Destructive Kamma (Upa-ghataka-kamma)
1. The Meaning of Destructive Kamma
Destructive Kamma works by having a canceling or destructive effect on other types of Kamma.
2. Characteristics of Destructive Kamma
Its characteristics can be compared to an archer who is about to shoot an arrow at a target which is 560 meters away, but a man shows up and blocks the released arrow with a hammer and causes it to drop to the ground. The instant Destructive Kamma gives its consequences, it will completely stop the workings of other types of Kamma.
Destructive Kamma is opposed to Reproductive and Supportive Kamma but supports Obstructive Kamma. For example, Reproductive Kamma causes an individual to be reborn in a wealthy family, to be smart and good looking. Supportive Kamma may cause him/her to be well-loved by many. Whatever he touches turns to gold, for example. In this case, his/her Destructive Kamma may cause him/her to meet with sudden disaster or death. On the contrary, if Reproductive Kamma causes an individual to be reborn in a poor family, supportive Kamma may cause him/her to suffer increased hardship, but as soon as his/her Destructive Kamma gives its consequences, his/her life will improve almost miraculously. example, he/she may meet with sudden success or become famous overnight.
3. Differences between Obstructive Kamma and Destructive Kamma
As mentioned earlier, Obstructive Kamma does its work by exerting an effect opposite to other types of Kamma, but the effect is gradual. For example, if unwholesome Obstructive Kamma is giving its consequences, it works to erode away the individual's wholesome Kamma by gradually causing him/her to experience a downward turn in his/her fortune, but does not cut short his/her life.
On the other hand, Destructive Kamma works in a sudden manner. For example, if unwholesome Destructive Kamma is giving its consequences, it will work against the individual's wholesome Kamma by causing him/her to experience sudden bankruptcy or to suddenly lose everything he/she ever owns. Worst of all, it can cause the individual to die with a sad and gloomy state of mind and be reborn in the States of Loss and Woe, although he/she has accumulated many good deeds earlier.
There are two categories of Destructive Kamma: wholesome and unwholesome. When one's unwholesome Destructive Kamma gives its consequences, it can completely destroy one's wholesome Kamma as can be seen in the following case study.
A Case Study in Unwholesome Kamma as Recorded in the Tripitaka
The Story about King Ajatasattu
King Ajatasattu is the son of King Bimbisara of the kingdom of Magadha. Magadha was one of the four largest and most powerful kingdoms during the time of our Lord Buddha. King Bimbisara had the deepest faith in the Lord Buddha and was a staunch
supporter of Buddhism. Moreover, he was able to attain the First Stage of Holiness as a Sotapanna.
While the queen was pregnant with Ajatasattu, she had morning sickness and craved blood from her husband's arm. When she told her husband about it, King Bimbisara felt such loving-kindness for his unborn child that he was willing to cut his arm and collect his blood for his wife to drink. After she drank it, her sickness disappeared. King Bimbisara told the royal astrologers about the incident and wanted to know if it foretold something bad. The astrologerstold the king that the unborn son would later be an enemy to the throne, but the king did nothing about the situation.
The queen, however, upon hearing the astrologers' prediction, had no wish for the pregnancy to continue. She tried a few methods to cause an abortion. When the king found out about it, he forbade her to do it because he did not want her to commit a misdeed.
After the baby was born, King Bimbisara named him 'Ajatasattu. While the prince was growing up, he kept the company of Phra Devadat who was an evil monk. He was jealous of the Lord Buddha because he did not receive as much gain and fame and was not regarded with great respect, as other senior monks were. Worse, he meant the Lord Buddha harm because he had the perverted idea that once he removed the Lord Buddha, he could just take over and rule the Buddhist monks in the place of the Lord Buddha.
Phra Devadat talked Prince Ajatasattu into killing his own father in order to take over the throne. Prince Ajatasattu agreed to do it and hid a Kris within his clothes when he went to see the king. However, he was acting so suspiciously that the ministers cornered him in order to question him. The ministers found out the truth and told the king about it. When King Bimbisara realized that his son wanted to kill him in order to ascend the throne, he willingly ceded the throne to him.
