message for request .please request you to at the time ancient ,puranic times ,there may be mistake of one or two persons .mistakes would have been due to bad wisedom or bad fate .at that time itself mistakes would have rectified and proper steps would have taken for betterment each others that mistakes should not be repeate .there would have be every thing good.even now also bad ,poletics,consprancies are repeating.request to save to good & bad
There is no evidence that karma transfers into a fetus, a newborn baby, or into another world. Karma is just volition and is probably the most misunderstood term in all of Buddhism. The Buddhist "doctrine of karma" implies that an intentional action (karma) is a cause that gives a result. The karma becomes a seed that bears fruit (an effect or result). This karmic process (Karma Niyama) can be instant. Buddhism boldly claims it can also extend into another life. This last part is based on faith
Thank you all, for the wonderfully intelligent banter. As a nascent buddhist, I am glad to find fodder for my mind related to these issues; unfortunately, many people don't want to calmly discuss these topics. I am relieved that I am not alone in my questioning, and I am heartened by the positive discussions going on here.
Thank you Bill. I totally agree. Because of this You Tube video I have been invited as a guest speaker to an interfaith conference on "Life after Death, Myth or Reality?" This will be on May 15-16, 2010 in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. I will give the karma and rebirth view on behalf of Buddhism. I have a poster if anyone want me to email it to you. You can come for free.
it's so funny how people want to remove karma and rebirth from buddhist teachings nowadays, as if they're dispensible. when you study the suttas, you see how foundational those teachings are.
@BillKiernan What you are saying is false. I don't know anyone at all who is trying to dispense with karma. Many Buddhists, however, are trying to dispense with the notion of literal rebirth, because it is entirely false. Brian cannot represent the Buddhist view on rebirth since he holds the literal interpretation, which is a wrong interpretation.
@KevinSolway In the Brahmajala Sutta, who is Brahma that the Buddha speaks of in the wrong view number 5 when you use the metaphorical rebirth interpretation? If you haven't read it then you can access it at tipitaka.wikia . com/wiki/Brahmajala_Sutta. Just search for "End Of First Recitation-Section" and read from there.
@Paradoxolog The "palace of Brahma" is simply a consciousness. Your consciousness is changing from one moment to the next, and may become the "palace of Brahma". Each moment whereby your mind gives rise to the false notion of "I" is a birth in samsara.
I first considered this a tolerable religion until i found out the concept of a supreme Creator God is rejected or at least considered irrelevant to Theravada Buddhism. Buddha, "the Awakened One," is revered above all--not as "God" but as supreme sage, model of a fully enlightened person. I must therefore warm you all enlightenment cannot save you from the wrath to come Jesus (Yeshua) loves you all, believe he came, died and was resurrected and you shall be saved. To God be the Glory.
Hi Cap3, Yes, those that die young come back- everybody does. No, the 7 years old dies but does not reach nirvana. Death in no way helps someone reach nirvana. That's a completely different situation. They come back. Buddha taught us to understand karma and rebirth, but not try to figure situations out and ponder on them too much.
what about the kids and young that die too early. do they come back? or what about 7 yeear old that gets killed by a drunk. does he reach nervana. or does he come back. thats why budha dont think about karma and rebirth.
The diff between Moksha & Heaven is simple - you Earn your way to Moksha, whereas getting to heaven is cheap - all a Pedophile or a Terrorist has to do is to grovel & beg like a dog. Yeah, he gets to enjoy heaven while his living victims deal with the pain he caused. "god"'s mercy is for the dead pedophile, not for the innocent living. But with Karma & Rebirth, that will not happen, a pedophile will have to come back & make amends.
Thank you for your comment on my You Tube channel ramaraksha01. You're right. A Christian thinks he can repent and be forgiven, while his victims suffer. A Buddhist or Hindu must face their karma. Good point!
@BrianRuhe Thank you. If what i wrote makes sense, please pass it on. The western concept of god has only 2 options - either forgive or torture people like a saddam would. Karma & Rebirth is the non-violent way - it teaches us to be accountable for our actions - we are not going to be punished(ie tortured) but we are not going to get away with it either. We must make amends. It is the much better, non-violent way.
@BrianRuhe A Buddhist must only look within. Life, Death Karma, Rebirth, and Heaven, are only notions. Looking within enables you to see that being "Human" is only an illusion. You are not unique. You are one with all. If you look within you will see that you always were, and always will be. What "we" are is the "nothingness" which give rise to all existence. There is no this or that. Total non attachment. The goal is not an eternal flame, IT IS NO FLAME.
