<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Dhamma and Science > Origin of Life > Views on Life > Paṭicca Samuppāda – Not ‘Self’ or ‘No-Self’  > Kamma, Saṅkhāra, and Abhisaṅkhāra – What Is “Intention”?

November 23, 2019; revised July 8, 2022; August 27, 2022; March 18, 2024

Saṅkhāra Create Causes for Future Suffering

1. Paṭicca Samuppāda (PS) describes how future suffering arises due to saṅkhāra done with avijjā. Intention plays a significant role, depending on one level of avijjā.

▪The PS cycle starts with “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā” and ends with “jāti paccayā jarā, maraṇa, soka-parideva-dukkha-domanassupāyāsā sambhavan’ti.” And then it says, “Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.” or “That is how this whole mass of suffering arises.”

▪Therefore, the PS cycle generally addresses ALL TYPES of future suffering. That includes bad kamma vipāka DURING a given life and stronger kamma vipāka that lead to future REBIRTHS. In particular, rebirths in the four lowest realms (apāyā) lead to the worst kinds of suffering.

▪All these FACTS appear in a long list of short suttā (plural of sutta) in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (10), starting with the “WebLink: suttacentral: Sādhu Sutta (AN 10.134)” and ending at AN 236 (over one hundred suttā!)

▪I have translated several of them into English at, “Aṅguttara Nikāya – Suttā on Key Concepts.”

Suffering (and Pleasures) Arise Due to Kamma Vipāka

2. According to those suttā, suffering (dukkha) arises due to the vipāka (results) of akusala kamma or apuñña kamma (translated as immoral deeds.)

▪In the same way, pleasures (sukha) result from kusala kamma/puñña kamma (translated as moral deeds.)

▪There is a big difference between kusala kamma and puñña kamma. See, “Kilesa – Relationship to Akusala, Kusala, and Puñña Kamma.”

▪Until then, we may use kusala/puñña and also akusala/apuñña without much distinction. So, at this point, we are just assuming that kusala/puñña kammā are “good” and akusala/apuñña kammā are “bad.”

▪Even though we loosely translate kusala/akusala kamma as moral/immoral deeds, kammā are done via bodily actions, speech, or thoughts.

Dasa Akusala – Seeds for Future Suffering

3. The Buddha identified three fundamental categories of akusala kamma. Those done with bodily actions (kāya kamma) are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. There are four types of kamma done with speech (vacī kamma.) They are lying, slandering, harsh speech, and gossiping. Finally, three types done with thoughts (mano or citta kamma) are excess greed, excess anger, and wrong views.

▪Those ten types of akusala kamma (dasa akusala) in Pāli are: Pāṇātipāto, adinnādānaṁ, kāmesumicchācāro, musāvādo, pisuṇā vācā, pharusā vācā, samphappalāpo, abhijjhā, byāpādo, micchā diṭṭhi.

▪Those are the ten types of akusala kamma separated into three categories.

All Types of Kamma Originate In the Mind

4. When we look at the ten types of akusala kammā, we can see why kamma DOES NOT mean JUST bodily actions. The way of THINKING and SPEAKING, contribute to the accumulation of kamma which can bring vipāka in the future.

▪It is critically important to understand this point. Some people speak very nice words and even appear to be engaged in “good deeds” but have very bad intentions/mindsets. For example, someone may pretend to speak nicely but could be thinking bad thoughts to him/herself about the person they are talking to. See. “Correct Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra.”

▪Going through the motions of good actions/speech DOES NOT count for GENERATING good kammic energy.

The Buddha clarified this point very clearly. In the WebLink: suttacentral: Nibbedhika Sutta (AN 6.63): “Cetanāhaṁ (cetanā aham), bhikkhave, kammaṁ vadāmi. Cetayitvā kammaṁ karoti—kāyena vācāya manasā.”

That means: “Intention, I tell you, is kamma. One does kamma with intention (in mind)—via body, speech, and thoughts.

▪Therefore, kammic ENERGY for ALL ten types of kammā are GENERATED in mind. Thus, MIND creates kammic energy associated with all ten types of kamma.