After King Ajatasattu assumed the throne, he went to see Phra Devadat and told him about what had happened. Phra Devadat insisted that King Ajatasattu kill his father anyway and King Ajatasattu went along with the evil monk's advice. King Ajatasattu had his father put in prison and did not allow anyone to visit him except for his mother. When he found out that his mother brought food for her husband in the prison, she was forbidden to visit him again. Without food, King Bimbisara could still survive because he was nourished by the practice of walking meditation. When King Ajatasattu found this out, he had his barber use a sharp razor to cut the soles of King Bimbisara's feet and bathe them with saltwater. King Bimbisara could not stand the torture and eventually died.
Since the death of King Bimbisara, King Ajatasattu could not be happy again. The memory of his atrocious acts against his own father kept haunting him. Later, he had the opportunity to listen to the Dhamma given by the Lord Buddha. He was filled with faith in the Teachings. After the Lord Buddha attained Complete Nibbana, King Ajatasattu sponsored the grand council for the purpose of settling questions of doctrine and to fix the text of the Scriptures. He was a staunch supporter of Buddhism for the rest of his life. After he died he was reborn as a hell creature in the hell realm of 'Lohakumbhi' as a result of the Destructive Kamma of having committed
patricide. It gave its ill consequences before the wholesome Kamma of supporting Buddhism could yield its fruit. He would receive horrific punishments in the Hell Realm for a long, long time to come.
A Case Study in Wholesome Kamma as Recorded in the Tripitaka
The Story about Phra Ongulimala
Phra Ongulimala is one of the most important Arahats in Buddhism. He was the son of King Pasendikosala's royal advisor. King Pasendikosala ruled over the kingdom of Kosala. On the day of Ongulimala's birth, there was a supernormal event. All the weapons throughout the city lit up brightly. When asked by the king about the strange occurrence, the royal advisor said that the supernormal happeningwas caused by his infant's power. His infant was bornunder the astrological sign of criminals. When he grew up, he would be a very dangerous criminal andwreak havoc on the inhabitants of the kingdom. He requested the king have his infant killed, but the kingdid not see any threat from the infant and allowed the royal advisor to keep and raise him.
The royal advisor named his son 'Ahinsaka' which meant 'no aggression.' After 'Ahinsaka' grewup, his father sent him to learn the arts in the city of 'Takasila,' which was the center for learning during the time of our Lord Buddha. 'Ahinsaka' was highly intelligent and well-behaved. He was an astute student and well-loved by the master. As a favorite of the master, he incurred the jealousy of his fellow classmates. They conspired with each other to make the master become suspicious and ultimately fearful of 'Ahinsaka.' Initially the master ignored these students' false stories, but with time and increasingly convincing schemes, the master came to believe that 'Ahinsaka' really meant him harm. The master thought about getting rid of 'Ahinsaka' by borrowing someone else's hands.
Once the master thought up a plan, he called 'Ahinsaka' to him and lied to him that all the knowledgewhich he possessed had already been passed on to 'Ahinsaka' except for one more subject, which wasthe ultimate knowledge. He told 'Ahinsaka' that to learn this last subject, he would have to kill 1,000 people. Although 'Ahinsaka' had never taken a lifebefore given his family background of piety, his thirst for knowledge made him believe his master's lie. He subsequently took up a weapon and went to lie in wait for his victims in the forest. To keep count of the number of people he had killed, he would cutoff a finger from each murdered victim and wore the severed fingers around his neck after they were dried in the sun. As a result, he became known as 'the villain Ongulimala.'
'Ongulimala' killed so many people in the forest that eventually no one dared go into the forest. 'Ongulimala' had to ambush people in the villages instead. After more and more people had been killed, the villagers had to abandon their homes and move into the city of 'Savatthi, which was the capital city of the kingdom of 'Kosala.' They eventually made their plight known to the king.
The king had already been aware of the situationbut with increasing complaints from the villagers, he decided that it was time to capture 'Ongulimala. The royal advisor told his wife about the planned arrest. She became very unhappy and fearful for her son's life. She intended to go into the forest to warn him. On the same morning, the Lord Buddha was as usual employing the 'Buddha-Eye' to see whom He could save that day and the image of 'Ongulimala' appeared to Him. The Lord Buddha knew that if 'Ongulimala' heard the Dhamma lecture from Him, he would want to become ordained as a monk and would later become an Arahat. But if 'Ongulimala' killed his mother first, the grave unwholesome Kamma of matricide would prevent him from realizing the Dhamma.