Karma is about being held accountable for one's actions. You cause an accident, you must stay help the injured, stand tall, take responsibility for the crash, be ready to make amends. A christian or a muslim can beg & grovel like a dog & escapte to heaven, a Hindu/Buddhist cannot. Reborn, he is given a chance to redeem himself. He is not going to be punished, nor is he allowed to get away with it either
This guy is so wrong. Vedas speak of Karma since 2000 yrs before the Buddha. Buddha's teachers were from the Sankhya school of thought and so Buddha just filtered Hinduism and rejected the social structure of the caste system.
Hi acidcrashguy, what I meant about the Hindus is that to many of them karma meant ritual. If you want power, then pay the Brahmin priests to do a ritual and that will give you more power. I'm not saying that none of them had an understanding of cause and effect and the efficacy of moral actions. Thanks for watching and sharing. Happy New Year everyone!! Brian
@acidcrashguy you are correct in some way. fyi gautama buddha is not the 1st buddha, there were numerous buddhas before him and will be numerous buddhas after him. do you get my point? i dont mean hinduism came from previous buddhas but what i mean is the law of universe as seen by a normal person attaining enlightenment (buddha) shows people a path, and later people start dividing everything, thats the way it is and will always be.
"The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose; do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Hell are set apart."....
You are all lost of the level of thought; without perspective on thought you will keep asking your questions...
It is my understanding that the reason we are even alive is because of bad karma. If you owe a karmic debt from a previous life, then you take another rebirth.
@KevinSolway, you obviously don't understand the concept of Karma ever. Karma (Sanskrit) or Kamma (Pali) means "action". In Buddhist, it really means action follows by results of that action. That's all it means.
You are mistaken. In the context of Buddhism, karma concerns only deluded intentions. Those are the "actions" we are talking about.
It doesn't mean the action of a fully enlightened Buddha, or the action of the sun shining on a rock.
As I say, there are many causes other than karma. It's interesting how Buddhists don't want to here these truths, and downrate the comment so that it becomes invisisible.
@KevinSolway, again, I think you fail to interpret Buddha's message. Karma is causation from your physical action, verbal, and thoughts. Causation applies to everything. I thought I told you already what Karma means. I guess you don't do research at all. Do you?
Again, you are entirely wrong. Karma is not simply the causation from physical actions and thoughts, otherwise Buddhas would be generating karma.
Now you may have a *personal* use of the term "karma" which would mean that Buddhas generate karma, but your usage would not be the one generally used in Buddhism.
Likewise, in accordance with your usage of the word, the sun shining on a rock would be karma. That's not how the term is used in Buddhism.
@KevinSolway, I've been Theravada Buddhist for the rest of my life. Please go find your text and sited for me and show me that Karma is not what I know or understand. Honestly, if you don't understand physics and say that Karma is not applicable to all entity, then I guess you are hopeless sir. "Sun shinning on a rock" is karma. There's a sun. It gives us light. It reaches earth and reflected on a rock. Then we all can see the rock. Simple. That is Karma. Sir, you don't understand Karma.
You simply have a different definition of karma to the one I do. To you, everything a fully enlightened Buddha does is "karma", because everything he does is an action.
But to me, nothing a Buddha does is karma, because a Buddha has no deluded intent. This is the general Buddhist view, and this kind of karma exists only in samsara, and is experienced by deluded beings.
But your version of "karma" is also experienced by Buddhas, in Nirvana.
@KevinSolway, it's OK if you have that kind of understanding. However, I would believe that enlighten one can engineer his action so that he would not generate attachments. That's why he said that there're to types of people, ones who can teach, and ones who cannot. Again, just because you understand things to be that way doesn't me it's perfectly true. However, if you think that Buddha's enlightenment is bogus, that's OK too. Haha!
It would be good if you can drop all attachment to words. Their meaning is impermanent. It may have been that at some time in the past the word "karma" simply meant the action of cause and effect. But over time, among some people at least, the term arrived at a more refined meaning, as illustrated by the Niyama Dhammas.
@KevinSolway, sure, I do thought about that before, to the point where I do understand that some concept cannot be represented by words, but only experiences. However, I still believe in Karma. Since we're all interconnected, through mind and matter, Karma then takes affect on everything. Therefore, even a simple statement describing something that happens, that in itself is Karma.
