Is it the action, the intent behind the action, or a combination of intent and action that brings about a consequence?

SHIH-FU:

If an action is carried out without any awareness of it, there will be no karmic consequence for that action. Karmic force corresponds to the type of awareness that the individual has at the time of his or her action. If, in a drunken stupor, I kill a man, but have absolutely no awareness of doing so, then I will take the consequence that corresponds to being drunk ─ breaking the fifth precept ─ not to the consequence of taking someone's life, which is breaking the first precept. However, it is extremely rare to do or say something that drastic without being aware of it.

STUDENT:

If a person breaks the law, will that draw a negative karmic consequence, or will it be the guilt the person feels that draws the karmic consequence?

SHIH-FU:

Karmically speaking, there will be a consequence whether you feel guilty for your action or not. If a bodhisattva feels it necessary to kill someone, though in his or her mind it may have been the best thing to do under the circumstances, he or she must still take the karmic consequence.

STUDENT:

Who determined what actions create good and bad karma?

SHIH-FU: