KARMA AND ITS CAUSE, ITS CHARACTERISTICS, AND ITS CESSATION
“All living beings have actions
(karma/kamma)
as
their own, their inheritance, their congenital
cause, their kinsman, their refuge. It is kamma
that differentiates beings into low and high states...”
--- the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya)
“By Kamma the world moves, by Kamma men
Live; and by Kamma are all beings bound
As
by its pin the rolling chariot wheel…”
--- the Buddha (Patisambhida)
“Those who have destroyed delusion and broken
through the dense darkness (of ignorance), will wander
no
more (in the ocean
of Samsara
more
for them…” --- the Buddha (Itivuttaka)
Karma is the “existential DNA” of all human
beings.
Karma (in Sanskrit, kamma in Pali) means action or
doing. As explained by the distinguished
Sri Lankan
scholar-monk the Venerable Narada Maha
Thera: “Any
kind of intentional action whether mental,
verbal, or
physical is regarded as Kamma. It covers
all that is
included in the phrase: “Thought, word and
deed”.
Generally speaking, all good and bad
actions constitute
Kamma…” (1)
In
the Mahayana lexicon, karma is briefly defined as action
leading to future retribution or reward, in
the current or
future lifetimes. (2)
“There are many differences among human beings, and there are even
greater differences between human beings and animals (and other sentient
beings). These differences are the result of karma,” Dr Peter Della Santina, an
American Buddhist scholar and author, has written. (3)
“…The Buddha clearly stated that karma accounts for the differences
among living beings. We might also recall that part of the Buddha’s experience
on the night of his enlightenment consisted of gaining an understanding of how
karma determines the rebirth of living beings – how living beings migrate from
happy to unhappy conditions, and vice versa, as a consequence of their
particular karma…”
Karma is individually rooted in ignorance
and craving.
“Ignorance (avijja) or not
knowing things as they truly are, is the chief cause of Kamma. Dependent on
ignorance arise Kammic activities (avijja
paccaya samkhara), states the Buddha in the Paticca Samuppada (Dependent Origination),” Narada has written. (4)
“Associated with ignorance is its ally craving (tanha), the other root of Kamma. Evil actions are conditioned by
these two causes. All good deeds of a worldling (puthujjana), though associated with the three wholesome roots of
generosity (alobha), goodwill (adosa) and knowledge (amoha), are nevertheless regarded as
Kamma because the two roots of ignorance and craving are dormant in him (and they
continue to dog a human being until their eventual and complete eradication
through right understanding,
right thinking, and right action on the
path of morality)…” 30.10.2005 1139 3.11. 0729
Though karma is volitional, its impact is
inherent and “deterministic”.
“By self is evil done.
By
self is one defiled.
By
self is no evil done,
By
self is one purified.
Both defilement and purity depend on oneself.
No
one is purified by another (human being)…”
--- the Buddha (Dhammapada
verse 165)
“Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean,
nor by entering into mountain clefts,
nowhere in the world
is there a place where
one may escape
from the results of evil deeds.”
--- the Buddha (Dhammapada
verse 127)
“I declare, O Bhikkhus, that volition (cetana) is kamma,” the Buddha said.
“Having willed one acts by body, speech and thought...” (Anguttara Nikaya)
Santina
has described karma as “intentional, conscious, deliberate action motivated by
volition, or will.” (5)
Since
action is dictated by one’s consciousness, deliberation, motivation, or
volition, the mental factor or the mind is evidently in charge.
“When the mind is unguarded, bodily action is unguarded; speech also is
unguarded; thought also is unguarded,” the Buddha has taught. (Atthasalini)
“When the mind is guarded, bodily action is guarded; speech also is
guarded; and thought also is guarded…”
Narada has commented: “In the working of
Kamma its most important feature is mind. All our words and deeds are coloured
by the mind or consciousness we experience at such particular moments…
“Immaterial mind conditions all Kammic activities…” (6)
While karma is embodied and manifested in action, every action inevitably
leads to a consequence of its own.
