- Vipāka-paccaya: The Relation of Effect
- Vipāka-paccaya: The Relation of Effect
Thirty-six classes of resultant consciousness and their concomitants are the relation of effect.
As they are mutually related to one another, the related things embrace all of them, as well as the material qualities born of kamma at the time of conception, and those produced by the resultant consciousness during life.
In what sense is vipāka applied?
It is applied in the sense of vipaccana,
which means a change of state from infancy or youth to maturity.
Whose tenderness and maturity are meant?
What is meant by the former is the infancy of the past volition, which is known as asynchronous kamma. By maturity, also, is meant the maturity of the same kamma.
Here, it should be understood that each volition has four avattha or time-phases: cetanāvattha or the genesis of volition; kammāvattha, or the continuance of volition, nimittāvattha, or the representation of volition; and vipāka-vattha, or the final result.
Here, although the volition itself ceases, its peculiar function does not cease, but latently follows the series of thought.
This is called kammāvattha, or the continuance of volition.
When it obtains a favourable opportunity for fruition, the kamma represents itself to the person about to die. That is to say, he himself feels as if he were giving charity, or observing the precepts, or perhaps killing some creatures.
If this kamma fails to represent itself, a symbol of it is represented. That is to say, he himself feels as if he were in possession of the offerings, the gifts, the weapons, and so on, or anything with which he had committed such kamma in the past.
Or, sometimes, there is represented to him the sign of the next existence where he is destined to open his new life. That is to say, such objects as the abodes or palaces of the devas or the fires of the niraya-worlds, or anything else which will be his lot to obtain or experience in the existence immediately following, enters the fields of presentation through the six doors.
These are called nimittāvattha; the representation of the volition.
Now, how are we to understand the vipākāvattha? If a person dies with his attention fixed upon one of these three classes objects, either on the kamma itself, or on the sign of it, or on the sign of destiny, it is said that kamma has effected itself, or has come to fruition, in the immediately new existence. It has transmuted itself into a personality, and appears, so to speak, in the form of a being in the new existence. This is called the vipākāvattha or the final result.
Here, in the first three āvattha the volition is said to be in the state of infancy or youth.
Footnote: Ledi Sayādaw has not explained the cetanāvattha. But it is easy enough to understand, since it is the commission of the initial volition or kamma. (Translator) The last one shows that the volition has arrived at maturity, and can effect itself.
Therefore, as has been said, vipaccana means a change of state from infancy or youth to maturity.
Thus vipāka is the name assigned to the states of consciousness and their concomitants, which are the results of the volitions, or to the matured volitions themselves.
Just as mangoes are very soft and delicate when they are ripe, so also the resultant states are very tranquil, since they are inactive and have no stimulus.
They are so tranquil that the objects of sub-consciousness are always dim and obscure.
On reviving from sub-consciousness, one has no consciousness of what its object was.
For this reason, there is no possibility of occurrence of a process of thought, which can reflect the object of the sub-consciousness thus: “Such and such an object has been met with in the past existence,” although in sleep at night the sub-consciousness takes for its object one of the three classes of objects (kamma, the symbols of kamma, and the symbols of one’s future destiny), which had been experienced before, at the time of approaching death, in the immediately preceding existence.
Hence it is that one knows nothing about any object from a past existence, either in sleep or in waking.
Thus the mutual relationship by way of inactivity, non-stimulation and tranquillity is termed the function of vipāka.
End of Vipāka-relation.