The Effect
caused by Action is delayed as a Sown Seed!

The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Regarding the effects of actions, Ananda, as to the person here who
avoids
all killing of any living being, who avoids all stealing of what is not given, who
avoids any misconduct in sensual pleasures, who
avoids all
false speech, divisive
speech, aggressive speech, and all idle & empty gossip, who is neither envious,
nor jealous, is good-willed, and who
is of right view, yet who
at the breakup of
the body, right after death,
is reborn in a state of deprivation, a dreadful
destination, in the painful purgatory, or even in one of the hells: Either
earlier,
prior to this, such one also did evil actions to be felt as painful, or later, after
this -
such one did evil actions to be felt as pain, or at moment of death such
one entered into &
maintained wrong views! Because of one or more of these,
right
after death, such one is reborn in
a bad state of deprivation, a dreadful
destination, in the painful purgatory, or
even in
the hells.
But since such one also - here & now - has been one who avoids all killing
of any
living being, who avoids taking anything what is not given, who avoids all
wrong
misconduct
in sensual pleasures, who
avoids all
false speech, divisive speech,
aggressive speech, & all
idle & empty
gossip, who is neither envious, nor jealous,
who is of good will, & who holds right
views, such one will experience the pleasant
results of
that good behaviour, either here and now, or
in the next rebirth, or
in some subsequent later existence...

Comments:
Behaviour (kamma) is almost always mixed:
Sometimes good, sometimes bad!
The later effects are therefore also mixed:
Sometimes pleasure, often
pain...
Good begets good & dilutes+delays evil. Evil begets evil & dilutes+delays good!
An illustration of the delayed, overlapping & interfering result of mixed
kamma:

For details on the mechanics
of Kamma = Intentional Action see:
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_is_intention.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Intention_is_Kamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Unintentional_Action.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Buddha_on_Kamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Kamma_and_Fruit.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Kamma_is_improvable.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Inevitable_Consequences.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Good_Action_dilutes_Evil_Kamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_short_vs_long_life.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Health_vs_Sickness.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Low_or_High_Birth.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Wealth_or_Poverty.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Beauty_vs_Ugliness.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Effect_of_kammic_Action_is_Delayed.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Power_or_Disrespect.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Evil_Kamma_enhances_other_Evil_Kamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Good_Action_enhances_other_Good_Kamma.htm
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Stupidity_or_Intelligence.htm

Source:
The Moderate speeches of the Buddha: The great speech on Action. MN 136
http://store.pariyatti.org/Middle-Length-Discourses-of-the-Buddha_p_1543.html Full Text:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.136.nymo.html