Perhaps we could use "Karma", with a capital "K", to refer to the whole action of cause and effect. But then we could also use the term "karma", with a small "k" to refer to the subset of actions that are deluded, and which constitute samsara.
@KevinSolway, I don't see the differences. All the causation in action and speech came from thoughts. This whole universe came to existence because of our mind. That's what I'm proposing. I stand both my legs on relativity and quantum physics as we know today.
Ok. Now I see the problem, and why you don't think there are any causes other than karma.
I don't agree that that universe came into existence because of our mind. Even when there is no consciousness, causation still goes on. When you go into unconscious sleep at night, the world does not cease to exist. The world *you experience* ceases to exist, but that's not the same thing as "the world".
(con't) I just don't think it's acceptable to say that all of a Buddha's actions are karma, since I personally associate karma with samsara, and not with enlightenment. But that's just a matter of personal taste.
@KevinSolway I don't think he is talking about the physical universe, he is talking about the universe before our eyes ie the life we create for ourselves, it's in our hands. Japan has nothing, no natural resoureces, has to import everything, yet they created a great nation. There are other countries like Iran & Iraq, blessed with abundant natuaral resources, they used the money to buy weapons & kill each other. The "universe" is what you make it.
Yes, I think krittmasta is speaking of the *perceived* world. Yet the perceived world of a Buddha would be without delusion, and so I would say that such a perception is without "karma", even though it doesn't escape cause and effect, change, and death.
@KevinSolway well, life has to be formed by something. it has to be a result of something. unless u believe god created life or it just arose from no where. its a paradox really. Because when you ask yourself how something came to be, you probably say its a result of something. But how did that "something" come to be? from a result of something. You can ask this until u reach the beginning of our universe & beyond. Therefore karma in a way is infinite.
You should research early christianity. The early christians actually believed in reincarnation up until the council of nicea in 325. Look it up if you don't believe me. So in fact, buddhism is more like christianity as it should be!
In fact there is huge evidence to suggest that the original followers of christ were more like buddhist monks than modern christians!
and why in the last instance is this guy trying to explained karma if the Buddha himself said karma was one of the four imponderables? the thruth about buddhism is that it does not answer the questions that matter. It is a moralist/philosofical system with shaky, unexplained metaphisics.
I'm back. hecdaca2007, the Buddha thoroughly explained karma because it is a subject that does matter. I'm explaining it too. An imponderable doesn't not mean that you can't explain the teaching on karma. It's easy enuogh to understand. An imponderable means that you can't see the karmic causes in the distant past which resulted in good or bad happenings now, so you shouldn't try to guess at the causes. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to understand karma.
The Buddha failed to answer many questions asked of him. Not because he did not know, but because such questions are actually irrelevant to the task of eradication of suffering. So in fact he DID answer the questions that matter, leaving aside those that don't.
On the subject of rebirth however, he had quite a lot to say about it actually. He could remember ninety three aeons of his own past lives and the concept of rebirth formed an integral part of the buddhas way.
Of corse people at the time of the buddha believe in reincarnation. They needed and explanation. As rational beings we always need and explanation our rationality demands it. I hold the Buddha in content for someone that says who he is enlighten should put forward more information. Enlightment as described in the suttas means that you have master this reality. so why did the buddha failed in giving so much info about this planet that would had propeled evolution of the human spicies?
A law most be explained with clarity. gravity, electromagnetism, nuclear forces those are laws. Their impact in the universe is indisputable (except in the mind of some creationists) if you tell me that karma is at the center of how the universe works then you need to give factual examples not just nice anecdotal inferences. The universe and nature are cruel and indiferent to suffering just watch a nature program. there is no moral law. moral is a human creation
You ask "what happens after the physical body dies?" And I replied to you that nobody - not even a Buddha - can accurately foretell the future. When you have a better understanding of what you mean by "presence or life force" then you will have a better understanding of the question, and therefore of the answer also. Currently you do not have such an understanding.
I don't have to prove anything to you, prajna. You should simply refrain from making judgements you are not qualified to make. You don't know whether I have a great understanding or not.
karma is bs. intencions count for nothing in the real world if you don't translate them into action wich is not always possible because of monetary, physical, social or other constrains. Its funny to hear this guy talking about karma and the moral sphere like if he really knoes for a fact or can prove any of it. The thruth is, when you look at life and human interaction karma comes across as a fibble explanation to give us confort in this indiferent universe.
