🌱Day 81: 🌱Why Are Some Born Into Loving, Supportive Families, While Others Face Challenging or Toxic Families?: Understanding Kamma Through the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta | Study Notes from BMV Monday Sutta Study with Bhante Dr. G. Chandima

                   

The Path to Being Born into a Challenging Family

Pāli (excerpt):

"Idha pana māṇava, ekacco itthī vā puriso vā thaddho hoti atimānī. Abhivādetabbaṃ na abhivādeti. Paccuṭṭhātabbaṃ na paccuṭṭheti, āsanārahassa āsanaṃ na deti, maggārahassa maggaṃ na deti, sakkātabbaṃ na sakkaroti, garukātabbaṃ na garukaroti. Mānetabbaṃ na māneti, pūjetabbaṃ na pūjeti. So tena kammena evaṃ samattena evaṃ samādinnena kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ nirayaṃ upapajjati. No ce kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ nirayaṃ upapajjati, sace manussattaṃ āgacchati, yattha yattha paccājāyati, nīcakulīno hoti. Nīcakulīnasaṃvattanikā esā māṇava, paṭipadā yadidaṃ thaddho hoti atimānī, abhivādetabbaṃ na abhivādeti, paccuṭṭhātabbaṃ na paccuṭṭheti, āsanārahassa na āsanaṃ deti, maggārahassa na maggaṃ deti, sakkātabbaṃ na sakkaroti, garukātabbaṃ na garukaroti, mānetabbaṃ na māneti, pūjetabbaṃ na pūjeti."

Translation:

Here, student, some woman or man is fixated and arrogant; he/she does not greet to whom he/she should greet, or rise up for whom he/she should rise up, or give a seat to whom he/she should give a seat, or make way for whom he/she should make way, or honour him/her who should be honoured, or respect him who should be respected, or esteem him/her who should be esteemed and paid homage and worship him/her who should be paid homage and worship. Due to having performed and completed such kammas, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he/she reappears in a state of deprivation... If instead he/she comes to the human state, he/she is low-born wherever he is reborn. This is the way that leads to low birth, that is to say, to be fixated and arragont, not to greet to whom he/she should greet, nor rise up for..., nor give a seat to..., nor make way for..., nor honour..., nor respect..., nor esteem..., nor homage and worship him/her who should be paid homage and worship.

The Path to Being Born into a Loving Family

Pāli (excerpt):

"Idha pana māṇava, ekacco itthī vā puriso vā atthaddho hoti anatimānī. Abhivādetabbaṃ abhivādeti, paccuṭṭhātabbaṃ paccuṭṭheti, āsanārahassa āsanaṃ deti, maggārahassa maggaṃ deti, sakkātabbaṃ sakkaroti, garukātabbaṃ garukāti. Mānetabbaṃ māneti, pūjetabbaṃ pūjeti. So tena kammena evaṃ samattena evaṃ samādinnena kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā sugatiṃ saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjati. No ce kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā sugatiṃ saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjati, sace manussattaṃ āgacchati, yattha yattha paccājāyati, uccākulīno hoti. Uccākulīnasaṃvattanikā esā māṇava, paṭipadā yadidaṃ atthaddho hoti anatimānī, abhivādetabbaṃ abhivādeti, paccuṭṭhātabbaṃ paccuṭṭheti, āsanārahassa āsanaṃ deti, maggārahassa maggaṃ deti, sakkātabbaṃ sakkaroti, garukātabbaṃ garukaroti, mānetabbaṃ māneti, pūjetabbaṃ pūjeti."

Translation:

But here some woman or man is not fixated or arrogant; he/she greets homage to whom he/she should greet, rises up for whom he/she should rise up, gives a seat to whom he/she should give a seat, makes way for whom he/she should make way, honour him/her who should be honoured, respects him/her who should be respected, esteem him/her who should be esteemed, pay homage and worship him/her who should be paid homage and worship. Due to having performed and completed such kammas, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he/she reappears in a happy destination... If instead he/she comes to the human state, he/she is high-born wherever he is reborn. This is the way that leads to high birth, that is to say, not to be fixated or arragont, to greet to whom he/she should greet, to rise up for..., to give a seat to..., to make way for..., to honour... respect... esteem... pay homage and worship him/her who should be paid homage and worship.

1. Arrogance leads to downfall.

The Buddha cautions that arrogance, manifested as pride or unwillingness to bow/greet, will lead to subsequent birth there, if one is reborn into a poor family or a low social status. Pride prevents one from seeing the moral merit of another and obstructs the spontaneous flow of gratitude and respect. It will harden the heart and alienate you from spiritual understanding. For even when all appears to go well, the arrogant person is poor in spirit. Arrogance prevents Wisdom and Community Growth. Developing humility prevents that; instead, one can receive teachings, respect virtue and create favourable rebirth.

2. Kamma is shaped not just by big actions, but small gestures.

What the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta demonstrates is that habits of practice, habits of ordinary life—rising for elders/worthy, yielding a seat, bowing—even these have a universe of karmic weight behind them. Even these minute acts create patterns of character that reverberate through lifetimes. To ignore these is not neutral; it can generate bad kamma. Through such small regular acts of respect, human beings can develop a fine mind that naturally leans to the good. It suggests that virtue is not just for grand gestures of self-sacrifice but for small, unheralded acts of attentiveness to other people.

