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The Paṭṭhāna: Kamma, Result, Nutriment, Faculty, Jhāna and Path as Conditions
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The Paṭṭhāna: Kamma, Result, Nutriment, Faculty, Jhāna and Path as Conditions

Kammapaccayo

Kamma condition comes in two kinds, one within the same moment and one across different moments. Result, nutriment, faculty, jhāna and path conditions explain what sustains, what governs a function, and what sets direction.

8 points

In the Paṭṭhāna of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, the analysis of conditions defines each condition in a short formula, and the Pañhāvāra sections of the various triads and dyads then supply worked examples. This page takes the six conditions that deal with force and direction: kamma, result, nutriment, faculty, jhāna and path.

The most interesting is kamma condition, which the text says is of two kinds: conascent and of different moments. The conascent kind is volition as a condition for the aggregates arising with it in that very moment. The kind of different moments is volition as a condition for resultant aggregates and kamma-produced matter arising at another moment. Keeping the two apart prevents the word kamma from blurring the volition now at work with the result that follows later.

Two more are easy to picture: nutriment condition, which covers both edible food and mental nutriment, and faculty condition, which runs from the eye faculty to the immaterial faculties. Jhāna condition and path condition have the shortest definitions of all: the jhāna factors, and the path factors, are a condition for the states associated with them and for the matter originated by those states.

This point is for overall understanding. The modern examples here are only illustrations and are not from the text.

  1. 1

    Kamma condition has two kinds Sahajātā nānākhaṇikā

    In the Pañhāvāra the text states every time that kamma condition is of two kinds, conascent and of different moments, and then explains each separately. The distinction shows that a single word covers two very different situations.

    Applying it in daily life

    When speaking about kamma, first ask yourself whether you mean the intention being formed now or the result being received now. The two call for different responses.

  2. 2

    The conascent kind: volition working in that very moment Kammapaccayo

    As conascent, volition is a condition for the aggregates associated with it and for matter originated by mind; at the moment of rebirth-linking, volition is a condition for the associated aggregates and for kamma-produced matter. It operates within that same moment.

    Applying it in daily life

    Intention shapes the quality of what you are doing right now, with no waiting for later results. Try renewing your intention mid-task and notice the difference.

  3. 3

    The kind of different moments: giving its result elsewhere Vipākānaṃ khandhānaṃ kaṭattā ca rūpānaṃ

    As of different moments, volition is a condition for resultant aggregates and kamma-produced matter that do not arise in the same moment as that volition. The text describes the relation directly, without specifying an interval.

    Applying it in daily life

    Do not expect an immediate result from everything you do, and do not conclude there is no result because none is visible yet. Make good causes and be at ease about timing.

  4. 4

    Result condition: resultant states supporting each other Vipākā cattāro khandhā arūpino

    One of the shortest definitions: the four immaterial aggregates that are results are a condition for one another by way of result condition. The point is that the result side has its own internal relations; it is not merely something acted upon.

    Applying it in daily life

    What you have already received — your body, your present circumstances — has a logic of its own. Understanding it before planning works better than forcing it.

  5. 5

    Nutriment condition: both edible food and mental nutriment Kabaḷiṅkāro āhāro imassa kāyassa

    The definition says edible food is a condition for this body by way of nutriment, and immaterial nutriment is a condition for the states associated with it and for the matter originated by those states. The Pañhāvāra of the dyad on the taints adds that at the moment of rebirth-linking edible food is a condition for this body.

    Applying it in daily life

    Look at both kinds of intake each day: what you eat, and what you take in through eyes, ears and mind. Both really do nourish you.

  6. 6

    Faculty condition: governing its own function Indriyapaccayo

    The text runs from the eye faculty as a condition for eye consciousness and the states associated with it, through to the body faculty, then adds that the physical life faculty is a condition for kamma-produced matter, and that immaterial faculties are a condition for the states associated with them and for the matter originated by those states.

    Applying it in daily life

    Look after your eyes, your hearing and your rest. The condition of the sense organs sets the quality of everything the mind receives all day.

  7. 7

    Jhāna condition: the force of a gathered mind Jhānaṅgāni jhānasampayuttakānaṃ

    A single sentence: the jhāna factors are a condition for the states associated with jhāna and for the matter originated by those states. Jhāna factors here means the components of gathering the mind; the term is not confined to those who have already attained absorption.

    Applying it in daily life

    Staying with one thing for a stretch changes the quality of the whole piece of work. Try shutting out distractions and doing one task for twenty minutes.

  8. 8

    Path condition: what sets the direction Maggaṅgāni maggasampayuttakānaṃ

    Parallel in form to jhāna condition: the path factors are a condition for the states associated with the path and for the matter originated by those states. The path factors are what determine which way what follows will go.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before starting anything large, check the direction first — is the understanding right, is the intention right? The energy you put in will travel the way you aimed it.

Try it in daily life

This set of conditions helps separate words people habitually run together, especially kamma. In ordinary speech the word is used for the bad outcome someone receives, but in the text kamma condition is the volition that is the cause, while the outcome is called result and has its own separate result condition.

Once that is clear, one's attitude changes. What we can act on now is the volition side; some of what is appearing now belongs to the result side, which can be accepted while something new is done. That is different from endlessly blaming oneself for the past.

Nutriment and faculty conditions are a reminder about basics: what we take in, and the condition of our sense organs, genuinely affect the quality of mind. Jhāna and path conditions remind us that gathering the mind on one thing, and holding a right view, are what set the direction of everything that follows.

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