Only we can help ourselves

eborn as a human being. However, if his death is because
his kamma as a human being has ended, then he would
not be reborn as a human being. He would be reborn
in another plane of existence. Therefore, this is another
thing to remember; not everything is due to kamma.
There are five kammic offenses mentioned in a discourse
that are considered as most serious. The first
serious offence is when you intentionally shed the blood
of a Buddha with evil intent. The second serious offence
is when you kill an Arahat. The third serious offence is
the killing of your own mother. The fourth offence is
the killing of your own father. Lastly, you cause disharmony
among the harmonious community of monks that
result in the community being split. These five offenses
will bring one down to hell in the next rebirth, and will
make one stay there for a long time.
The working of kamma-vipāka is very complex. The
Buddha said in one discourse (A.N. 4.77) that there are
four things that you should not think about too much. If
you think too much about these four things, you would
become deranged. The first is the power of the Buddha;
the second is the depth and power of jhāna; the third is
kamma-vipāka; and the fourth is speculation about the
nature of the world.
Why should we not think too much about kammavipāka?
It is because kamma-vipāka is very complex. The
working of kamma-vipāka depends not only on your
present lifetime but also on many, many lifetimes of un-
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