“If one speaks or acts with a wicked mind, pain follows one as the
wheel, the hoof of the draught-ox,” the Buddha has taught. (Dhammapada verse 2)
“If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows one as the
shadow that never departs.”
Narada
has written: “Kamma is action, and Vipaka,
fruit or result, is its reaction. Just as every object is accompanied by a
shadow, even so every volitional activity is inevitably accompanied by its due
effect.
“Like potential seed is Kamma. Fruit, arising from the tree, is the
Vipaka, effect or result. As Kamma may be good or bad, so may Vipaka, fruit, be
good or bad. As Kamma is mental, so Vipaka too is mental; it is experienced as
happiness or bliss, unhappiness or misery according to the nature of the Kamma
seed.
“Anisamsa are the concomitant
advantageous material conditions, such as prosperity, health and longevity.
“When Vipaka’s concomitant
material conditions are disadvantageous, they are known as adinava (evil consequences), and appear as poverty, disease, short
life span and the like…” (7)
Narada
has explained further the cause and effect of action: “Inherent in kamma is the
potentiality of producing its due effect. The cause produces the effect, the
effect explains the cause. The seed produces the fruit, the fruit explains the
seed, such is their relationship. Even so are Kamma and its effect. “The effect
already blooms in the cause”…” (8)
The ethical//moral characteristic of karma
“According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit ye reap therefrom.
Doer of good (will gather) good.
Doer of evil, evil (reaps).
Sown is the seed, and planted well.
Thou shalt enjoy the fruit thereof.”
--- the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya)
“The kamma doctrine of the Buddha is a
teaching of moral and spiritual responsibility for oneself and others. An
individual’s moral choice may be severely limited by the load of greed, hatred
and delusions and their results which he carries (as an existential burden)
around; yet every time he stops to decide on a course of action, he is free to
throw off the load.
“At this precious moment of choice, he has
the opportunity to rise above all the menacing complexities of his unfathomable
kammic past. It is through right mindfulness (samma sati, the seventh factor in the Noble Eightfold Path) that
man can firmly grasp that fleeting moment, and it is mindfulness again that
enables him to use it for making a wise choice,” the Venerable Acara Suvanno
Mahathera has taught. (9)
“As a universal principle everybody is
subject to moral responsibility. All types of kammas are waiting for their
chance to mature at any time…” (10)
So-called good and bad karma have originally been identified as kushala
(intelligent, skillful, wholesome or inducible to moral/physical
wellbeing) and
akushala (unintelligent,
unskillful, unwholesome) respectively.
How are our actions recognized as wholesome and unwholesome?
“Actions are wholesome in the sense that they are beneficial to oneself
and others, and hence motivated not by ignorance, attachment, and aversion but
by wisdom, renunciation or detachment, and love and compassion,” Santina has
written. (11)
In the traditional list of 10 unwholesome actions, known as the Ten Evil
Deeds in the Mahayana literature, there are the three unwholesome actions of
body (killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct like adultery), four of speech
(lying, harsh speech, slander, and malicious gossip/backbiting), and the three
unwholesome actions of mind (greed, anger/hatred/ill-will, and
delusion/ignorance/wrong views).
On the other side of the moral ledger, the 10 wholesome actions in
Theravada Buddhism include: dana
(giving), sila (moral practice), bhavana (meditation), honouring and
respecting our parents and elders, supporting and looking after their needs
when they are sick, transferring of merits to departed ones, rejoicing in the
success of others (mudita) to reduce
our jealousy, listening to Dhamma, sharing of the Dhamma with our parents and
family members, and having right views (samma
ditthi, right understanding/ right view).
The Mahayana list of Ten Good Deeds includes the Five Precepts of body
and mouth (abstaining from killing, stealing, illicit sex, lying, and taking
intoxicants) and the virtues of the mind (elimination of greed, anger and
delusion). 3.11.2005 2352
Karma is mutable, and its impact can be
modified and transformed
“According
to the Buddhist doctrine of Kamma, one is not always compelled by an iron
necessity, for Kamma is neither fate nor predestination imposed upon us by some
mysterious unknown power to which we must helplessly submit ourselves. It is
one’s own doing reacting on oneself, and so one has the power to divert the
course of Kamma to some extent. How far one diverts it, depends on oneself,”
Narada has written. (12)
“One is
neither the master nor the servant of this Kamma. Even the most vicious person
can by his own effort become the most virtuous person. We are always becoming
something and that something depends on our own actions. We may at any moment
change for the better or for the worse,” Narada has also written. (13)
“We are the architects of our own fate. We are our own creators. We are
our own destroyers. We build our own heavens. We build our own hells…” (14)
Yes; karma can be modified and even transformed.
