// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Vipāka say to karma? You reap what you sow.

Vipāka (Sanskrit and Pāli) is a Jain and Buddhist term for the ripening or maturation of karma (Pāli kamma), or intentional actions. The theory of karmic action and result (kamma-vipāka) is a central belief within the Buddhist tradition.

Alternate translations

The term vipaka is translated as:

• effect (Ven. D. Mahinda Thera)
• maturation (Keown, 2000, loc 810–813)
• ripening (Harvey, 1990, p. 39)
• result

Within the discourses

The Samyutta Nikaya states:

According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit you reap therefrom,
Doer of good will gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps,
Down is the seed and thou shalt taste the fruit thereof.

— Saṃyutta Nikāya

See also

• Karma in Buddhism
• Phala
• Rebirth

Sources

• Harvey, Peter (1990), Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press

External links

• Anguttara Nikaya, Chakka Nipata, Mahavagga, Nibbedhika Sutta Archived 2006-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, p. 359, 6th Syn. Edn.
• Samyutta Nikaya. Nidana-samyutta, Bhumija Sutta Archived 2006-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, p. 275, 6th Syn. Edn