Are you saying that you can't see any evidence that the son pays for the sins of the father? Are you joking? If the father abuses the son both physically and mentally, then the son will suffer. If the father destroys the home, then the son will be homeless. This is common sense. There is plenty of evidence that these things happen.
Nobody can accurately trace the course of cause and effect into the future. Not even the Buddha can do this.
You ask what happens to "YOU" after death. But there is no "YOU" - that's the whole point. That's the reason that literal rebirth can't possibly happen.
No, you're speaking about things you know nothing about. You don't know what is possible after attaining nirvana. Nor do you know whether I feel that I am my body. You are simply fantasizing.
You keep talking about a "you" as though there were some independent self. There is no such thing. I am not "in" a physical body. This idea is a delusion of yours. Things happen, such as birth, because they are caused to happen. That's how cause and effect works.
Yes, Theravada believes in karma (which is deluded intention). But abortion is not necessarily a result of karma. And yes, various intentions are either skillful or unskillful.
He struggled to find the truth because living in ignorance is associated with all kinds of suffering, such as boredom, no matter how rich you are. Being rich is not the same as Nirvana.
No, he wouldn't have "taken on other bodies". The only thing that would have happened is that his ignorance would have had bad consequences. The son pays for the sins of the father.
There's no evidence for what you are imagining here, and without evidence, what you have is nothing. What you are describing is simply blind faith on your part.
The Lotus sutra is a counterfeit sutra. It is not a real sutta so it is not the words of the Buddha. The Theravada tradition does not recognize the Lotus sutra as the Buddha's words so it is disregarded. There's a lot more about this in my book "Freeing the Buddha."
Prajna8 and Kevin and filled 5 pages while I was busy. Wow, this is a busy site! I'm teaching a karma and rebirth class tonight at the New Westminster School Board in adult Ed. In reply to daihounin's remark, hearing the law is no guarantee that a person will become an arahant, and very unlikely a Buddha as there is only one at a time. Without putting forth effort, a being will not get enlightened. Without X there is no Y. It is not inevitable. Thanks, Brian Ruhe
Well said prajna8! These fellows must doubt themselves because they only contradict the Buddha but offer no hope for their own future. The Buddha used the simile of the candle going out for the death of an enlightened person, not an ordinary person. Kevin and Barbarra only offer annihilation at death like a candle going out and that's it. Nothing. Thank you prajna8! What's your name?
I am using the simile of a candle going of the the death of an *unenlightened* person. Do you think that we, magically, work in a fundamentally different way to everything else in the Universe? You are dreaming, in order to preserve the illusion of your ego. All things work in exactly the same way. We work in essentially the same way as a candleflame. Our physical death is essentially the same as the extinguishing of a candleflame.
The Buddha died, but does not something of him continue to this day, in his teachings? Yes it does. So there was a continuation of something. And so it is with the candleflame which is extinguished. In the case of a wise person, his wise works will continue in some form, and in the case of a deluded person, their delusions will continue.
Prajna, we are speaking of physical death, and this is what the Buddha experienced, just as we will ourselves. If you say that the Buddha did not physically die, then you are simply denying reality.
Prajna, you say, "You are talking as if the Buddha became nothing", and yet I specifically explained how the Buddha continues in the teachings that he has left us.
Prajna, it's not "crap" that the Buddha continues in his teachings. He really does. You just can't see it. When you understand what happens to a candleflame once it is extinguished then you will understand what happens to someone when they die - the Buddha included.
Prajna, the world around you, including the teachings of the Buddha, are not an illusion, but you are unable to see what they really are. Think about what happens to a candleflame when it is extinguished. There is no annihilation. When you understand this, you will understand what happens to a person when they die. This is something you have to face for yourself.
The candleflame simile applies to all things, since all things work by the same law of cause and effect. You imagine that the extinguishing of a candleflame represents some kind of annihilation, but it does not.
Prajna, you say, with regard to a candleflame being extinguished, "OK if it is not annihilation, then what is it?". It is simply a candleflame being extinguished. That's what it is. It is a physical death just like our own physical death. The only difference between the Buddha and anything else in the world is that the Buddha freed himself of delusion.