“Though the momentum of
nonvirtuous karma is continuously recreating itself, it is not fixed or
eternal. It can be transformed by accumulating virtue and transcended by
deepening wisdom,” a contemporary Nyingma manual teaches. (15)
“Performing virtuous actions
consciously for the benefit of others (altruistically) creates tremendous
merit. The more selfless and pure the intention, the more powerful the merit…”
(16)
Bhante Suvanno has taught that
“though the workings of kamma may escape our total comprehension, the important
practical message is clear: the fact that kamma-results are modifiable frees us
from the shackles of predestination and fatalism and keeps the road to
(spiritual) liberation constantly open before us…” (17)
Mahayana concept of ‘fixed karma’
In
principle, all karma is subject to change.
According to Pure Land Buddhism:
“Fixed karma, however, is karma which can only be changed in extraordinary
circumstances, because it derives from an evil act committed simultaneously
with mind, speech and body. An example of fixed karma would be a premeditated
crime (versus a crime of passion).” (18) 4.11.2005 0329
P. Kapleau has written: “Within
the period of a single lifetime, however, every being has in addition to his
mutable karma a particular ‘fixed karma,’ as for example the species and race
into which he is born. These karmic traits, though set for life, are then
recast at the next rebirth in accordance with the individual’s ever-ripening
past actions.” (19)
Negating the impact of such
fixed karma requires extremely diligent practice, which is practically beyond
the capacity of most people. Thus, in the view of Pure Land Buddhists, and in
their faith and practice, the need for reliance on both self-power and
Other-power, the ever-strong and unfailing assistance of the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas.
Karma is existentially transmissible
“Man’s merits and the sins he here hath wrought:
That is the thing he owns, that takes he hence.
That dogs his steps, like shadows in pursuit.
Hence let him make good store for life elsewhere,,,”
--- the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya)
“Kamma is an individual force, and is transmitted from one existence to
another,” Narada has written. (20)
“What we think, speak and do, become our own. It is in these thoughts,
words, and deeds that assume the name of Kamma and pass from life to life
exalting and degrading us in the course of our wanderings in Samsara.” (21)
“Knowing that our karma will follow us like a shadow, we need to be
diligent in cultivating good deeds and not to carry our negative karma with us,
for to do so will lead us into the Three Bad Realms.
“Good karma will lead us to be
born into the Three Good Realms. And pure karma from Constant Mindfulness of
Buddha Amitabha (Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life) will lead us to be
born into the Western
Pure Land
The law of karma
“The law of kamma is a law of
cause and effect which states that where there is cause, there is effect; no
effect comes into being without a cause. We might also describe kamma as a law
of action and reaction: when there is action, there is reaction,” Sayadaw U
Silananda has taught. (23)
“The workings of kamma are a
natural law, like law of gravitation. Nobody can interfere with this law, not
even the Buddha…”
“Kamma is the law of moral
causation. Rebirth is its corollary. Both Kamma and Rebirth are interrelated,
fundamental doctrines in Buddhism,” Narada has written. (24)
The law of karma is
universal, affecting every being. Karma, however, is individual, personal.
One’s karma is one’s very own, it’s one’s property and legacy, one’s
existential genesis and being.
To quote the Buddha, what he
said to Subha, the son of a millionaire Brahman named Todeyya: “Oh, young man!
Beings are owners of their deeds, heirs of their deeds, have deeds as their
parents, their kin, their refuge. Deeds divide beings in lowness and excellence...”