The Lord Buddha went immediately to the forest. As soon as 'Ongulimala' saw the Lord Buddha, he raised his sword and ran after Him. With Buddha-Power, the Lord Buddha made it impossible for 'Ongulimala' to catch up with Him, no matter how fast or how long he ran. Finally, in exhaustion, he asked the Lord Buddha to stop. The Lord Buddha answered that He had already stopped but it was 'Ongulimala' who was still moving. In exasperation, he said that the Lord Buddha was lying. Therefore, the Lord Buddha explained to him that He had been emancipated from birth, aging, pain, and death. He would no longer undergo the round of rebirth or Samsara, which meant that He had already stopped. 'Ongulimala' however was bestial and had killed somany people. He would most definitely be reborn in the Hell Realm as a result of his unwholesome Kamma. He would continue to undergo the neverending suffering of the round of rebirth.
The Lord Buddha's words reminded 'Ongulimala' that the person conversing with him had to be Prince Siddhattha, who had become enlightened as the Lord Buddha. Ongulimala's wholesome Destructive Kamma gave its consequences in time to make him a believer. He threw away his sword, walked toward the Lord Buddha, bowed low at His feet, and asked to become ordained as a Buddhist monk. The Lord Buddha checked and saw that during Ongulimala's past existences, he had made offerings of necessary items to Buddhist monks who practiced righteousness; therefore, he could receive the very special and supernormal ordination of 'Ehibhikkhu-upasampada.'
After the villain 'Ongulimala' became a Buddhist monk, he had to perform monastic duties. He wenton his alms-round in the city, but the people were terrified of him and no one would offer him any food. Moreover, they threw stones and sticks at him. Therefore, he returned to the temple with an empty alms-bowl and sustained injury everyday. The people were still angry with him for having killed their relatives. As time passed, however, people began to forgive and forget and started to make food offerings to Phra Ongulimala. Later, he continued practicing meditation until he was able to attain Arahatship.
In this case, the wholesome Destructive Kamma of the villain 'Ongulimala' gave its consequences immediately when he heard the Lord Buddha's words and decided to become ordained as a monk. The vast amount of his past accumulated merit caused him to eventually attain Arahatship. As a result, he was able to escape the unwholesome Kamma of killing so many people.
In conclusion, Kamma gives its consequences as a function of duty. If Reproductive Kamma is compared to an elder brother, then Supportive Kamma is the little brother who listens to the elder brother and Obstructive Kamma and Destructive Kamma are the little brothers who have a mind of their own and refuse to obey the big brother. Obstructive Kamma disobeys in a gradual manner whereas Destructive Kamma does it in a sudden and straight-forward manner.
Reproductive Kamma determines the individual's realm of rebirth while Supportive Kamma enhances the effect of Reproductive Kamma. If Reproductive Kamma causes an individual to have a good rebirth then Supportive Kamma will make the good circumstances of his birth even better. Obstructive and Destructive Kamma will have an opposite effect. If Reproductive Kamma causes the individual to have a good rebirth in a wealthy family, Obstructive and Destructive Kamma will cause the individual to be sickly, to be unable to spend his/her fortune, to be unhappy, etc. Obstructive Kamma is more like a disease which gradually weakens the body until it finally expires. Destructive Kamma is more like a sudden accident which ends the individual's life or a sudden financial disaster which causes him to go bankrupt. It can also wreak havoc on both fronts at the same time.
It is very important that we do not live life in a reckless manner, but should accumulate as much merit as we can and as often as possible. We should make it a habit to recall all the merit that we have made and keep our mind clear and bright. In this way, we can prevent our unwholesome Kamma to give its ill consequences but allow our wholesome Kamma to work all the time, so that our success and happiness can be increased until such time that we can rid ourselves completely of all defilements and attain Nibbana in the manner of the Lord Buddha and the Arahats.
