Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t18.5

v1.c7.s7.t18.5

Purana Kassapa was not a believer in good/evil karma. He claimed that such evil deeds as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct or false speech wouldn’t bring about any bad karma, just like such good deeds or virtues as almsgivings, self-control or truth-telling wouldn’t bring about any good karma. The reason why he rejected the theory of poetic justice or karma may be attributed to his denial of the law of cause and effect. He believed that the presence of creatures or emotions is only natural and spontaneous, without any underlying “cause” giving rise to them. Samyuktagama-sutra Volume Three contained one of his trenchant observations, which goes “people are dirty for no reason, just as people are clean for no reason”. Meant at the time to subvert the dominant Brahmanism, this thought also ran counter to Buddhist theories.