(25)
Narada
has written: “We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We
create our own heaven. We create our own hell. We are the architects of our own
fate…” (26)
Narada has also written: “Kamma is certainly
an intricate law whose working is fully comprehended only by a Buddha. The
Buddhist aims at the final destruction of all Kamma.” (27) This is the goal of
full spiritual liberation.
The benefits of knowing and understanding
the law of karma
As Right Understanding is the
first factor in the Noble Eightfold Path of spiritual liberation and
enlightenment, an understanding of the law of kamma constitutes one of its
basic requirements.
Knowledge of kamma as one’s own is conducive
to tranquility, one of the seven factors of enlightenment. And, reflecting upon
kamma is a good way of getting rid of restlessness and resentment, Sayadaw has
taught.
“Knowledge of kamma also
promotes self-reliance. Since kamma is your own, you are the architect of your
life,” Sayadaw has taught (28).
“You must rely on yourself,
not on others, to get good results; you must do good karma yourself. Since
beings get results according to their kamma, no one (human being) can help
another in getting those results.
“In addition to teaching self-reliance,
knowledge of kamma teaches a sense of individual responsibility. We are responsible for
ourselves, and whatever we have or have made in this life, we alone are
responsible for it.
“When we meet with good
circumstances, it is a result of what we have done in the past. In the same
way, when we find ourselves in unfavorable circumstances, we are responsible.
“So if you want to get good
results, then you need only do good kamma in this life. In this way, knowledge
of kamma gives consolation and hope because we can rely on ourselves to shape
our future lives by doing good kamma here. Thus kamma is not fate or destiny,
for we can avoid the results of bad kamma by doing good kamma in this life. We
do not have to be afraid of anyone who sits in judgement over us or of anyone
who can send us to hell. According to Buddhism, no one can send us to hell but
ourselves, but we can also send ourselves to the deva world.
“Knowledge of and belief in the law of kamma
is a basic requirement for a Buddhist. Tanungpulu Sayadaw has stressed this
point. With this belief and knowledge, one does meritorious deeds, and these
meritorious deeds are the best meritorious deeds if they are done with
knowledge of kamma and its results in mind.
“If you invoke the knowledge of kamma when
you do meritorious deeds, then your deeds are said to have three wholesome
roots, which are non-attachment, non-anger, and non-delusion. When your
meritorious deeds are accompanied by three wholesome roots, they will give
results in future lives, and you will be reborn as a person endowed with those
roots. Those born with the three wholesome roots are able to attain jhana or Nibbana in their present life. Thus it is very important to have
knowledge of kamma in us at the time of doing meritorious deeds.”
The
Nyingma school of
Tibetan Buddhism
Nyingma teaches:
“Taking to heart the laws of cause and
effect is essential for understanding the operation of samsara (cycle of
rebirths, cyclic existence) and for developing the knowledge that eventually
transcends karma.
“It is important that you always
believe in the system of cause and effect, and consider what to do and what to
avoid,” Patrul Rinpoche, the great 19th century Tibetan master, has
taught. “Dharma discussions about high doctrinal views should not undermine your
following the law of cause and effect.” (Kun-bzang-bla-ma’i-zhal-lung
1:IV)
“Padmasambhava (the founder of Tibetan
Buddhism and one of the greatest adepts of India Tibet
“Fully seeing how the illusion of self is perpetuated
by karma and klesa (defilements like ignorance, craving, and grasping), one
accepts responsibility for manufacturing suffering and recreating confusion and
ignorance.
“The effects of our actions, both positive and
negative, are very powerful. They create worlds and realms of existence, like
echoes or reflections of mind that we actualize out of ignorance.