▪I cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding this CRITICAL point.

Intentions are in Saṅkhāra

5. It is cetanā in javana citta that PREPARES kamma viññāṇa or kamma bīja using various types of cetasika. Such kamma viññāṇa or kamma bīja are PART OF dhammā.

▪Some dhammā are just memories. see “Dhammā, Kamma, Saṅkhāra, Mind – Critical Connections.”

6. What we discussed in #4 above can be stated in Buddha’s terminology. The mind generates three types of saṅkhāra: mano, vacī, and kāya saṅkhāra. All three types of saṅkhāra arise in mind.

▪How do those intentions end up as speech and bodily actions?

▪It is the brain that “carries out” bodily movements and speech INTENDED in kāya saṅkhāra and vacī saṅkhāra. The brain gets the body parts to move with the help of the muscles and the nervous system. Speech, similarly, is generated via the movement of the tongue and the muscles in the mouth area.

▪Therefore, kāya saṅkhāra LEAD to kāya kamma (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct.) Vacī saṅkhāra LEAD to vacī kamma (lying, slandering, harsh speech, and gossiping.) Mano (or citta) saṅkhāra LEAD to mano (or citta) kamma (excess greed, excess anger, and wrong views.)

Mind/Physical Body to Pilot/Airplane Analogy

7. The seat of the mind (hadaya vatthu) is where thoughts arise. The hadaya vatthu is part of the manomaya kāya, mental body, or the gandhabba. The hadaya vatthu is in constant contact with the brain.

▪In other words, the MIND decides what to do, and the brain carries out those commands. An analogy is how an airplane flies. The pilot decides where to go, and the onboard computer carries out those commands.

▪More details are in “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body.”

▪Modern scientific evidence on the importance of the hadaya vatthu is only at an early stage. The following quote is from “WebLink: heartmath.org: Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance.” “The heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body’s organs. The heart’s electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain.”

▪However, hadaya vatthu is NOT the heart. It is in the mental body (gandhabba) but close to the physical heart.

Not All Saṅkhāra Will Have Kammic Consequences

8. Even though Paṭicca Samuppāda states, “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā,” not all saṅkhāra will have kammic consequences. Stated differently: We do not act with avijjā all the time.

▪For example, ANY bodily movement involves kāya saṅkhāra. If one’s mind decides to stand up, the brain moves leg muscles. That does not have any kammic energy to bring future vipāka. Therefore, not all bodily actions have kammic consequences.

▪Saṅkhāra with kammic consequences are “strong saṅkhāra” or “abhisaṅkhāra.” Let us discuss that in detail first.

Good or Bad Cetasika Responsible for “Intention”  – Cetanā Is in Every Citta

9. Swinging your arm is a kāya kammā because it involves moving a body part. That action was initiated by kāya saṅkhāra generated in mind, but it does not have kammic consequences (except for the movement of the arm.)

▪Now, if you swung your arm to get hold of a cup, that is also a kammically neutral action (kammā) or just a saṅkhāra. You did not do either a moral or immoral act. The intention was to grab a cup, which did not involve any sobhana or asobhana cetasika. That action is a kiriya (kriyā in Sanskrit or ක්‍රියා  in Sinhala).

▪On the other hand, if you swung your arm to hit someone, it was done with anger. So, the dosa cetasika (an asobhana cetasika) was in your thoughts. Thus, it was an apuññābhisaṅkhāra (apuñña abhisaṅkhāra). That apuññābhisaṅkhāra in mind led to an akusala/apuñña kammā or an immoral deed.

▪If you put your arms together to pay respects to the Buddha, it is a puññābhisaṅkhāra (puñña abhisaṅkhāra.) The saddhā cetasika (a sobhana cetasika) is in the mind. We can also call it a kusala/puñña kammā or a moral deed.

▪Therefore, “good or bad” cetasika (mental factors) are the ones that bring intention to thoughts. The cetanā cetasika is in ALL thoughts. The cetanā cetasika incorporates the other relevant “good or bad” cetasika to a given thought to convey the “intention.”

