is a 'natural decisive suppport' or'direct inducement' (pakati-upanissaya-paccaya). It also may become an indirect inducement,by way of object (árammanúpanissaya-paccaya) of our thinking. This takes place, if, forexample, someone remembers a former state of ignorance combined with sensual enjoyment,and in doing so karmically unwholesome states spring up, such as sensual desire, grief, etc.For the wholesome (kusala) karma-formations, ignorance can only be a condition by way ofdecisive support (upanissaya), never by way of co-nascence (sahajáta), etc., since wholesomeconsciousness at that very moment, of course, cannot be associated with any unwholesomephenomenon, such as ignorance. Ignorance is a 'natural decisive support' or 'directinducement' (pakatupanissaya), for example, if, induced by ignorance and vanity, one exertsoneself to attain the absorptions, and thus finally, through perseverance, reaches thesewholesome states of mind. Ignorance may also be for wholesome karma-formations a'decisive support' or 'inducement by way of object' (árammanúpanissaya), if, for example,one refleets on ignorance as the root of all misery in the world, and thus finally attainsinsight and entrance into one of the 4 supermundane paths of holiness.For ignorance, s. avijjá; for karma-formations, s. sankhára.(2.) "Through the karma-formations is conditioned consciousness" (sankhára-paccayáviññánam). This proposition teaches that the wholesome and unwholesome karma-formationsare the causes of future rebirth in an appropriate sphere (gati). The karma-formations ofthe previous life condition the budding in a new mother's womb of a fresh psycho-physicalaggregation of the 5 groups of existence (s. khandha), which here are represented byconsciousness (viññána). All such karma-resultant (vipáka) consciousness, however, such aseye-consciousness (seeing), etc., as well as all the mental phenomena associated therewith(feeling, etc.), are karmically neutral. It should be understood that already from the veryfirst moment of conception in the mother's womb, this karma resultant eonsciousness of the