Subha Sutta (Buddhist teaching)
by Franz Hartmann, M. D. with notes[1]
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl
This document incorporates live notes. Click on a superscripted endnote number in the text to jump to its corresponding endnote; click on the superscripted endnote numeral in the endnotes to return to the original text reference.
Translator’s note (Robert Hutwohl):
A young Brahmin named Subha asked the Buddha about the causes of differences in human life, such as lifespan, health, beauty, and wealth. The Buddha explained that these differences are the result of karma, with actions in previous lives determining one’s current circumstances. Subha was pleased with the explanation and became the Buddha’s disciple.
End.
When our Lord (Gautama Buddha) was living in Jetāvana Vihāra, in the city of Sravasti, a young Brahmin named Subha, the son of Thodeiya, came to him, and after showing him his respect, he sat down beside him and asked for the answers to the following questions:
- Lord! Of those beings who are born as human beings, there are two classes: those who die early, and others who reach a great age.
- Those who are subject to many diseases, and others who enjoy good health.
- People who are well-built and beautiful in appearance, and others who are crippled and ugly.
- Some become famous, and some remain unknown.
- Some are poor and others are rich.
- Some are of humble origins, others are born into distinguished families.
- Some are foolish and clumsy, others are wise and clever.
What, O Lord, is the cause of this difference?
Buddha replied: “It is karma[2] and nothing else that subjects people to these differences. What a person has sown in a previous existence, that is what they reap in this one. The total sum of what they have earned and owed determines their position in the world, whether high or low.”
Subha said: “Sir! You have given me a general answer to my questions. Now I ask you to answer them individually.”
And Thatagata (Buddha) answered the questions, one after the other, as follows:
- If someone in this world murders or acts cruelly towards animals, does not treat them kindly and has no compassion for them, then when he dies he will be born into hell*[3] because of his deeds, or if he is born into this world he will not live long, but will die early.
But if a person avoids killing and is kind and compassionate towards animals, they will enter heaven after death. If, however, they are born into this world, they will reach a ripe old age.
- Whoever mistreats animals will be born into a lower world,[4] or when he comes to this world he will be sickly.
On the other hand, those who are kind to animals will enter a higher world, or if they enter this world, they will not be afflicted by any serious illness.
- A malicious or envious person, or one who gets angry over trifles, or who meddles in other people’s affairs that are none of his business, will be ugly when he is born into this world.
But if he has the opposite character, he will already be of high standing.
- Whoever is jealous of the happiness of others, or who is conceited about his rank and high birth, will remain insignificant and unknown when he returns to this world.
Those who possess the opposite qualities will become famous and favored.
- Whoever is stingy, inhospitable, and merciless towards the poor and unfortunate will be born into poverty in this world.
The person with the opposite characteristics will be born into wealth.
- He who is arrogant and boasts about himself, and does not honor those to whom honor is due, will be reborn into a low family.
Those of opposite character will be of noble birth.
- Whoever is indifferent to the teachings of the wise and does not strive to know what is good or evil, and what way of life leads to happiness or suffering, will be born into a lower world, and should he come to this world, he will be a fool or a simpleton.
But those who strive to attain wisdom will be born as ingenious and intelligent people.
And Subha rejoiced at the Enlightened One’s answer. He thanked Buddha for this explanation of the effects of the law of karma and became his disciple.
Notes:
[1] Subha Sutta. Translated by Franz Hartmann, M.D. with notes. Lotusblüten 19, no. 19 (April 1894), 227-232 [Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025]
[2] Karma (the Greeks’ Nemesis) is the law of cause and effect in nature, in both the subjective and objective worlds. In other words, it is the law of divine justice, according to which everyone reaps what they sow. It is not about reward or punishment in the ordinary sense. Good creates good and rewards itself, just as evil punishes itself.
To grasp the workings of this law, we can imagine that after death, when a person is stripped of their physical form, only the essence of their existence—the will—remains, imprinted with a certain character acquired during their life. It is, so to speak, the “moral core” of a person, an unconscious “spirit,” a force that, without its own awareness, follows the law of attraction, according to which like attracts like. Therefore, after death, a person is reborn under those conditions for which their character best suits them.
[3] “Hell” (Avītci) is a state of unhappiness, the opposite of the state called “Heaven” (Devachan). This state is not merely limited to the period between death and rebirth; this earth, too, is a hell for those tormented by a guilty conscience and whose previous karma has placed them in a position to suffer all kinds of external hardship.
[4] An even lower world or level of existence than the physical plane is the astral world (Kāma-loka), which in some respects corresponds to the theological idea of “purgatory.” It is the world where desires and passions consume each other, a “spiritual” level of existence that is even more devoid of spirit than our world.