When the flame is gone there is less light, and less warmth, for one thing. Perhaps there is more candlewax remaining than one would otherwise have had. That's what it's like. It is change.
prajna8, don't you understand that it is *you* who don't believe in karma and rebirth. This is what BarbarraBay and myself have been explaining to you. The "literal" interpretation of karma and rebirth is false, whereas the alternative interpretation which we are explaining (along with people like Buddhadasa) is the correct interpretation.
Prajna8, karma and rebirth are indeed real, but not as you conceive of them. There are no streams of karma that are tied to one physical body for life. It is only part of your imagination that there are. And it is precisely these kind of delusions that are keeping you trapped in samsara.
Prajna8, the delusion that is keeping you in samsara is the delusion "I am this separate person in a body", and it is this same delusion that gives rise to your mistaken understanding of karma and rebirth.
Prajna, you ask, "What do you mean by 'there no streams of karma that are tied to one physical body for life'?" I mean that streams of karma find their own way. They are continually finding rebirth in all kinds of ways (eg, the delusions of a teacher become reborn in the student), and they do not wait for physical death before they are reborn many, many times, in many beings.
Prajna, you say that "there would be not justice", but we've already established that your idea of justice (such as your desire that others not be credited with your work) is a delusion. This body of mine that exists right at this moment was not responsible for things done twenty years ago, and yet it feels the consequences. Such is life. A student who is taught false things by a deluded teacher may not deserve such a deluded teacher, but they get such a teacher anyway. Reality works like that.
Prajna, you misunderstand how karma works. A deluded action and the result of that deluded action both happen within a karmic stream, but that karmic stream is not limited to any particular physical body. There is a saying, "The son suffers the sins of the father". If you abuse your children, they will suffer because you have abused them. If you deny this reality, then you will remain firmly in samsara, and you are shutting your eyes to the law of nature.
every bad things happens because of me .
message for request .please request you to at the time ancient ,puranic times ,there may be mistake of one or two persons .mistakes would have been due to bad wisedom or bad fate .at that time itself mistakes would have rectified and proper steps would have taken for betterment each others that mistakes should not be repeate .there would have be every thing good.even now also bad ,poletics,consprancies are repeating.request to save to good & bad
bgupta2001 8 months ago
Buddhism, is always going to be my life, i subscribed to you, i cannot stop watching each part. Thank you.
Namaste :)
brad88922122 9 months ago
any chance to upload any new videos?
Haplo09 1 year ago
wonderful video, is there any chance to see more?
Haplo09 1 year ago
"Refreshing" I am now looking forward to seeing all your vids. Many thanks, with metta.
mikkiwon 1 year ago
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There is no evidence that karma transfers into a fetus, a newborn baby, or into another world. Karma is just volition and is probably the most misunderstood term in all of Buddhism. The Buddhist "doctrine of karma" implies that an intentional action (karma) is a cause that gives a result. The karma becomes a seed that bears fruit (an effect or result). This karmic process (Karma Niyama) can be instant. Buddhism boldly claims it can also extend into another life. This last part is based on faith
buddhasknowbest 1 year ago
Thank you all, for the wonderfully intelligent banter. As a nascent buddhist, I am glad to find fodder for my mind related to these issues; unfortunately, many people don't want to calmly discuss these topics. I am relieved that I am not alone in my questioning, and I am heartened by the positive discussions going on here.
Peace.
blufrenchie 1 year ago
Thank you Bill. I totally agree. Because of this You Tube video I have been invited as a guest speaker to an interfaith conference on "Life after Death, Myth or Reality?" This will be on May 15-16, 2010 in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. I will give the karma and rebirth view on behalf of Buddhism. I have a poster if anyone want me to email it to you. You can come for free.
BrianRuhe 1 year ago
it's so funny how people want to remove karma and rebirth from buddhist teachings nowadays, as if they're dispensible. when you study the suttas, you see how foundational those teachings are.
BillKiernan 1 year ago
@BillKiernan What you are saying is false. I don't know anyone at all who is trying to dispense with karma. Many Buddhists, however, are trying to dispense with the notion of literal rebirth, because it is entirely false. Brian cannot represent the Buddhist view on rebirth since he holds the literal interpretation, which is a wrong interpretation.
KevinSolway 1 year ago
@KevinSolway well i guess that settles it then. Solway hath spoken, thus i have heard.
