The Buddha describes the four kinds of kamma (actions) and their results in brief.

Saṅkhitta sutta - Kamma in Brief

“Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of |kamma::actions, deeds [kammā]| proclaimed by me after having realized them for myself through direct knowledge. What four?

1) There is, bhikkhus, kamma that is dark |with dark results::having negative consequences [kaṇhavipāka]|;
2) There is, bhikkhus, kamma that is bright |with bright results::with positive consequences [sukkavipāka]|;
3) There is, bhikkhus, kamma that is dark and bright |with dark and bright results::with both positive and negative consequences [kaṇhasukkavipāka]|;
4) There is, bhikkhus, kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, which leads to the |exhaustion of kamma::wearing away of actions [kammakkhaya]|.

These, bhikkhus, are the four kinds of kamma proclaimed by me after having realized them for myself through direct knowledge.”

Last updated on May 11, 2025

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