Search results for: "Kamma"

  1. The Kamma of Meditation
    The reason why we’re focusing on training the mind in the present moment is because of the way the Buddha taught kamma. That may seem ironic, as most of us think of kamma as having to do with past and future—and it does. But it actually has to do with all three time frames—past, future, and present, and it hinges on … 
  2. Happy About Kamma
     … This means is that if you meet up with the results of some past bad kamma—suppose somebody does something bad to you—it doesn’t mean that your past kamma compelled them to do something bad. It’s simply that your past kamma left the opening. They saw the opening and they took it. And of course, that becomes their kamma now. The … 
  3. Old Kamma & New
     … That’s the kamma in your meditation. We don’t usually think about meditation as kamma, but that’s what it is. It’s good kamma. A lot of our connotations around the word kamma are negative. We think of kamma only when bad things happen, except for good parking kamma. But actually, every intention you have is a kind of kamma. So you … 
  4. Virtues Bright & Neither Dark nor Bright
    The Buddha described four kinds of kamma. There’s dark kamma with dark result; bright kamma with bright result; kamma that’s both dark and bright, the result being both dark and bright; and then there’s the kamma that’s neither dark nor bright, which leads to the end of kamma. Dark kamma would be breaking the precepts. Its dark result would be … 
  5. Goodwill & Kamma
    As we meditate, we’re engaging in good kamma. Of all the possible things we could be doing right now, we’re choosing to develop good qualities in the mind, skillful qualities in the mind: mindfulness, alertness, ardency, concentration, discernment. The simple choice to do this is good kamma, and as you maintain the choice, maintain that intention, that’s good kamma as well … 
  6. Patience & Hope
    The reflection on kamma appears in two of our regular chants. In one, it’s in the context of the four brahmaviharas or the sublime attitudes. It’s meant to induce equanimity. You think about the fact that people have their kamma, you have your kamma, and sometimes as results of past kamma there are things that can’t be changed, at least not … 
  7. Equanimity Isn’t Nibbana
    Equanimity Isn’t Nibbana June 16, 2009 As we sit here meditating, we’re engaged in a type of kamma. It’s called the kamma that puts an end to kamma. But this doesn’t mean that it burns away old kamma. Old kamma doesn’t burn. One of the great ironies in the history of Buddhism is that some of the teachings the … 
  8. Cooking with Kamma
    The Buddha compared kamma to seeds planted in a garden or in a field. Each of us has a huge field of seeds: some of which were planted just a moment ago, some of which are being planted right now, and a lot of which were planted a really long time ago—so long ago that we can’t remember: in another lifetime, other … 
  9. The Good Side of Kamma
     … But a lot of us, when we come to meditation, especially here in the West, don’t think about kamma or see that it has any real relevance to the meditation. Kamma seems to be a matter of past lives and future lives. Yet even though the Buddha did talk about kamma in those terms, each time he discussed past lives and future lives … 
  10. Ways to Think
     … In other words, start focusing on what they call, “the kamma that puts an end to kamma.” The Buddha didn’t teach just about good or bad kamma. He said basically there are four kinds of kamma altogether: There’s good kamma in the normal sense of the things you do and say and think that will lead to a good rebirth, and also … 
  11. Relating to Kamma
     … But that’s never how the Buddha taught kamma, though. When he first introduced the topic of kamma, he talked about generosity and gratitude, the good things in life. Our ability to share makes sense and is valuable because of the teaching on kamma: the part that says we have free will, that our intentions matter, that actions bear results, and that it’s … 
  12. Your Intentions Come First
     … And a lot of what you experience in the body and breath comes from old kamma. As the Buddha said, all of our six senses should be experienced as old kamma. But we’re not just stuck with old kamma; in fact, our present kamma is something we experience prior to sensory contact. This is a peculiar point in the Buddha’s description of … 
  13. The Story-telling Mind
     … the principle of kamma. Old kamma is old kamma and cannot be undone. What’s important is your new kamma, what you’re doing right now. Now, that can effect some things, but there are other things beyond the power of new kamma, largely through the continuance of old kamma. You’ve got to think about that and learn how to develop equanimity in … 
  14. The Kamma of Concentration
    The Kamma of Concentration February 16, 2017 Years back, I was asked to write a review of a book on positive psychology—the psychology of how people find happiness—and to approach it from a Buddhist point of view. One of the things I noticed, as I was reading through the book, was that there was no consideration of what the impact of your … 
  15. Judging Your Meditation
     … That’s present kamma. That’s a good rule of thumb to start out with. You’ll find that things are a little bit more complex as you get into them, but it’s a good place to start. Another important understanding about kamma is that there’s skillful kamma and unskillful kamma. Skillful kamma leads to a sense of well-being that causes … 
  16. Kamma & Rebirth—A Handful of Leaves
     … Even with kamma, the Buddha said that if you ask, “Well, the fact that I’m suffering this right now or that right now: Exactly what kamma did I do in the past that caused that?” his advice would be, “Don’t go there.” If you tried to trace that back, he said, it could drive you crazy, because kamma is so complex. The … 
  17. Worlds to Watch Out For
     … And, of course, choice comes together with his teachings on kamma. Now, in our culture, kamma’s got a bad rap because it’s mainly associated with bad kamma and it sounds deterministic. But the Buddha’s whole emphasis is that you can create good kamma. You’ve got some good kamma in the past. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be a human being. You … 
  18. The Elephant Hunter
     … Some people have trouble with the teaching on kamma and rebirth. But the Buddha’s teaching on kamma is different from the teachings of kamma that were generally given back in those days. In his case, kamma is all about the power you have to shape your experience. Even the Jains who taught kamma taught that you were totally determined by your past kamma … 
  19. Conviction in Kamma
  20. The Buddha’s Safe Space
     … It’s a realm of good kamma and bad kamma all mixed together. The good part of the human realm though, is that we can make up our mind to develop right resolve. If we look at all the trouble that’s been caused in the past, we see that certain resolves of the mind can keep the problems going, so we resolve to … 
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