🌱Day 76: Living Long, Dying Young: Understanding Kamma Through the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta | Study Notes from BMV Monday Sutta Study with Bhante Dr. G. Chandima

                           

Why do some people die young, while others live to old age?

The Buddha addresses this question in the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya. He explains that beings experience differing lifespans primarily due to the kamma (actions) they have performed in the past and continue to perform.

Long Life vs. Short Life

• Short life results from killing living beings (pāṇātipāta), being cruel (adayāpanno).

• Long life results from abstaining from killing (pāṇātipātā paṭivirato), living with compassion (dayāpanno).

Key Teachings from the first set of Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta:

• A man or woman who kills living beings (pāṇātipātī), being cruel (luddo), bloody-handed (lohitapāṇi), immersed in killing and violence (hatapahate niviṭṭho), and without compassion (adayāpanno) towards all beings (sabbapāṇabhutesu), as a result of such actions (kamma), after death (kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā), is reborn in hell (niraya), in a state of misery (apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ).If not reborn in hell, but instead in the human realm (manussattaṃ), such a person is short-lived (appāyuko).Thus, habitual killing leads to short life (appāyukasaṃvattanikā paṭipadā).

In contrast:

• A man or woman who abandons killing (pāṇātipātaṃ pahāya), abstains from killing (pāṇātipātā paṭivirato), lays down the rod and sword (nihitadaṇḍo nihitasattho), is modest (lajjī), kind-hearted (dayāpanno), and dwells compassionate for the welfare of all living beings (sabbapāṇabhūtahitānukampī), as a result of such actions, after death, is reborn in a good destination (sugatiṃ), in the heavenly world (saggaṃ lokaṃ). If instead reborn in the human realm, such a person is long-lived (dīghāyuko).Thus, refraining from killing leads to long life (dīghāyukasaṃvattanikā paṭipadā).

Harming Living Beings

"Here, student, some woman or man is a killer of living beings, murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless to living beings. Due to having performed and completed such kammas, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, in hell. If, on the dissolution of the body, after death, instead of his reappearing in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, in hell, he comes to the human state, he is short-lived wherever he is reborn. This is the way that leads to short life, that is to say, to be a killer of living beings, murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless to living beings.

Not Harming Living Beings

"But here some woman or man, having abandoned the killing of living beings, abstains from killing living beings, lays aside the rod and lays aside the knife, is considerate and merciful and dwells compassionate for the welfare of all living beings. Due to having performed and completed such kammas, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in a happy destination, in the heavenly world. If, on the dissolution of the body, after death, instead of his reappearing in a happy destination, in the heavenly world, he comes to the human state, he is long-lived wherever he is reborn. This is the way that leads to long life, that is to say, to have abandoned the killing of living beings, to abstain from killing living beings, to lay aside the rod and lay aside the knife, to be considerate and merciful, and to dwell compassionate for the welfare of all living beings.

The Buddha thus highlights a moral law of cause and effect: Intentional harmful actions against life shorten one’s own life and cause sickness. Protective, compassionate conduct extends it.

Relevant Factors on Lifespan According to the Suttas and Broader Teachings:

• Intentionality (Cetanā): The ethical quality of one’s actions, particularly the volition behind them, significantly shapes karmic consequences.

• Degree of Action: Seriousness (for example, repeated or large-scale harming) intensifies karmic results.

• Mental States: Actions rooted in hatred or cruelty tend to be heavier in karmic weight compared to actions done in ignorance.

• Other Kammic Influences: Besides killing, other moral and immoral actions, such as generosity or stealing, influence one's overall health and conditions of rebirth.

• Ripening of Past Kamma: Sometimes actions from long ago (even previous lives) can mature and manifest as sudden illness, accidents, or long life.

• Non-Karmic Causes: In the broader Buddhist understanding, not all misfortunes or early deaths are directly due to kamma. Other conditions, such as natural disasters, biological factors, or accidents, can also play a role.

Remarks:

The Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta reminds us that intentional ethical conduct — particularly refraining from harming life (pāṇātipātā paṭivirato), laying down weapons (nihitadaṇḍo nihitasattho), and dwelling with compassion for all beings (sabbapāṇabhūtahitānukampī) — contributes to long life (dīghāyuko).

However, it is important to understand that early death or illness is not always purely the result of past kamma. Life is shaped by a complex web of causes and conditions (paccaya). Biological, environmental, and accidental factors also have a role.

Kamma Is Not a Linear "One Crime, One Punishment" System

Kamma is not mechanical like a court system ("You killed, so you must die young"). Rather, it is dynamic: past actions interweave with countless other causes (paccaya) — including mind states, environments, even other beings' actions.

A very compassionate being could still die young, if other dormant kamma matures suddenly.

👉 Thus, kamma is better seen as a vast field of seeds — some ripen quickly, some stay hidden for eons.

Kamma Ripens in Unexpected Domains

Some killing kamma doesn't ripen in lifespan but in mental illness, relationships, physical suffering, or even fearfulness.

Likewise, kindness might not always result immediately in a long life — it may mature into intuitive wisdom, or powerful rebirths.

The Same Action Can Have Different Results for Different People

Two people can commit similar acts (e.g., harming a living being), but their karmic fruits differ based on their underlying intention (cetanā), mental maturity, and past kamma.

Example: A soldier kills under orders but with a heavy, regretful heart; another kills with joy and cruelty. The karmic weights are very different.

👉 Thus, it's not "what" you do alone, but "how" and "why" you do it.

Collective Kamma and Society's Impact

Sometimes early death is not purely individual kamma but collective kamma:

Wars, pandemics, disasters happen when the collective kamma of a society ripens.

One person’s wholesome kamma might still "lose" against a giant wave of collective destructive kamma.

👉 Thus, we are not only inheritors of our personal actions but also of the karmic energy of our society.

Length of Life Is Not the Same as Value of Life

A 100-year life lived with greed, anger, and delusion is spiritually far poorer than a 20-year life lived with wisdom and compassion.

In the Buddhist view, quality of consciousness, not quantity of years, defines success.

👉 Thus, longevity is a karmic fruit — but spiritual nobility is beyond mere survival.

When we reflect deeply, the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta is not just about death and life span —It is about how every single intention, every small act of harmlessness (ahiṃsā) or harm, every choice to heal or hurt,quietly but powerfully shapes the unfolding mystery of our lives and the lives of others.

Our lives are poems written by our kamma —

every thought, every act, a syllable leading to a destiny.

Thus, while kamma is a profound and guiding principle, it is not the only force at work.Realizing this, we are encouraged both to live ethically and compassionately — and to face life’s uncertainties with wisdom, patience, and compassion.

May this reflection deepen our understanding of kamma and inspire us to live with gentleness, care, and awareness for all beings!