The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary

source qualified according to good and evil; as deed done accumulated and forming a deposit of the doer's
merit and demerit (his "karma"). Thus p!pakamma=a bad deed, one who has done a bad deed, one who has
a bad character, the potential effect of a bad deed=bad karma. The context alone decides which of these
meanings is the one intended by the speaker or writer. Concerning the analysis of the various semantic
developments the following practical distinctions can be made: 1. Objective action, characterized by time:
as past=done, meaning deed (with kata); or future=to be done, meaning duty (with k!tabba). 2. Subjective
action, characterized by quality, as reflecting on the agent. 3. Interaction of act and agent: (a) in subjective
relation, cause and effect as action and reaction on the individual (individual "karma," appearing in his life,
either here or beyond), characterized as regards action (having results) and as regards actor (having to cope
with these results): (b) in objective relation, i. e. abstracted from the individual and generalized as
Principle, or cause and effect as Norm of Happening (universal "karma," appearing in Sa's!ra, as driving
power of the world), characterized (a) as cause, (b) as consequence, (c) as cause -- consequence in the
principle of retribution (talio), (d) as restricted to time. 1. (Objective): with ref. to the Past: ki' kamma'
ak!si n!r" what (deed) has this woman done? Pv i.92; tass! katakamma' pucchi he asked what had been
done by her PvA 37, 83, etc. -- with ref. to the Future: k. k!tabba' hoti I have an obligation, under 8
kus"tavatth(ni D iii.255=A iv.332; catt!ri kamm!ni katt! hoti "he performs the 4 obligations" (of gahapati)
A ii.67. 2. (Subjective) (a) doing in general, acting, action, deed; var. kinds of doings enum. under
micch!j"va D i.12 (santikamma, pa*idhi˚, etc.); tassa kammassa katatt! through (the performance of) that
deed D iii.156; dukkara' kamma -- kubbata' he who of those who act, acts badly S i.19; abhabbo ta'
kamma' k!tum incapable of doing that deed S iii.225; sañcetanika k. deed done intentionally M iii.207; A
v.292 sq.; pam!*akata' k. D i.251=S iv.322. katara' k˚' karonto aha' niraya' na gaccheyya'? how (i. e.
what doing) shall I not go to Niraya? J iv.340; ya' kiñci sithila' k˚' . . . na ta' hoti mahapphala' . . . S
i.49=Dh 312=Th 1, 277; kadariya˚ a stingy action PvA 25; k. classed with sippa, vijj! -- cara*a D iii.156;
k!ni k˚!ni samm! -- nivi&&ha established slightly in what doings? Sn 324; (b) Repeated action in general,
constituting a person's habit of acting or character (cp. kata ii.1. a.); action as reflecting on the agent or
bearing his characteristics; disposition, character. Esp. in phrase kammena samann!gata "endowed with the
quality of acting in such and such a manner, being of such and such character": t"hi dhammehi samann!gato
niraye nikkhitto "endowed with (these) three qualites a man will go to N." A i.292 sq.; asucin! k!yak˚ena
sam˚ asucimanuss! "bad people are those who are of bad ways (or character)" Nd2 112; anavajja k!ya -- k˚
sam˚ A ii.69 (cp. A iv.364); k!ya -- kammavac" -- kammena sam˚ kusalena (pabbajita) "a bhikkhu of good
character in deed and speech" D i.63; k!ya . . . (etc.) -- k˚sam˚ b!la (and opp. pa*.ita) A ii.252 (cp. A i.102,
104); visamena k!ya (etc.) -- k˚ sam˚ A i.154=iii.129; s!vajjena k!ya (etc.) -- k˚ sam˚ A ii.135 -- kamma'
vijj! ca dhammo ca s"la' j"vitam uttama', etena macc! sujjhanti, na gottena dhanena v! S i.34=55; M
iii.262, quoted at Vism 3, where k. is grouped with vipassan!, jh!na, s"la, satipa&&h!na as main ideals of
virtue; kamman! by character, as opp. to jacc! or j!tiy!, by birth: Sn 136; 164; 599; nih"na˚ manuss! (of
bad, wretched character) Sn 661; man!pena bahula' k!ya (etc.) -- kammena A ii.87= iii.33, 131; and esp.
with mett!, as enum. under aparih!niy! and s!r!*"y! dhamm! D ii.80; A iii.288; mettena k!ya (etc.) --
kammena D ii.144; iii.191; A v.350 sq. (c) Particular actions, as manifested in various ways, by various
channels of activity (k˚ -- dv!r!), expressions of personality, as by deed, word and thought (k!yena, v!c!ya,
manas!). Kamma kat) e)coxh/n means action by hand (body) in formula vacas! manas! kamman! ca Sn
330, 365; later specified by k!ya -- kamma, for which k!ya -- kammanta in some sense (q. v.), and
complementing vac" -- k˚ mano -- k˚; so in foll. combns: citte arakkhite k!ya -- k˚ pi arakkhita' hoti (vac"˚
mano˚) A i.261 sq.; ya' nu kho aha' ida' k!yena k˚ kattuk!mo ida' me k!ya -- k˚ attaby!dh!ya pi
sa'vatteyya . . . "whatever deed I am going to do with my hands (I have to consider:) is this deed, done by
my hands, likely to bring me evil?" M i.415; k!ya -- (vac" -- etc.) kamma, which to perform & to leave
(sevitabba' and a˚) A i.110=iii.150; as anulomika˚ A i.106; sabba' k!ya -- k˚ (vac"˚ mano˚) Buddhassa
ñ!*ânuparivattati "all manifestation of deed (word & thought) are within the knowledge of Buddha" Nd2
235; ya' lobhapakata' kamma' karoti k!yena v! v!c!ya v! manas! v! tassa vip!ka' anubhoti . . . Nett 37;
kin nu k!yena v˚ m˚ dukka&a' kata' what evil have you done by body, word or thought? Pv ii.13 and freq.;
ek(na -- ti'sa k!yakamm!ni Bdhd 49. (d) Deeds characterized as evil (p!pa -- kamm!ni, p!p!ni k˚,
p!pak!ni k˚; p!pakamma adj., cp. p!pa -- kammanta adj.). p!pakamma: n'atthi loke raho n!ma p˚
pakubbato "there is no hiding ( -- place) in this world for him who does evil" A i.149; so p˚ -- o dummedho
j!na' dukka&a' attano . . . "he, afflicted with (the result of) evil -- doing . . ." A iii.354; p˚ -- ' pava..hento
ibid.; ya' p˚ -- ' kata' sabban ta' idha vedan"ya' "whatever wrong I have done I have to suffer for" A
v.301; pabbajitv!na k!yena p˚ -- ' vivajjay" "avoid evil acting" Sn 407; nissa'saya' p˚ -- ' . . .
"undoubtedly there is some evil deed (the cause of this) i. e. some evil karma Pv iv.161. -- p!pa' kamma':