BillKiernan 1 year ago
@KevinSolway In the Brahmajala Sutta, who is Brahma that the Buddha speaks of in the wrong view number 5 when you use the metaphorical rebirth interpretation? If you haven't read it then you can access it at tipitaka.wikia . com/wiki/Brahmajala_Sutta. Just search for "End Of First Recitation-Section" and read from there.
Paradoxolog 1 year ago
@Paradoxolog The "palace of Brahma" is simply a consciousness. Your consciousness is changing from one moment to the next, and may become the "palace of Brahma". Each moment whereby your mind gives rise to the false notion of "I" is a birth in samsara.
KevinSolway 1 year ago
I first considered this a tolerable religion until i found out the concept of a supreme Creator God is rejected or at least considered irrelevant to Theravada Buddhism. Buddha, "the Awakened One," is revered above all--not as "God" but as supreme sage, model of a fully enlightened person. I must therefore warm you all enlightenment cannot save you from the wrath to come Jesus (Yeshua) loves you all, believe he came, died and was resurrected and you shall be saved. To God be the Glory.
okeeno27 1 year ago
Hi Cap3, Yes, those that die young come back- everybody does. No, the 7 years old dies but does not reach nirvana. Death in no way helps someone reach nirvana. That's a completely different situation. They come back. Buddha taught us to understand karma and rebirth, but not try to figure situations out and ponder on them too much.
BrianRuhe 1 year ago
what about the kids and young that die too early. do they come back? or what about 7 yeear old that gets killed by a drunk. does he reach nervana. or does he come back. thats why budha dont think about karma and rebirth.
assassincap3 1 year ago
It was the Apostle Paul, not Jesus, who wrote "slaves obey your masters." (Ephesiand 6:5, Colossians 3:22)
SriSatchitananda 2 years ago
The diff between Moksha & Heaven is simple - you Earn your way to Moksha, whereas getting to heaven is cheap - all a Pedophile or a Terrorist has to do is to grovel & beg like a dog. Yeah, he gets to enjoy heaven while his living victims deal with the pain he caused. "god"'s mercy is for the dead pedophile, not for the innocent living. But with Karma & Rebirth, that will not happen, a pedophile will have to come back & make amends.
ramaraksha01 2 years ago
Thank you for your comment on my You Tube channel ramaraksha01. You're right. A Christian thinks he can repent and be forgiven, while his victims suffer. A Buddhist or Hindu must face their karma. Good point!
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
@BrianRuhe Thank you. If what i wrote makes sense, please pass it on. The western concept of god has only 2 options - either forgive or torture people like a saddam would. Karma & Rebirth is the non-violent way - it teaches us to be accountable for our actions - we are not going to be punished(ie tortured) but we are not going to get away with it either. We must make amends. It is the much better, non-violent way.
ramaraksha01 2 years ago
@BrianRuhe A Buddhist must only look within. Life, Death Karma, Rebirth, and Heaven, are only notions. Looking within enables you to see that being "Human" is only an illusion. You are not unique. You are one with all. If you look within you will see that you always were, and always will be. What "we" are is the "nothingness" which give rise to all existence. There is no this or that. Total non attachment. The goal is not an eternal flame, IT IS NO FLAME.
HillsdaleTom 1 year ago
Karma is about being held accountable for one's actions. You cause an accident, you must stay help the injured, stand tall, take responsibility for the crash, be ready to make amends. A christian or a muslim can beg & grovel like a dog & escapte to heaven, a Hindu/Buddhist cannot. Reborn, he is given a chance to redeem himself. He is not going to be punished, nor is he allowed to get away with it either
ramaraksha01 2 years ago
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KevinSolway 2 years ago
people just need to keep there minds open to o ther points. but you dont need to beleive everything you hear and see
jelani168 2 years ago
This guy is so wrong. Vedas speak of Karma since 2000 yrs before the Buddha. Buddha's teachers were from the Sankhya school of thought and so Buddha just filtered Hinduism and rejected the social structure of the caste system.
acidcrashguy 2 years ago
Hi acidcrashguy, what I meant about the Hindus is that to many of them karma meant ritual. If you want power, then pay the Brahmin priests to do a ritual and that will give you more power. I'm not saying that none of them had an understanding of cause and effect and the efficacy of moral actions. Thanks for watching and sharing. Happy New Year everyone!! Brian
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
@acidcrashguy
Really?