3. Respect has karmic weight.

The value of respect is cultural — and it’s karmic. Not honouring the deserving such as parents, teachers, elders or spiritual teachers, produces demerit, which will result in social deprivation or rebirth in negative surroundings. Respect is a mirror: it bounces back the way we treat others, over lifetimes. Respect for the state comes not from fear but from moral appraisement. It means a state of humility and the possibility for wisdom.

4. Social status is karmically conditioned.

The Buddha associates low or high birth with what we have experienced in our past, especially in terms of how we have treated others. This is at odds with a deterministic or caste-based conception of status. Privilege is not a divine right, but an inheritance from acts of great reverence and humility. Instead, low birth is not punishment but more of the same arrogance or disdain for moral bounds. This is evidence of the proof that ethics is far more valuable than Lineage.

5. Recognizing worthiness is a moral act.

It is not sufficient to be respectful in a general way; we should honour, revere, and serve. Right view means understanding the goodness of other people. This discrimination comes with wisdom and awareness. It promotes reverence for those who have the Dhamma and discourages uncritical attachment to others. When we commemorate the righteous, we identify with the truth's way, thwarting our lower selves.

6. External manners reflect internal virtue.

The gestures we make — bowing, yielding, rising up — are both external signs of inner disposition. While these seem to us ritualistic and empty, the Buddha says they’re full of karma and psychology. Such acts help to teach a humble mind to minimize the influence of the ego and to strengthen the discipline of conscience. Regularly respectful behaviour develops healthy mental scripts and emotional resiliency. As one withholds oneself from outward courtesy, one becomes insensible to morality. Therefore, etiquette nurtures the inner being and good karma.

7. Practicing reverence/courtesy dissolves ego.

Reverence is not the same thing as inferiority; it is about eroding the ego. We allow ourselves to be less attached to pride and separatism. We regain some level of control when we respect others, particularly those who are wise and virtuous. This promotes inner spaciousness and receptivity. The antidote to the conceit and delusion of self-adequacy is reverence. It is a reminder of our dependence on others for wisdom, safety, and purpose. Respecting the Dhamma and those who live it, the Buddha insists, is a way of honouring agentive potential.

8. Spiritual practice includes social ethics.

Mindfulness in oneself does not assure a good rebirth when social ethics are neglected. Buddha makes it plain that how one treats others, with respect, with generosity, with humility, acts as ground for karmic results. Social behaviour is not something apart from spirituality; it is spirituality in action. Standing up when a teacher enters or offering your seat to an elder is an occasion for dhamma in action. Living ethically is a spiritual practice at work in the world.

9. Habitual pride is a karmic poison.

When unrestrained, pride/arrogance becomes an eye through which all but ourselves are judged — and largely forsaken. And there are karmic results, too: pride cuts us off from others, makes us dry inside, and stunts our sense of compassion. The proud man is slow to learn and no admirer of the virtues of others. The sutta connects this inner defilement with outer bad luck in future births. So the remedy is to do more of reminding yourself that you are the one who lifts yourself up away from others, and practice humble receptivity and gratitude.

10. Rebirth mirrors inner character.

 A respectful, reverent person develops lightness, connection, and joy—the very things that lead to high birth. A proud person lives in falsehood and illusion, attracting future conditions and states of social and existential poverty. So our character now is the seedbed for one's life to come. Armed with this knowledge, we are taking charge of our mental habits by cultivating kindness, respect and spiritual yearning.

11. Every interaction is a chance to shape destiny.

We tend to underrate the moral valence of such pedestrian social transactions. Every decision — to smile or yield, to act unto another a simple recognition or not — has karmic repercussions. The Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta instructs that the way we live each day matters. We shouldn’t have to wait around for grand gestures to do good. We can work to change our karmic destiny through small gestures of kindness, love, and respect for one another. Our fate is determined less by intermittent passion and more by unceasing moral sensibilities.

12. True nobility is earned, not inherited.

Unlike fixed social hierarchies, said the Buddha, a person is “high-born” according to conduct. Attending the wise, honouring those worthy of honour, esteeming them with humility: this is the greatest blessing. This is the democracy of virtue: anybody, irrespective of what he is today, can achieve nobility through deeds. The only true nobility in Buddhism is not social, nor material, but ethical and spiritual. Its growth is through purpose, word and deed by Dhamma. It's a way for people to reshape their karmic destiny.

13. Humility is a visible form of wisdom.

This wisdom of the Buddhist path is not only knowledge but a humble attitude towards life and others. A person of understanding realizes that it is all interconnected, that there are such things as karmic law, and the worth of being part of a family. And of course, this understanding would manifest itself in polite speaking, respect for one’s elders and conscious behavior. Humility isn’t weak; it’s clear. It opens up the heart, clears the mind and sensitizes you to listen more. The meek person is a vessel for peace, wisdom and compassion.

14. The Dhamma honours those who honour others.

There is an energy in the moral universe, and that energy is reciprocal. As one praises those worthy of honour, whether by word, deed, or presence, one is being praised. This is not a tit-for-tat thing; it's based on the sympathetic responding of good kammic influence. The teachings of the Buddha promise that what we give in trust returns as dignity. The more we help one another, the more we will rise ourselves. Such a sincere offering of homage to virtue shall vitally bless a life and guard it by karma!

15. Right view includes right relationships.

Right view in Buddhism, however, is not merely a recognition of impermanence (change/changeability) or not-self—it also involves seeing relationships as kamma-fields. One has to fathom the ethical character of social life. How we hold, how we listen to direction, how we treat the honored are part of the way. Right view teaches that our spiritual life is not a solitary thing, it happens within respectful, harmonious relationships. Respect for others is more than manners — it’s a reflection of wisdom and right understanding.