At that
time Ksitigarbha Mahasattva said to the Buddha, "World Honored One,
I see that every single movement or stirring of thought on the part
of beings of Jambudvipa is an ‘offense’, is a karma.
南阎浮提众生，起心动念，无不是罪，无不是业---- Ksitigarbha Sutra Chapter
7
At that
time, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva Ksitigarbha addressed the Buddha,
saying, "O World Honored One, I see that the sentient beings in
Jambudvipa are doing nothing but committing karma when a thought
arises or when an idea is generated. --- Ksitigarbha
Sutra Chapter 7
i think in Mahayana, it is more into refine subtleness of
karma as in the above sutra. taking about ignorance karma. (
like as long, one is not totally Fully Enlightened Buddha, there's
still some bit of karma left. Like Avalokitesvara also have last
bit of 生相无明 haven't sever yet. )
this link by P. A. Payutto also got mentioned about the
"subtleness" of karma.
http://www.buddhanet.net/cmdsg/kamma1.htm#Kinds
Essentially, kamma is intention (cetana), and this word
includes will, choice and decision, the mental impetus which leads
to action. Intention is that which instigates and directs all human
actions, both creative and destructive, and is therefore the
essence of kamma, as is given in the Buddha's words, Cetanaham
bhikkhave kammam vadami: Monks! Intention, I say, is kamma.
Having willed, we create kamma, through body, speech and
mind.[2]
At this point we might take some time to broaden our
understanding of this word "intention." "Intention" in the context
of Buddhism has a much subtler meaning than it has in common usage.
In the English language, we tend to use the word when we want to
provide a link between internal thought and its resultant external
actions. For example, we might say, "I didn't intend to do it," "I
didn't mean to say it" or "she did it intentionally."
But according to the teachings of Buddhism, all actions and
speech, all thoughts, no matter how fleeting, and the responses of
the mind to sensations received through eye, ear, nose, tongue,
body, and mind, without exception, contain elements of intention.
Intention is thus the mind's volitional choosing of objects of
awareness; it is the factor which leads the mind to turn towards,
or be repelled from, various objects of awareness, or to proceed in
any particular direction; it is the guide or the governor of how
the mind responds to stimuli; it is the force which plans and
organizes the movements of the mind, and ultimately it is that
which determines the states experienced by the mind.
One instance of intention is one instance of kamma. When there
is kamma there is immediate result. Even just one little
thought, although not particularly important, is
nevertheless not void of consequence. It will be
at the least a "tiny
speck" of kamma, added to the stream of conditions which shape
mental activity. With repeated practice, through repeated
proliferation by the mind, or through expression as external
activity, the result becomes stronger in the form of character
traits, physical features or repercussions from external
sources.
A destructive intention does not have to be on a gross level. It
may, for example, lead to the destruction of only a very small thing, such as when
we angrily tear up a piece of paper. Even though that piece of
paper has no importance in itself, the action still has
some effect on the
quality of the mind. The effect is very different from
tearing up a piece of paper with a neutral state of mind, such as
when throwing away scrap paper. If there is repeated implementation
of such angry intention, the effects of accumulation will become
clearer and clearer, and may develop to more significant
levels.
Consider the specks of
dust which come floating unnoticed into a room; there isn't one
speck which is void of consequence. It is the same for the
mind. But the weight of that consequence, in addition to
being dependent on the amount of mental "dust," is also related to
the quality of the mind. For instance, specks of dust which alight
onto a road surface have to be of a very large quantity before the
road will seem to be dirty. Specks of dust which alight onto a
floor, although of a much smaller quantity, may make the floor seem
dirtier than the road. A smaller amount of dust accumulating on a
table top will seem dirty enough to cause irritation. An even
smaller amount alighting on a mirror will seem dirty and will
interfere with its functioning. A tiny speck of dust on a spectacle
lens is perceptible and can impair vision. In the same way,
volition or intention, no matter how small, is not void of fruit.
As the Buddha said:
"All kamma, whether good or evil, bears fruit. There is
no kamma, no matter how small, which is void of
fruit."[3]
In any case, the mental results of the law of kamma are usually
overlooked, so another illustration might be helpful:
There are many kinds of water: the water in a sewer, the water
in a canal, tap water, and distilled water for mixing a hypodermic
injection. Sewer water is an acceptable habitat for many kinds of
water animals, but is not suitable for bathing, drinking or
medicinal use. Water in a canal may be used to bathe or to wash
clothes but is not drinkable. Tap water is drinkable but cannot be
used for mixing a hypodermic injection. If there is no special
need, then tap water is sufficient for most purposes, but one would
be ill-advised to use it to mix a hypodermic injection.
In the same way, the mind has varying levels of refinement or
clarity, depending on accumulated kamma. As long as the mind is
being used on a coarse level, no problem may be apparent, but if it
is necessary to use the mind on a more refined level, previous
unskillful kamma, even on a minor scale, may become an
obstacle.
so for the paper tearing example, its also difficult to
know from neutral or got a bit angry when tearing. as ignorance is
also a karma. or very pure neutral karma is throwing away scrap
paper without harming another living beings.
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