Search results for: "Kamma"
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- Oppressed by Old Kamma… The effect of past kamma is very evident. You’re sitting here determined to stay with the breath, and something else comes into the mind—completely unintended. Well, that’s coming from your past kamma. So when you consider the source, you realize it’s not necessarily something you have to believe. The problem is that certain thoughts keep coming in again and again …
- The Forerunner of All Things… After all, all of us born in this human world have good kamma and bad kamma in our past. If we had nothing but good kamma, we wouldn’t be here. We’d be in a much better place. So it’s only to be expected that some of that bad kamma is going to come back at us. It’s a natural part …
- The Buddha’s Relationship Advice… Yet then the relationship just gets pulled out of their hands—either one side dies or else the affection dies—but then they’re still left with the kamma. Kamma lasts a lot longer than affection: It can go from one life to many, many lifetimes down the line. This is one of the reasons why we meditate, to find an alternative source of …
- One Person… We’d simply be dealing with the results of past kamma and not have to worry about any current bad kamma and its future. The problem is, you can’t force other people to be responsible. But you can make the decision that you will be responsible. Think of that story of William James, the American philosopher. As a young man he wasn’t …
- The Value of Effort… He never says that kamma is not-self. He says our kamma is ours. There will come a point when you go beyond kamma, but as long as you’re making kamma, do it well. Appreciate the value it has in being able to lead you to happiness in this life and a happiness that goes beyond this life. The more value you give …
- A Noble Warrior’s Path… There was once a young monk who was asked by a wanderer from another sect what the results of kamma were, and the monk said, “Stress.” Then the monk went back to the Buddha and asked him if he’d given the right answer, and the Buddha said, “No. When asked about kamma, you talk about how skillful kamma leads to pleasure, how unskillful …
- In the Mood to Meditate… That’s what the teaching on kamma is all about. Sometimes we think about kamma as being this horrible force that’s going to bring us suffering for some reason or another. But the Buddha never has you focus on past kamma. He has you focus more on what you’re doing right now. This is why karma is very relevant to the meditation …
- Four Mountains Moving In… the kamma we do, the decisions we make, right or wrong, skillful or unskillful. Those are the things that connect us. A lot of our connections are pretty bad. But even good connections are impermanent. They don’t last forever. This is why the path we follow is the kamma to put an end to kamma, to cut all the connections. As the Buddha …
- Proactive with Pain… Other people are responsible for their own kamma. This is why we try to develop thoughts of equanimity, realizing that no matter how much we love other people, their kamma is beyond us. No matter how much we might dislike what other people may be doing, their kamma is beyond us. But you also have to realize that you are beyond their kamma as …
- Reflections on Kamma… In another context, the reflection on how all living beings are the owners of their actions is meant to induce samvega—realizing that wherever you might go in the cosmos, even in the deva realms, kamma still reigns. There’s no place anywhere where you can come to the end of having to keep on making the effort to act skillfully unless you make …
- Chickens from Hell… Make the distinction between which part of the thinking process is old kamma and which is new. The old kamma is the fact that you have these habits. You learned this language. You learned this way of talking to yourself, so it’s only natural that the mind keeps churning out the same old stuff with its random word-generators and image-generators. But …
- Get Out of Yourself… He found that what we had in common was that we all have kamma, our intentional actions. Now, the workings of kamma can be very complex, but they determine where we go, what we are, and what we become. He realized that the big issue was action, and the general pattern of action was something we all have in common. Then, in the third …
- Self Determination… It’s the ending of kamma, but to get there, you do actions—in other words, you create kamma—the kamma of the noble path. Then every step you take on the path is an assertion of your freedom of choice. It’s a step of self-determination. You define yourself by the choices you make. This is how you develop a really healthy …
- Restlessness & Anxiety… The best you can do is to recognize that, yes, that was a mistake, and resolve not to repeat it: “I don’t ever want to make that mistake ever again.” Then, depending on the kamma involved, you’ve got to do something now that’s going to be useful to counteract that past bad kamma. Worrying about it, being anxious about getting upset …
- Free from Animosity… On the other hand, he also says, kammassakomhi—which is something else we chant often—“I am the owner of my actions.” The way to resolve this paradox is to note the fact that there’s a lot in the aggregates that’s a result of past kamma. You can’t change them, but there are some things you’re doing in the present …
- Understanding Goodwill & Equanimity… There was an article recently saying that forgiveness has no role in the teaching of kamma. It’s true that your forgiving someone else for having abused you is not going to erase their kamma. You’re not the owner of their kamma. But forgiveness does help avoid future unfortunate actions. You realize that this back-and-forth has gone on long enough, you …
- Skillful Fear… the hypothesis of kamma and rebirth. This is one of the reasons why he has that image of the mother with an only child. Just as a mother with her only child would protect the child with her life—in other words, she’d be willing to sacrifice her life to protect the child—in the same way, the Buddha says you should protect …
- Surveying the World… All beings pass away and then are reborn in line with their kamma. Their kamma depends on their views, and their views depend on who they listen to. He also saw the complex way kamma worked itself out. It wasn’t the case that if you did something this lifetime, it would automatically lead to a certain type of rebirth next time around. You …
- Patience & Tenacity… Think of the chatter as past kamma, and your determination not to get involved as your present kamma. Focus on your present kamma. Let the past go. This way, you find it a lot easier to stick with the meditation. The fact that you can sit here for long periods of time doesn’t seem to be such a chore because you’re not …
- Encouragement… When I first went to see Ajaan Fuang, I asked him about rebirth, and his first comment was, “The Buddha has you believe in one thing, and that’s the principle of kamma, the principle of action.” Now, as it turns out, the principle of action does involve rebirth because of the universality of action. Kamma’s power is such that it’s what …
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