Assāsa Passāsa (Breathing) Is Kāya Saṅkhāra

10. The very basic kāya saṅkhāra are involved in breathing. It is also the most IMPORTANT kāya saṅkhāra since we cannot live without breathing.

•Any type of saṅkhāra involves cetanā and thus saṅkhāra involves citta vīthi. It does not seem like we breathe intentionally. That is because no javana citta are present in such citta vīthi associated with breathing. They are parittārammaṇa citta vīthi. That means they are “weak.”

•Of course, breathing has no kammic consequences. It is a “bodily action,” but a critically important one.

Apuññābhi saṅkhāra, Puññābhi saṅkhāra, and Āneñjābhisaṅkhāra

11. We introduced two new words above that are relevant in generating kammic energy: apuññābhisaṅkhāra and puññābhisaṅkhāra. Here, apuññābhi saṅkhāra lead to akusala (or apuñña or immoral) kamma. Good, moral deeds, speech, or thoughts with kammic energy involve puññābhisaṅkhāra.

▪There is a third type of abhisaṅkhāra: āneñjābhisaṅkhāra (āneñja abhisaṅkhāra). These types of saṅkhāra are in the minds of those who cultivate arūpāvacara jhāna, the highest four jhāna.

▪Apuññābhisaṅkhāra lead to rebirth in the apāyā. These, of course, lead to akusala kamma.

▪Puññābhisaṅkhāra leads to rebirth in the human, deva, and rūpāvacara Brahma realms. Puñña kamma is done with such puññābhisaṅkhāra. Note that cultivating rūpāvacara jhāna is a puñña kamma.

▪Āneñjābhisaṅkhāra leads to rebirths in the arūpāvacara Brahma realms.

Saṅkhāra in Paṭicca Samuppāda Are Abhisaṅkhāra

12. Even though the first step in Paṭicca Samuppāda is simply, “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā,” it refers to abhisaṅkhārā.

WebLink: suttacentral: Paṭiccasamuppāda Vibhaṅga, explains the term “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā” in Akusala-Mūla Paṭicca Samuppāda (that leads to suffering) as follows: “Tattha katame avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā? Puññābhisaṅkhāro, apuññābhisaṅkhāro, āneñjābhisaṅkhāro, kāyasaṅkhāro, vacīsaṅkhāro, cittasaṅkhāro.”

Translated: “What is avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā? Puññābhisaṅkhāra, apuññābhisaṅkhāra, āneñjābhisaṅkhāra, kāyasaṅkhāra, vacīsaṅkhāra, cittasaṅkhāra.” (here, citta saṅkhāra is the same as mano saṅkhāra).

▪Those are all abhisaṅkhāra, even though the verse is simplified as “avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā.”

▪Two categories of saṅkhāra are mentioned there. One category refers to types of kamma accrued (Puññābhisaṅkhāra, apuññābhisaṅkhāra, āneñjābhisaṅkhāra.)

▪The other category points out the three modes: body, speech, or mind (kāya saṅkhāra, vacī saṅkhāra, citta saṅkhāra, or mano saṅkhāra).

▪This is clarified in several suttā as well. for example, WebLink: suttacentral: Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33): “Tayo saṅkhārā—puññābhisaṅkhāro, apuññābhisaṅkhāro, āneñjābhisaṅkhāro.”

13. Therefore, the word saṅkhāra can have different meanings in different contexts. That is why saṅkhāra SHOULD NOT be translated as just “mental formations.”

▪I hope you can see that translating saṅkhāra as just “mental formations” does not provide much insight. Once one understands the basic concepts discussed above, it will be easier to see the real meaning of different types of saṅkhāra.

▪We will discuss kāya, vacī, and mano saṅkhāra in detail in the next post. Then the critical connection of vitakka/vicāra with vacī saṅkhāra will become clear.

▪Also, see “Complexity of the Mind – Viññāṇa and Saṅkhāra” and “Kamma are Done with Saṅkhāra – Types of Saṅkhāra.”

All posts at “Origin of Life.”