“Though the vicious cycles of samsara may be
like a dream, the nightmare continues until each of us awakens completely, and
the suffering is real enough. With a deep understanding of the operation of
karma (actions), one can master its force and turn it toward the benefit of
oneself and others…” (29) 6.11.2005
2339
Santina has written: “Reflecting on the law of
karma, of action and reaction in the sphere of conscious activity, encourages
us to abandon unwholesome actions and to practice wholesome ones….” (30)
Master Chin Kung has commented:
“Understanding the Law of Cause and Effect enables our hearts to be pure and
without any attachments or discriminatory thoughts…” (31) 7.11.2005 0001
Karma is destructible and eradicable
“Ignorance (avijja) of the truth of suffering, its cause, its end, and the way
to its end, is the chief cause that sets the wheel of life in motion,” Narada
has written. (32)
“When ignorance is destroyed and turned into
knowingness, all causality is shattered as in the case of the Buddhas and
Arahants…”
In the Itivuttaka
(“Thus said” Discourses), the Buddha has said: “Those who have destroyed
delusion and broken through the dense darkness (of ignorance), will wander no
more (in samsara): causality exists no more for them.” This is spiritual
liberation.
In
Pure Land Buddhism, spiritual liberation is sought through rebirth in the Pure
Land of Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life. And
this goal is to be attained through (1) faith in the infinite purifying,
liberating and saving power of Amitabha, (2) the power of the personal vow in
seeking rebirth in the Pure
Land
“You should persevere in reciting the
Buddha’s name, to eradicate past karma swiftly and avoid developing a mind of
afflictions,” Pure Land Patriarch Yin Kuang has advised. (33)
“Sakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha,
out of compassion for sentient beings who lack the strength to rid themselves
of evil karma, specially taught the method of “relying on the Buddha’s power to
take their residual karma along to the Pure Land
“However light his karma may be, if
he (the Pure Land Pure Land
While the Pure Land
Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam has taught
that “there is no better way to plant numerous good roots than to develop the Bodhi
Mind, while the best way to achieve numerous merits and virtues is to recite
the name of Amitabha Buddha. A moment of
singleminded recitation surpasses years of practicing charity; truly developing
the Bodhi Mind surpasses eons of cultivation. Holding firmly to these two
causes and conditions assures rebirth in the Pure Land
NAMO
AMITABHA BUDDHA
17 pages (with
notes) 6,167 words 7.11.2005 0253 1722
8.11.2005 0052
NOTES: KARMA AND ITS CAUSES, ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND
ITS CESSATION
1. Narada, THE
BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, published by the Buddhist Missionary Society,
2. Glossary in PURE LAND PURE MIND: The Buddhism of Masters Chu-hung and Tsung-pen,
translated by J. C. Cleary, originally
published in 1994 by Sutra Translation Committee of the United
States and Canada New York
Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational
Foundation, Taiwan
3. THE TREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, originally
published in 1997 by Chico Dharma Study
Foundation, California
Corporate Body of the Buddha
Educational Foundation, Taiwan
4.
THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 356
Bhante Suvanno has commented: “As volitional
activities or kamma has its roots in Ignorance and Craving, beings who have not
completely eradicated these defilement(s) will accumulate kamma and still
undergo rebirth after death…” (Kamma,
Death & Rebirth, pp. 17-18, refer Note (9) below)
The Buddha has preached (Dhammapada verse 126):
“Some are
born in the womb;
the wicked are born in hell;
the devout go to heaven.
The stainless pass into Nibbana.”
5.
THE TREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, p. 76
6.
THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 350
In CHANGING
DESTINY (p. 21), the contemporary Pure Land Master Chin Kung has written:
“Once we understand the fundamental principles, we
will understand that everything in this world and beyond arises from the mind
and changes according to our perceptions. If we seek to become Buddhas, we will
become Buddhas. If we seek to become heavenly beings, we will become heavenly
beings. Everything accords with the mind.
“The Flower
Adornment Sutra tells us, “We should observe the nature of the Dharma Realm
as everything is created by the mind.” Therefore, the way of seeking is to
accord with the principle that everything arises from the mind and is changed
by our perceptions…” 5.11.2005 2230
“Positive and negative karma as well as the entire
universe are created from our mind…” (p. 181)
“Knowing that
everything arises from the mind, we need to correct our faults by beginning
from the mind.” (p. 182)
“We need to change primarily from the heart (chitta in Sanskrit, the heart-mind) and
reinforce this with changing through reasoning so that we are concurrently
practicing both the primary and secondary ways to reform.” (p. 207) 5.11.2005 2332
“We can correct our faults by beginning to change from
our minds and practicing good deeds…” (p. 181)
7.