RanjanLekhy 1 year ago
@acidcrashguy you are correct in some way. fyi gautama buddha is not the 1st buddha, there were numerous buddhas before him and will be numerous buddhas after him. do you get my point? i dont mean hinduism came from previous buddhas but what i mean is the law of universe as seen by a normal person attaining enlightenment (buddha) shows people a path, and later people start dividing everything, thats the way it is and will always be.
maverickasim 1 year ago
LIKE WHAT KEVIN?
jbwhitebird 2 years ago
Wow!! Wicked haircut!!!!
bigrobnz 2 years ago
So, you are a good barber! :)
RanjanLekhy 2 years ago
I think prajna8 must be giving us a lesson in impermanence.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
hehe, he said "pussyfoot"
risingsun08107 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
"The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose; do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Hell are set apart."....
You are all lost of the level of thought; without perspective on thought you will keep asking your questions...
flowdynamic 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
It is my understanding that the reason we are even alive is because of bad karma. If you owe a karmic debt from a previous life, then you take another rebirth.
AlaskanSky 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
There are many causes of things other than karma. Life doesn't need to be caused by karma.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, you obviously don't understand the concept of Karma ever. Karma (Sanskrit) or Kamma (Pali) means "action". In Buddhist, it really means action follows by results of that action. That's all it means.
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
You are mistaken. In the context of Buddhism, karma concerns only deluded intentions. Those are the "actions" we are talking about.
It doesn't mean the action of a fully enlightened Buddha, or the action of the sun shining on a rock.
As I say, there are many causes other than karma. It's interesting how Buddhists don't want to here these truths, and downrate the comment so that it becomes invisisible.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, again, I think you fail to interpret Buddha's message. Karma is causation from your physical action, verbal, and thoughts. Causation applies to everything. I thought I told you already what Karma means. I guess you don't do research at all. Do you?
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
Again, you are entirely wrong. Karma is not simply the causation from physical actions and thoughts, otherwise Buddhas would be generating karma.
Now you may have a *personal* use of the term "karma" which would mean that Buddhas generate karma, but your usage would not be the one generally used in Buddhism.
Likewise, in accordance with your usage of the word, the sun shining on a rock would be karma. That's not how the term is used in Buddhism.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
In Buddhism, other types of causes (ie, other than karma) include the following: Utu Niyama, Biija Niyama,
Citta Niyama (will of mind), Dhamma Niyama.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, I've been Theravada Buddhist for the rest of my life. Please go find your text and sited for me and show me that Karma is not what I know or understand. Honestly, if you don't understand physics and say that Karma is not applicable to all entity, then I guess you are hopeless sir. "Sun shinning on a rock" is karma. There's a sun. It gives us light. It reaches earth and reflected on a rock. Then we all can see the rock. Simple. That is Karma. Sir, you don't understand Karma.
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
You simply have a different definition of karma to the one I do. To you, everything a fully enlightened Buddha does is "karma", because everything he does is an action.
But to me, nothing a Buddha does is karma, because a Buddha has no deluded intent. This is the general Buddhist view, and this kind of karma exists only in samsara, and is experienced by deluded beings.
But your version of "karma" is also experienced by Buddhas, in Nirvana.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, it's OK if you have that kind of understanding. However, I would believe that enlighten one can engineer his action so that he would not generate attachments. That's why he said that there're to types of people, ones who can teach, and ones who cannot. Again, just because you understand things to be that way doesn't me it's perfectly true. However, if you think that Buddha's enlightenment is bogus, that's OK too. Haha!
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
It would be good if you can drop all attachment to words. Their meaning is impermanent. It may have been that at some time in the past the word "karma" simply meant the action of cause and effect. But over time, among some people at least, the term arrived at a more refined meaning, as illustrated by the Niyama Dhammas.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, sure, I do thought about that before, to the point where I do understand that some concept cannot be represented by words, but only experiences. However, I still believe in Karma. Since we're all interconnected, through mind and matter, Karma then takes affect on everything. Therefore, even a simple statement describing something that happens, that in itself is Karma.
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
Perhaps we could use "Karma", with a capital "K", to refer to the whole action of cause and effect. But then we could also use the term "karma", with a small "k" to refer to the subset of actions that are deluded, and which constitute samsara.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway, I don't see the differences. All the causation in action and speech came from thoughts. This whole universe came to existence because of our mind. That's what I'm proposing. I stand both my legs on relativity and quantum physics as we know today.
krittmasta 2 years ago
@krittmasta
Ok. Now I see the problem, and why you don't think there are any causes other than karma.
