Ping! and Pow!
In Sinhalese Buddhism there are two types of karma. The first type moves you closer and farther from enlightenment, but does not effect your prospects for rebirth. It is altered through meditation, or other enlightenment-making activities. The other type is measured in ordinary life and is used to determine rebirth. Good actions, like donating food, are called “Ping,” which sounds like the noise made by ringing a happy little bell. Bad actions, like kicking a cat, are “Pau” (“pow”), which sounds like the noise a comic book punch makes.
These noises are handy reminders about what is happening to your future self with every act you commit. So say the Buddhists.
The drawing above is of a benign Sri Lankan demon. The symbol to the demon’s lower right is the Sinhalese for “ping”. The drawing was put onto an ancient notebook which I found in an old house in the jungle.