Ibid.,
pp. 351-352
8.
Ibid.,
p. 354
9.
Bhante
Suvanno, Kamma, Death & Rebirth,
edited by Jinavamsa, published for free distribution by INWARD PATH, Penang , Malaysia
Intention/volition is the heart of kamma/karma.
“Without intention, a deed is sterile; it produces no
reaction of moral significance,” the highly respected Malaysian monk has
further observed (ibid., p. 8).
“However, if a deed is done with no conscious
intention and without due care, but proves harmful to others, the lack of
mindfulness and consideration in its effects on others, will constitute
unwholesome kamma and will have its result. Though harm was not intended i.e.
the deed was not motivated by hate, there is present another unwholesome root,
delusion, which includes for instance, irresponsible thoughtlessness.” 4.11.2005 0007
10.
Ibid.,
p. 22
11.
THE TREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, p. 78
12.
THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 355
13.
Ibid.,
p.382
Angulimala, a scholar turned robber and a serial
killer, changed after his encounter with the Buddha, was ordained on the spot and
shortly after attained arahantship (the highest stage of sainthood) following a
brief but highly intensive period of ardent and resolute spiritual cultivation,
ending rebirth, uprooting misery and becoming taintless in achieving the
supreme goal of the Holy Life. 5.11.2005
2023.
14.
Ibid.,
p. 391
“I am the creator of my own prosperity,” Liaofan, the
man who changed and improved his destiny through good deeds, wrote, in
concluding his exemplary book “Liao-fan’s
Four Lessons.
“I alone seek can seek and thus change my destiny.” (CHANGING DESTINY, p. 402)
At the other end of the spectrum of human experience,
a classic example of one who created his own hell was a contemporary of the
historical Buddha, someone quite close through family ties.
A cousin and brother-in-law of the Buddha, Devadatta
entered the Holy Order in the early period of the Buddha’s ministry. Although
possessed of notable worldly psychic powers, he could not attain any of the
stages of sainthood. He subsequently became the greatest personal enemy of the
Buddha, trying unsuccessfully to take over the Sangha but creating a schism
(one of the so-called Five Deadly Offenses), and making several futile attempts
on the Buddha’s life.
He then became grievously ill, and before his death he
sincerely repented but failed to see the Buddha. However, he sought refuge in
the Buddha at the last moment.
“Although he suffers in a woeful state for his heinous
crimes, yet as a result of the Holy Life he led during the early part of his
career, it is stated that he would become a Pacceka Buddha named Atthissara in the distant future,”
Narada has narrated (ibid., p. 163)
.
15.
Ways of Enlightenment, published by Dharma Publishing, Nyingma
Institute, Berkeley , California
1993, p. 251
In THUS HAVE I
HEARD: Buddhist Parables and Stories (originally published in 1999 by Sutra
Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, New York, and
subsequently published for free distribution by Amida Fellowship, Mui Yen Lin Seh
Buddhist Sangha, Taman Billion, Cheras. Kuala
Lumpur
“Compassionate acts can alter your fate. Conversely,
acts of viciousness can adversely affect your fate.” Palmer: 87
In the highly popular and influential book on moral
and virtuous living Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons (first published as an audio book in 1998
by Dallas Buddhist Association and subsequently printed for free distribution
September 2003 by the Amitabha Buddhist Society (M), Jalan Pahang, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia), the Ming Mandarin scholar and official in 16th
century China told his son how he changed his destiny through good deeds,
including having his lifespan extended from a predicted 53 to 69 when he wrote
this concise and timeless masterpiece. He passed away about five years later at
the age of 74.
Before entering the National University Nanjing Chishia Mountain
“One only has to cultivate kind deeds in order to
escape the control of fate,” Master Yun-Gu taught him (p. 14)
“When cultivating, one needs to be aware pf one’s own
faults and resolve to correct them just as in curing a sickness. Perseverance
is required and attainment comes when one’s practice matures and ripens. In
that case, one’s destiny will most definitely change for the better. (p. 30)
“We should work toward severing all bad habits and thoughts….”
