veronica 2 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 What does everyone think of karma. I'm a big believer in it, a Law I live by. It'll see me good. ---- The Law of Karma In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.) Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them. Let's take an example of a sequence of events. An unpleasant sensation occurs. A thought arises that the source of the unpleasantness was a person. (This thought is a delusion; any decisions based upon it will therefore be unskillful.) A thought arises that some past sensations of unpleasantness issued from this same person. (This thought is a further delusion.) This is followed by a willful decision to speak words that will produce an unpleasant sensation in that which is perceived as a person. (This decision is an act of hostility. Of all the events described so far, only this is called a karma.) Words are carefully chosen in the hopes that when heard they will cause pain. The words are pronounced aloud. (This is the execution of the decision to be hostile. It may also be classed as a kind of karma, although technically it is an after-karma.) There is a visual sensation of a furrowed brow and downturned mouth. The thought arises that the other person's face is frowning. The thought arises that the other person's feelings were hurt. There is a fleeting joyful feeling of success in knowing that one has scored a damaging verbal blow. Eventually (perhaps much later) there is an unpleasant sensation of regret, perhaps taking the form of a sensation of fear that the perceived enemy may retaliate, or perhaps taking the form of remorse on having acted impetuously, like an immature child, and hping that no one will remember this childish action. (This regret or fear is the unpleasant ripening of the karma, the unskillful decision to inflict pain through words.) If there are no persons at all, then there is no self and no other. There is no distinction between pain of which there is direct sensual awareness (which is conventionally called one's own pain) and pain that is known through inference (conventionally called another person's pain). Whether pain is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to quell it or an urge to cultivate it. Whether joy is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to nourish it or to quell it. In the conventional language of speaking of events personally, the urge to quell all pain and to nourish all joy is known as being ethical or skillful or (if you like) good. The urge to nourish pain and quell joy is known as being unskillful, unethical or bad. Being fully ethical is said to be impossible for those who make a distinction between self and other and show preference for the perceived self over the perceived other, for such perceptions inhibit being fully responsive. Being fully ethical is possible only for those who realize that all persons are empty, that is, devoid of personhood. Link to post Share on other sites
sakebomb 0 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I'm a big believer in karma. I think I spend most of my time dealing with it, mostly bad karma. But everyday I work on trying to turn this around. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 I am owed a lot of karma. I get constantly shat on by people, keep doing the right thing yet still miss out. Everything that is good about me happened because I punched for it. I am not sure I follow the karma thing. Perhaps I should read that long article that V posted. Link to post Share on other sites
jared 0 Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 I just read about a 9 year old boy that bled slowly to death in his house without a doctor after the US dropped a bomb on his house. The people responsible don't give a shit and will probibly do it again tomorrow. I don't beleive in Karma. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Karma? I couldn't understand what the above in veronica's posting said in English but is it about 自業自得 Jigo-Jitoku or 輪廻転生 Rinne-Tenshou? Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by Captain Stag: I just read about a 9 year old boy that bled slowly to death in his house without a doctor after the US dropped a bomb on his house. The people responsible don't give a shit and will probibly do it again tomorrow. I don't beleive in Karma. I think the US President Bush doesn't believe in Karma, either. Link to post Share on other sites
sanjo 2 Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 I think I am also owed a lot of karma. Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 He thinks he is getting away with it. Hopefully not. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 Regardless of what you belive in I hope Bush Co. et all get Judged - I hope there is a Hell and they burn in it I had a lot of Religion classes in Uni and loved my East Asian Philosophy classes. Buddhism classes were really interesting. I still remember an essay I wrote about Japanese women and their role in buddhism Link to post Share on other sites
merryJim 1 Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 What was your main study YP? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted November 13, 2004 Author Share Posted November 13, 2004 Sorry slow I don't know the Japanese you write - perhaps some of the folks on here with better Japanese skills might be able to help...? Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by veronica: Sorry slow I don't know the Japanese you write - perhaps some of the folks on here with better Japanese skills might be able to help...? 自業自得 Jigo-Jitoku or 輪廻転生 Rinne-Tenshou? The first one means basically you reap what you sow. The second one has to do with the endless cycle of reincarnation, at least until you escape from it by becoming enlightened. A Bodhisattva (forget the spelling) would put off leaving this world in order to help others achieve this but this is just getting to be too much. Try reading somebody like D.T. Suzuki. MJ, my major was Japanese Literature and East Asian Cultures; my minor was climatology. All my mates said Id be happiest being the weather man on Japanese tv By the way V - what is bong 18.22? Link to post Share on other sites
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