Not all bodily, verbal, and mental activities produce kamma; otherwise, fully enlightened beings wouldn’t be able to live and act without generating new kamma.
However, when avijjā is present as a condition, actions tend to lead to future kamma.
The tricky part is that we don’t know what we don’t know. So until one is fully enlightened, some amount of new kamma is probably unavoidable. What we can do is engage with the teachings and see whether clarity increases.
The more we practice, the more we can verify the teachings through direct experience, and gradually develop confidence. In that sense, there can be a kind of positive feedback loop, where our actions support the reduction of avijjā.
Up to now, I’ve mostly been focusing on letting go. Now a question naturally comes up: what to do?
Looking again at “avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā,” it seems the direction is actually quite simple: do what the teachings praise—for example, cultivating universal goodwill (mettā).
Also wanted to note this moment of realizing “I am ignorant”:
Rationally, I had known that I didn’t know that much. But it wasn’t until I asked myself, “After letting go of all that, now what?” that it really landed.
That’s when I realized that much of the letting go had been driven by avoiding pain. The next question then becomes: what creates wholesome pleasure?
The answer is: I don’t know. I guess what I can do is practice the teachings and see whether they actually work.
Very true.
As we begin Dhamma practice it’s of course quite common to not have a lot of clarity about the teachings and practices.
We can read the suttas, attend sittings with a Sangha when possible, ask questions of teachers, listen to their Dhamma offerings, and meditate.
Over time, things become more clear and, as you wrote, we see for ourselves that the practice is working.
As the Buddha said in AN8.19:
“The ocean gradually slants, slopes, and inclines, with no abrupt precipice. In the same way in this teaching and training the penetration to enlightenment comes from gradual training, progress, and practice, not abruptly. This is the first thing the mendicants love about this teaching and training.”
All we have to do is stay with the practice and causes and conditions will unfold from there…
