Thank you, Seng Kiat, for providing the background account. It says:
Na antalikkhe na samuddamajjhe, na pabbatānaṁ vivaraṁ pavissa;
Na vijjatī so jagatippadeso, yatthaṭṭhito mucceyya pāpakammā.
Verse 127: Not in the sky, nor in the middle of the ocean, nor in the cave of a mountain, nor anywhere else, is there a place, where one may escape from the consequences of an evil deed.
- What Yash wrote is correct. It does not apply to those who have removed the conditions to bring the results of any past kamma.
1. The kammic energy of any akusala kamma is preserved in viññāna dhātu. That energy can wear out gradually over a long time, but until then, they can bring vipāka IF SUITABLE CONDITIONS appear. It is possible to stop some kamma vipāka (anantariya kamma) by attaining the Sotapanna stage. ALL such conditions can be stopped by attaining Arahanthood. It is critical to understand what “kamma nirodha” means.
- The tendency is to assume that it is about nullifying accumulated kammic energies. However, the accumulated kammic energies cannot be removed (some of those energies are exhausted when they bring vipāka, and others gradually “wear away” with time, which can be billions of years.)
- Any remaining kammic energy CAN return to us as “kamma vipāka” whenever suitable CONDITIONS appear.
2. What we can do is to stop the CONDITIONS that can bring such “kamma vipāka.”
- For example, Angulimala killed almost a thousand people. However, when he attained the Sotapanna stage in front of the Buddha (whom he initially intended to kill, another potent kamma), he instantly nullified any accumulated “kamma vipāka” that could have landed him in an apaya. Then, within a month or so, he attained the Arahant stage and nullified ALL accumulated “kamma vipāka.”
- That shows the basic idea. It also shows the unimaginable benefits of attaining magga phala.
3. A kamma is not any action but a “defiled action” based on one’s sañcetanā (one’s defiled intention), and kammic energies are created AT THAT MOMENT with one’s javana cittas. See “Details of Kamma – Intention, Who Is Affected, Kamma Patha.” I may not have emphasized the difference between mere “cetanā” (any intention) and “sañcetanā” (defiled intention) in that post. If so, please let me know.
- Another point is that “kamma” is done with abhisankhara arising in the mind. Javana cittas arise when we engage in abhisankhara. See “Kamma and Saṅkhāra, Cetanā and Sañcetanā.”
- Such a kammic energy stays in “viññāna dhātu” until suitable CONDITIONS appear to bring back the fruits of that kamma as “kamma vipāka.”
- Those kammic energies are also called “dhammā.” See “What are rūpa? – Dhamma are rūpa too!” and “Rupa, Dhammā (Appaṭigha Rupa) and Nāmagotta (Memories).”
4. The key point is that “kamma nirodha” happens only with magga phala. As a higher magga phala is attained, more and more possible kamma vipāka automatically becomes nullified.
- Even though an Arahant has nullified kamma vipāka that can bring rebirth, vipāka of some accumulated strong kammic energies can appear. That is because there is still one “condition” left to bring vipāka: the physical body of the Arahant, which arose due to a kamma vipāka when that Arahant was born.
- At the death of the physical body of an Arahant, no accumulated kammic energies can bring a vipāka to lead to another rebirth in any realm. That is the end of rebirth and even a trace of suffering.