The History of Buddhist Thought c17.30

c17.30

The operation of karma was worked out in detail by the scholastics. Actions have a ripening (vipāka), and a fruit (phala). There are certain crimes which bring their punishment in this present life (ānantariya): murder of a mother, a father, an arahat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, and schism. Karma may be black, white, mixed, or neither black nor white.