Good, Evil and Beyond: Kamma in the Buddha’s Teaching

The book begins with an Introduction explaining that this English work is adapted from Bhikkhu P. A. Payutto’s larger Thai treatise Buddha Dhamma and is intended to clarify the Buddhist law of kamma for modern readers, especially those seeking an ethical framework grounded in cause and effect rather than fear, dogma, or authority. The first main section, “Understanding the Law of Kamma,” defines kamma as intentional action, distinguishes it from other natural laws and social conventions, and explains kamma as intention, conditioning factor, personal responsibility, and social activity. “On Good and Evil” analyzes the meaning of kusala and akusala, showing how good and bad actions are assessed by their roots, effects, and consequences for oneself and others. “The Fruition of Kamma” explains how actions bear results across different levels, including present mental states, character formation, future outcomes, and the relationship between kamma, heaven, hell, and rebirth. “Kamma on the Social Level” expands the doctrine beyond the individual, showing how collective views, social values, and shared intentions shape communities and historical conditions. “The Kamma that Ends Kamma” points to the higher Buddhist path in which intentional action is purified and transcended through wisdom, right view, and liberating practice. “Misunderstandings of the Law of Kamma” corrects errors such as fatalism, dependence on external powers, confusion between kamma and not-self, and the belief that kamma can simply be erased. The concluding section summarizes the practical purpose of kamma: to replace superstition with intelligence, invocation with action, passivity with responsibility, caste or class discrimination with moral equality, and confusion about fate with a disciplined commitment to present wholesome conduct.