Casual Kamma (Katatta-kamma)
1. The Meaning of Casual Kamma
Casual Kamma means unwholesome and wholesome deeds which an individual has performed both in the past and present existences. It does not have the strength of Karuka-kamma, Asanna-kamma, or Acinna-kamma. They are deeds that have been performed unintentionally.
2. Characteristics of Casual Kamm
Casual Kamma has the least strength of the four types of Kamma. Casual Kamma is an unintentional deed such as that of an innocent child. For example, if its parents have 'Right View' and are devoted to making merit, they will naturally want to instill these values in their child. When they make an offering of food to the monks, they may take the child's hand and help it to give food to the monks. They may teach the child to pay respect to the monks. Although the child may have no idea about what it is doing, these wholesome deeds will still give their consequences, albeit weakly. The reason is Kamma means an intentional act. If no intention is involved then the action is not considered to be Kamma or if it is, it will not have as strong an effect as an intentional Kamma.
The timing of the consequences of Casual Kamma is not definite because it is weak Kamma and can only support other types of stronger Kamma. Casual Kamma can be compared to an arrow which is shot by a blind person. It cannot hit the target because the blind person does not know where the target is. He only knows that it will eventually fall to the ground. It is the same way with Casual Kamma. It cannot be said that Casual Kamma will give its consequences in this or that existence. It can only be said that it will give its consequences sometime in the future.
There are two types of Casual Kamma: Unwholesome Casual Kamma and wholesome Casual Kamma.
3. Unwholesome Casual Kamma
Unwholesome Casual Kamma means unintentional, unwholesome deeds which cause one to be reborn in the States of Loss and Woe.
A Case Study as Recorded in the Tripitaka
The Past Kamma of a Peta
There was once a farmer who lived during the time of the Lord Kassapa Buddha. One day the people got together to make merit at the temple and to pay homage to the Lord Buddha. They invited him to join them, but he did not go because he thought of it as a waste of time. He did not listen to the people when they told him that making merit with the Lord Buddha was worth a great deal more than plowing the rice field.
He said with annoyance to the people, "What makes the Lord Kassapa Buddha so great? Could He plow the field as I do?" The people were shocked to hear what he said. They praised the Lord Buddha and told him that he should never be disrespectful to the Lord Buddha. They told him about the great harm of being disrespectful to the Lord Buddha, but he was eventually filled with indignation and said rudely, "All right, enough already. So the Lord Kasspa Buddha is great but I still believe that as long as He cannot plow the field as I do, I will not make any merit or pay Him homage. If He should take up the ploughshare and plow the field, then I will make merit and pay Him homage." Because of these disrespectful remarks which were made as a sarcastic response to the people's goodwill, after he died he was reborn a Peta. He suffered tremendous hunger all the time and without any respite.
4. Wholesome Casual Kamma
Wholesome Casual Kamma means unintentional wholesome deeds which cause one to be reborn in the States of Happiness.
A Case Study as Recorded in the Tripitaka
The Hereafter of a Frog
Near dawn one day during the time of our Lord Buddha, He was staying at a temple by the lotus pond in the city of Campa. He had checked to see whom He could save on that day. He could see that in that very evening during His Dhamma lecture, there would be a frog which after having heard His voice would be reborn in the Celestial Realm. The Lord Buddha then carried on with His daily activities as usual.
In the evening the four Buddhist communities, which included male and female monks, male and female lay devotees, as usual assembled in the pavilion to listen to the Dhamma lecture. The Lord Buddha left His perfumed dwelling to go to the pavilion which was situated by the lotus pond. After being seated on the Buddha-seat, the Lord Buddha gave a Dhamma lecture in a resounding and glorious voice.
At the same moment, a frog was swimming around in the lotus pond. It heard the Lord Buddha's voice and felt so delighted to hear it. Although it could not understand the words, it was so moved by the Lord Buddha's voice that it immediately jumped out of the water and went to sit on the grass near the rear of the pavilion. With great joy, it closed its eyes to listen to the Lord Buddha's voice. While it was completely immersed in the Lord Buddha's voice, a cow herder happened to walk past the area. He saw that the Lord Buddha was delivering a Dhamma lecture and felt a deep desire to listen to it. He went to stand by the frog, but the frog was completely unaware of his presence. As the cow herder stood listening to the Dhamma lecture, he stuck the goad to the ground and accidentally crushed the frog's head and killed it.
The frog was instantly reborn a handsome gentleman celestial being in the Tavatimsa Realm as a result of having felt moved by the Lord Buddha's voice even though it had no idea what He was saying. It was this Casual Kamma which caused it to be reborn in the Celestial Realm.
To conclude, Pakadana-pariyaya-catukaka refers to the four different types of Kamma. If all four types of Kamma are performed, Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma will give its consequences first because it is the gravest and most powerful Kamma. Unwholesome Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma will cause a rebirth in the hell realm of Aveci. Sangha-bheda causes the person who performs it to suffer for an entire Kappa in the hell realm of Aveci. Wholesome Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma causes the person who performs it to be reborn in the Brahma Realm.
If Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma is not performed, then Asanna-kamma will be next in line to give its consequences. Unwholesome Death-Proximate Kamma cause the person who performs it to be reborn in the States of Loss and Woe, whereas wholesome Death-Proximate Kamma causes the person who performs it to be reborn in the States of Happiness.
If Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma and Death-Proximate Kamma are not performed, then Habitual Kamma will be next in line to give its consequences. Unwholesome Habitual Kamma causes the person who performs it to be reborn in the States of Loss and Woe whereas wholesome Habitual Kamma causes one to be reborn in the States of Happiness.
If Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma, Death-Proximate Kamma, and Habitual Kamma are not performed, it means that one has not performed serious unwholesome and wholesome Kamma. In this case, Casual Kamma will be next in line to give its consequences. Unwholesome Casual Kamma causes the person who performs it to be reborn in the States of Loss and Woe whereas wholesome Casual Kamma causes the person who performs it to be reborn in the States of Happiness.
The four types of Kamma possess different strengths in the following descending order: Strong-Effect-Producing Kamma> Death-Proximate Kamma> Habitual Kamma > Casual Kamma.
All of us need to exercise vigilance and make sure that we do not abuse anyone with our body, words, and thoughts because every single one of our deeds has consequences. Moreover, we must endeavor to accumulate more and more good deeds and abandon recklessness, because it is very difficult indeed to be reborn a human being. The Lord Buddha taught that "suppose someone throws a life-buoy into the ocean where a blind turtle lives. Every 100 years, it would come up to the surface. The chance of this blind turtle getting its head caught in the buoy is as rare as a human rebirth."
Since rebirth as a human being is very rare, we must live our life in the most worthwhile manner in order to benefit our self and our fellow human beings. We must accumulate merit on a regular basis. We should choose to forget about our past mistakes and determine to perform only good deeds every minute of every day. We should keep our mind clear and bright so that our past unwholesome Kamma will not have the chance to give its consequences. Our accumulated good deeds will not only keep us out of the States of Loss and Woe but will also cause us to meet with increasing prosperity in the present existence.
