How to Resolve Karma the Right Way

Resolving karma (kae kam) is an expression popular today. The monks’ language has no word for “resolving karma”; it comes from the word paṭikamma, which means making amends, correcting, restoring to good, doing anew, changing to become good, giving up evil deeds.

In the Buddha’s teaching, there are three ways of making amends for karma:

1. Āpatti-paṭikamma: making amends under the monastic discipline (vinaya), making good an offense (āpatti) by confessing it. It applies to monks: disclosing the fault, declaring it, and giving it up.
2. Pavāraṇā: the invitation, opening the way for others to admonish you. At the end of the rains retreat, monks make the pavāraṇā: if they have made any mistake, they ask the saṅgha to admonish them, promising not to be angry and to correct the mistake.
3. Accaya-desanā: confessing a transgression, the way of making amends for everyone, whether monastic or lay.

For example, after King Ajātasattu killed his father, he was overwhelmed with grief and anguish and could find no way out. The physician Jīvaka Komārabhacca invited him to go and see the Buddha, and the king asked forgiveness in the Buddha’s presence.

Doing wrong against the Dhamma counts as wronging the Triple Gem. When you have seen the fault, you come and declare it before the person you revere most highly, set a firm intention to make amends and remake yourself, and correct yourself to do what is good once more. This is growth and flourishing, following the example of the noble ones.

If we have done wrong to our mother, whether by bodily action, verbal action or mental action, when we realize it we go and ask her forgiveness. We tell her, “I have done something unfitting and improper. Please forgive me; I will not do it again.” Our mother is gladdened and says, “I will not be angry; let us bear no grudge or ill will toward each other.” The deed itself has already run its course. When we ask forgiveness and say we will correct and improve ourselves, it becomes encouragement: we have gone to resolve our karma, to change our behavior, and from now on we will set out to do more and more good. A case like this is called resolving karma.

Most people today like to go and be sprinkled with holy water, or have monks chant for them, so that all their bad karma will disappear. This is still a wrong view.

Karma is a matter of conscience. It means we must truly see that we acted unfittingly. Once we see that we did something wrong, we must intend to stop that action, to do better, to improve, to correct our conduct in body, speech and mind, so that wisdom arises in how we live. This is the right way to resolve karma.