Understanding Karma in Buddhism
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- Learn more about Karma in my article here: alanpeto.com/b...
There are three types of Karma as identified by the Buddha:
1. Karma generated by the body (your actions)
2. Karma generated by speech (your words)
3. Karma generated by the mind (your thoughts)
This means any actions you intentionally do with your body, speech, or mind will create karmic results.
• Wholesome karmic actions are based upon generosity, compassion, kindness, sympathy, mindfulness, or wisdom
• Unwholesome karmic actions are based upon greed, hatred, and delusion
• Neutral (or “Ineffective”) karmic actions have no impact and include unintentional actions (such as sleeping, breathing, eating, unintentionally stepping on an ant, and killing it, etc.)
Buddhists do not use the words “good” or “bad”/”evil” because karma does not operate within those terms. “Wholesome” and “Unwholesome” are routinely used instead because they relate to what is “wholesome” (skillful/intelligent) and “unwholesome” (unskillful/unintelligent) in relation to progressing towards the path of enlightenment.
There are four types of karmic results:
• Negative Karma: Actions that only produce negative karmic effects
• Positive Karma: Actions that only produce positive karmic effects
• Both Negative and Positive Karma: Actions that produce some negative, and some positive, karmic effects
• Neither Negative or Positive Karma: Also known as “karma without outflows” is the type of karma of enlightened beings (such as the Buddha or one of his enlightened disciples)
And remember, it’s what you intentionally do that matters. For example, if you unintentionally stepped on spider, there is neither wholesome or negative karma regarding that action (“Neutral” karmic action).
The Buddhist focus on Karma is about:
1. Stopping or reducing the amount of unwholesome karma we generate (because it prevents us from reaching enlightenment, which keeps us in the cycle of birth and death)
2. Generating more wholesome karma (because it is skillful which helps us progress on the path towards enlightenment, which will eventually lead us out of the cycle of birth and death)
3. Stop creating “any” karma so we can end our cycle of rebirth (enlightened beings have “karma without outflows”, and thus rebirth ends for them)
There are three things to know about karmic actions:
1. Karmic causes do not disappear: When you intentionally create karmic actions (wholesome or unwholesome), there is no off switch
2. No canceling: Creating positive karma won’t cancel out negative karma (e.g., murdering someone, then trying to cancel that negative karmic action by helping an old woman cross the street)
3. Karmic results come either quickly or slowly: Just like a plant, they can sprout fruit quickly, in a few months, or in years, depending on the conditions, but they always are focused on rebirth
It is important to note that “Karma” is not some retribution by a God or gods, some cosmic force, or being that decides what punishment you get. Karma is entirely under your control if you understand it and change your ways.
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