The Law of Karma in Buddhism
Part VI: Venerable Sīvali
Seven Years, Seven Months and Seven Days in the Womb — Yet the Foremost in Wealth and Honor
The law of karma does not always produce simple or uniform results.
A person may experience both suffering and happiness in the same life.
One may encounter obstacles in one area of life while receiving extraordinary blessings in another.
The story of Venerable Sīvali provides a remarkable example of this principle.
According to the traditional account preserved in the Dhammapada Commentary, Venerable Sīvali spent seven years, seven months, and seven days in his mother's womb before being born.
Yet after becoming a monk, he became renowned as the Buddha's foremost disciple in receiving abundant offerings.
The Buddha declared:
“Of my disciples who receive abundant gains, Sīvali is foremost.”
His life therefore provides an interesting illustration of how different past actions may produce different results.
The Karma Behind His Great Fortune
The story of Venerable Sīvali's past karma is related in connection with the story of Venerable Khadiravaniya Revata.
In a previous existence, during the time of Buddha Vipassī, Sīvali had been born as a villager.
At that time, the people of the city organized a great offering to the Buddha and a large community of monks.
They wanted their offering to surpass the offering made by the king.
Everything had been prepared except one important ingredient:
fresh honey.
Sīvali happened to possess fresh honey.
The townspeople offered him as much as one thousand kahāpaṇas for it, even though the honey itself was worth very little.
But he refused to sell it.
Instead, he decided to participate in the great offering.
He donated the honey to the Buddha and the monks.
According to the traditional account, through the Buddha's extraordinary merit and the generosity of the offering, the small amount of honey became sufficient for the entire assembly of approximately 680,000 monks.
The important point is not merely the miraculous quantity of honey.
The important point is the intention behind the gift.
Sīvali had an opportunity to make a great profit.
But he chose generosity instead.
That act became an important karmic cause for the extraordinary abundance he would experience in a later life.
Why Was He in the Womb for Seven Years?
The same person who accumulated extraordinary merit also had another karmic result.
In another previous existence, Sīvali had been reborn as a king of Benares.
The king led an army to besiege a city.
The siege continued for:
seven years, seven months, and seven days.
The king surrounded the city and blocked its four main gates.
But the people inside the city continued to survive because they could secretly use four smaller gates to obtain food and water.
When the king's mother learned of this, she advised him to close the four smaller gates as well.
The king followed her advice.
Eventually, after seven more days, the people inside the city killed their own king and surrendered the city to Sīvali.
The karma created by imprisoning the inhabitants of that city eventually produced a painful consequence.
According to the traditional account, after his death he was reborn in hell and remained there for an extremely long period.
When that karmic result had been exhausted, he was eventually reborn as the son of Suppavāsā, the daughter of the king of Koliya.
Yet even then, the consequence of his former action continued.
He remained in his mother's womb for:
seven years, seven months, and seven days.
Two Different Karmic Results
The life of Venerable Sīvali therefore presents a fascinating picture.
One past action produced suffering.
Another past action produced extraordinary abundance.
His suffering was associated with the karma of having once participated in the prolonged siege of a city.
His great fortune was associated with his generosity toward Buddha Vipassī and the Sangha.
The Buddha explained this connection to the monks.
Sīvali had suffered in hell for the karma associated with imprisoning the city.
He then remained in his mother's womb for seven years, seven months, and seven days because of the same karmic cause.
But because he had offered fresh honey with faith and generosity, he later became exceptionally fortunate in receiving offerings and honor.
This illustrates an important principle:
Different actions may produce different results.
Karma should therefore not be understood as a single balance sheet in which a person is simply classified as “good” or “bad.”
Human life can contain many different causes and conditions.
The Meaning of “Mixed Karma”
The story of Sīvali is especially useful when considering what might be called mixed karmic results.
A person may have:
- good actions from the past,
- harmful actions from the past,
- generosity,
- selfishness,
- wisdom,
- ignorance,
- compassion,
- anger.
These causes may produce results at different times and under different conditions.
Therefore, someone who enjoys great success may still encounter suffering.
Someone who experiences hardship may also possess extraordinary virtues.
Life is not always simple.
The Buddhist teaching of karma encourages us to look at actions and their conditions carefully rather than making quick judgments.
Sīvali's Extraordinary Fortune
After becoming a monk and attaining spiritual realization, Venerable Sīvali became famous for the abundance of offerings received wherever he went.
Food, robes, shelter and other requisites were readily available.
The Buddha therefore appointed him as the foremost among his disciples in receiving abundant gains.
His story became a traditional example of the karmic results of generosity.
Yet the deeper Buddhist teaching is not simply:
“Give something and you will become rich.”
Generosity is valuable because it cultivates a mind free from selfish attachment.
The quality of the intention matters.
A gift given with faith, compassion and genuine generosity has a different spiritual quality from a gift given merely for personal profit.
Karma Is Not a Simple Reward System
The story of Sīvali reminds us not to reduce Buddhism's teaching of karma to a simple formula:
“Do good today and become rich tomorrow.”
Karma is more subtle.
The results of actions depend upon many causes and conditions.
Some results may appear quickly.
Some may appear much later.
Some actions may produce pleasant results.
Others may produce painful results.
And different karmic causes may mature at different stages of existence.
Therefore, when we encounter happiness or suffering, we should not rush to judge ourselves or others.
Instead, we should ask:
What kind of causes am I creating now?
That is the question within our control.
The Lesson for Our Lives
The story of Venerable Sīvali teaches several important lessons.
1. Generosity has value
A small gift can become spiritually significant when it is given with sincere faith and a generous heart.
2. Actions have consequences
The consequences of our actions may appear in ways and at times that we cannot predict.
3. Happiness does not erase suffering
A person may have great blessings in one aspect of life and difficulties in another.
4. Suffering does not mean a person has no merit
Someone experiencing hardship may still possess many wholesome qualities and good karmic causes.
5. We should create good causes today
Rather than constantly asking when past karma will give its results, we should focus on the causes we are creating now.
Conclusion: Karma Can Be Complex, but Our Choices Matter
Venerable Sīvali's life is a powerful illustration of the complexity of karma.
He experienced extraordinary suffering.
He spent seven years, seven months and seven days in his mother's womb.
Yet later he became the Buddha's foremost disciple in receiving abundant offerings.
His life contained both hardship and extraordinary fortune.
The traditional explanation connects these different experiences with different actions from his past.
The lesson is profound:
One action does not necessarily explain an entire human life.
Our lives are shaped by many causes and conditions.
Therefore, rather than judging others by their circumstances, we should concentrate on the causes we create through our own thoughts, words and actions.
Let us cultivate generosity.
Let us cultivate compassion.
Let us cultivate wisdom.
Let us avoid actions that cause suffering.
Because every action is a seed.
And when the appropriate conditions arise—
the seed will bear its fruit.
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