Overview
The third triad of the Abhidhamma Mātikā categorizes all phenomena strictly by their relationship to the law of kamma—specifically, whether they are the result of past actions, the cause of future actions, or entirely outside the system of kammic causality.
The List
- Vipākā dhammā - Resultant states: These are the states of consciousness and mental factors that are the direct ripening (vipāka) of past wholesome or unwholesome kamma. They are the effects (e.g., eye-consciousness seeing a beautiful or ugly object).
- Vipākadhammadhammā - States possessing the property of result: These are the active wholesome and unwholesome volitions generating new kamma. They are the causes that will inevitably produce results in the future.
- Nevavipākanavipākadhammadhammā - States neither resultant nor possessing the property of result: These states are neither causes nor effects of kamma. This includes functional consciousness (kiriya), physical matter (rūpa), and Nibbāna.
Textual References
- Abhidhamma: Dhammasaṅgaṇī (Mātikā 3) – Demonstrates the rigorous Abhidhammic distinction between active kamma, passive result, and neutral phenomena.