(p. 31)
When Liao-Fan served as the mayor of Baadi, Master
Huan-Yu came one day. Here the Zen Master taught him (p. 38): “When doing kind
deeds, one must be true and sincere and not seek any rewards or act with
falsity. If one does a kind deed with such a true and sincere heart, then one
deed can indeed be worth the merits from ten thousand kind deeds…”
In CHANGING
DESTNY: A Commentary on Liaofan’s Four Lessons by Master Chin Kung
(translated by Silent Voices and published for free distribution July 2003 by the Penang Buddhist Association,
Penang), the Pure Land Master has commented:
“Can fate be changed? Can we escape it? Yes. To escape
is to transcend…” (p. 19)
“Actually, what Mr. Liaofan achieved was cultivated
virtues. It was not yet virtuous nature,
because he still sought. Initially, he
sought scholarly honor and official rank, then, he sought children.
Whatever he sought was accomplished.
If he had not had one thought of a request, if he had solely
cultivated and accumulated virtues,
everything would have turned out perfectly. He did not seek
longevity and yet he lived longer than
destined. He was supposed to die at the age of fifty-three, but
lived to seventy-four…” (pp. 74-75)
“The Law of Cause and Effect is a fact and
as natural as the Laws of Heaven and Earth. If we perform
goodness without expectation of
reward, without the wish for prestige, wealth, wisdom, health, or
long life, without the wish for anything,
then we are bound to uncover everything that is already in
our True Nature (also known as Buddha
Nature, our original, true self of pristine purity, our potential
for buddhahood, presently covered by
deluded thoughts and evil karma). Is this not being free and
having great contentment?” (p. 266)
“If we cultivate and accumulate enough
virtue to last for a hundred generations, then our descendants
would have good fortune…Therefore be
patient…” (p. 75)
16.
Ibid.,
p. 252
17. Kamma, Death & Rebirth, p. 17
18.
Glossary and Notes by Van Hien Study Group, PURE LAND PURE MIND, p. 223
19,
Quoted in THUS HAVE I HEARD,
p.43
20. THE
BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS,
p. 359
“Kamma is the energy that determines our circumstances
in this life and shapes our conditions in the future. It is the energy that
survives man at death and links this life with the next. Without kamma there
can be no rebirth.” Bhante Suvanno has taught (Kamma, Death & Rebirth, p. 2). “Nothing of the mind or body is
reborn, only this powerful energy of kamma…”
7.11.2005 1638
In THUS HAVE I HEARD (p.70) there is a parable of an ant who had
remained an ant even after
many aeons of rebirth which had witnessed
the arrival and departure of six transhistorical Buddhas:
Vipasyin, Sikhin, Visvabhu,
Krakucchanda, Kanakamani and Kasyapa, until the time of the historical
Buddha Shakyamuni.
21. THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 391
In THUS HAVE I HEARD (pp. 55-57), there is
a parable of an old man who was ordained by the
Buddha and
quickly attained the first stage of sainthood after having been rejected by the
Arhats at
Jetavana. The Buddha had to explain to his
senior disciples that more than 80,000 great aeons ago,
the old
man had been a firewood gatherer who had one day encountered a tiger and out of
fear and
desperation recited the Buddha’s name to save his own life.
After
that incident, the old man forgot to recite, and failed to plant good roots.
However, his one cry
of
‘NAMO BUDDHA’ was the imperishable good seed which now ripened at the time of
Buddha
Shakyamuni and allowed him to leave home at an old age “and certify to
the fruit (of sainthood)” in
the
words of Master Hsuan Hua.
22. CHANGING DESTINY, pp. 107-108
Master
Chin Kung has written in his commentarial tour de force (p. 108): “We need to
broaden our
perceptions and expand our thinking instead of being concerned with trivialities
or calculating our
gains and losses. Life is very short. It would
be of tremendous merit, if in this life we were to do more
goodness, to benefit more people…”
The Three
Bad Realms or the three evil planes of existence are those of the hells, hungry
ghosts, and
animals.
The Three
Good Realms are those of humans, asuras (generally warlike and wrathful
deities) and
celestial beings.
Constant
Mindfulness of Buddha Amitabha is primarily maintained in the practice of
reciting Buddha
Amitabha’s
Name mindfully, proceeding from the mind, earnestly and sincerely.
The Western Pure Land Pure
Land
beyond
spiritual retrogression. Rebirth in this Pure Land
continuing non-retrogressive cultivation until the ultimate attainment
of complete and perfect
enlightenment and the crowning buddhahood. 6.11.2005 0151 0311 3,931 words
23. VOLITION: An Introduction to the Law of
Kamma by Sayadaw U Silananda, edited by Anthony
Billings
& Maung Tin-Wa, transcribed by Pat McMahan, published in 1990 by The
Dhammachakka
PUBLISHER, Penang , Malaysia
A
well-known Burmese Buddhist monk since 1947, Sayadaw was chosen by the renowned
meditation
master,
the Most Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, to teach in America
West.
24. THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 333
25. Quoted in VOLITION, p. 4
26. THE
BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 337
27. Ibid., p. 347 4,331 words 6.11.2005 0455
28.
VOLITION, pp. 16-18
Deva is a deity, a celestial being, a god.
In THE BUDDHA
AND HIS TEACHINGS (p. 6), Narada has defined jhana as a developed state of consciousness (attainable through
sustained mindfulness, contemplation, concentration, meditation). It has also
been described as meditative absorption.
On the eve of his enlightenment, the ascetic Gotama
gained perfect one-pointedness of the mind by developing the jhanas. “His mind was now like a
polished mirror where everything is reflected in its true perspective.” (p. 31)
Only those who have cultivated the four (or five) jhanas or ecstasies are born on the higher
planes of the Brahmas (high deities or senior gods). (p. 443)
Nibbana is spiritual liberation, emancipation from
the samsaric cycle of birth and death, and the complete cessation of suffering,
resulting from the complete destruction and the total eradication of all forms
of craving. (p. 85) 6.11.2005
2241
29. Ways
of Enlightenment, p. 237
30. THE TREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, p. 84
“Understanding
the Law of Kamma gives us the confidence to face life’s ups and downs, and
deter
us
from doing misdeeds. This confidence also strengthens and deepens our peace,
happiness, and
courage, knowing that the law protects us when we have done good deeds,”
Bhante Suvanno has
taught (Kamma, Death &
Rebirth, p. xiii-xiv)
“This knowledge gives us self-reliance and teaches us to take refuge in
ourselves, because the
Buddha has said that it is by ourselves that we become pure or impure,
no one (human) can purify
another
(human being)…
“Living within the Law of Kamma will surely restrain us from wrong
doings for others’ sake as
well
as for our own. Accumulating good kamma enables us to overcome evil and destroy
the fetters
that keep us from our goal, nibbana…”
7.11.2005 1700
31 CHANGING
DESTINY, p. 171 5,308 words 7.11.2005 0009
32. THE
BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 420
33.
PURE LAND ZEN/ZEN PURE LAND: Letters from
Patriarch Yin Kuang,
translated by
Master Thich Thien Tam, et all with Forrest Smith as
consulting editor, published 1992 by Sutra Translation Committee of the United States Canada New York Singapore
Elder Master Yin Kuang (1861-1940) was the Thirteenth
Patriarch of Pure Land in China
34.
Quoted
in BUDDHISM OF WISDOM & FAITH: Pure
Land Principles and Practice, by
Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam, translated and edited
by the Van Hien Study Group, first published in 1991 by the International Buddhist
Monastic Institute, Sepulveda
CA Taiwan
35.
Ibid.,
pp. 45-46
The late Dharma Master Thich Thien Tam specialized in
both the Pure Land
According to Mahayana Buddhist teaching, without
developing the Bodhi Mind, we cannot achieve
Buddhahood. Therefore, developing the Bodhi Mind
surpasses eons of ordinary cultivation. (p. 308)
25 Selasar Rokam 40
31350 Ipoh Perak , Malaysia
Telephone: 05-3134941
17 pages 5,907 words 7.11.2005 0312 6,154
words 7.11.2005 1753
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