I don't agree that that universe came into existence because of our mind. Even when there is no consciousness, causation still goes on. When you go into unconscious sleep at night, the world does not cease to exist. The world *you experience* ceases to exist, but that's not the same thing as "the world".
KevinSolway 2 years ago
(con't) I just don't think it's acceptable to say that all of a Buddha's actions are karma, since I personally associate karma with samsara, and not with enlightenment. But that's just a matter of personal taste.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway the mind is a *necessary* cause for the universe, though. But then, so is everything else.
jupiviv 2 years ago
@jupiviv
Before mind evolved, was there not the universe? Mind is only a cause of the *rest* of universe once mind exists.
But strictly speaking, since the Universe (as in "the All") is infinite (by definition), it cannot have a cause.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
The existence of the mind at any point of time is necessary for the existence of the rest of the universe for all time - that's what I was saying.
jupiviv 2 years ago
@KevinSolway I don't think he is talking about the physical universe, he is talking about the universe before our eyes ie the life we create for ourselves, it's in our hands. Japan has nothing, no natural resoureces, has to import everything, yet they created a great nation. There are other countries like Iran & Iraq, blessed with abundant natuaral resources, they used the money to buy weapons & kill each other. The "universe" is what you make it.
ramaraksha01 2 years ago
@ramaraksha01
Yes, I think krittmasta is speaking of the *perceived* world. Yet the perceived world of a Buddha would be without delusion, and so I would say that such a perception is without "karma", even though it doesn't escape cause and effect, change, and death.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
@KevinSolway well, life has to be formed by something. it has to be a result of something. unless u believe god created life or it just arose from no where. its a paradox really. Because when you ask yourself how something came to be, you probably say its a result of something. But how did that "something" come to be? from a result of something. You can ask this until u reach the beginning of our universe & beyond. Therefore karma in a way is infinite.
EverythingOtaku 3 months ago
@EverythingOtaku Yes, cause and effect is infinite, since there can't be anything without a cause.
KevinSolway 3 months ago
"When you fall out of a tree, you cannot count all the branches on the way down."
Good analogy!
AlaskanSky 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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AlaskanSky 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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AlaskanSky 2 years ago
You should research early christianity. The early christians actually believed in reincarnation up until the council of nicea in 325. Look it up if you don't believe me. So in fact, buddhism is more like christianity as it should be!
In fact there is huge evidence to suggest that the original followers of christ were more like buddhist monks than modern christians!
Different viewpoints my friend...
hairysuit 2 years ago
Watch these videos:
"REINCARNATION, past life evidence, PART 1 & 2"
impermanentoo 2 years ago
and why in the last instance is this guy trying to explained karma if the Buddha himself said karma was one of the four imponderables? the thruth about buddhism is that it does not answer the questions that matter. It is a moralist/philosofical system with shaky, unexplained metaphisics.
hecdaca2007 2 years ago
I'm back. hecdaca2007, the Buddha thoroughly explained karma because it is a subject that does matter. I'm explaining it too. An imponderable doesn't not mean that you can't explain the teaching on karma. It's easy enuogh to understand. An imponderable means that you can't see the karmic causes in the distant past which resulted in good or bad happenings now, so you shouldn't try to guess at the causes. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to understand karma.
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
and the answer is: because he did not know.
hecdaca2007 2 years ago
The Buddha failed to answer many questions asked of him. Not because he did not know, but because such questions are actually irrelevant to the task of eradication of suffering. So in fact he DID answer the questions that matter, leaving aside those that don't.
On the subject of rebirth however, he had quite a lot to say about it actually. He could remember ninety three aeons of his own past lives and the concept of rebirth formed an integral part of the buddhas way.
hairysuit 2 years ago 6
Of corse people at the time of the buddha believe in reincarnation. They needed and explanation. As rational beings we always need and explanation our rationality demands it. I hold the Buddha in content for someone that says who he is enlighten should put forward more information. Enlightment as described in the suttas means that you have master this reality. so why did the buddha failed in giving so much info about this planet that would had propeled evolution of the human spicies?
hecdaca2007 2 years ago
A law most be explained with clarity. gravity, electromagnetism, nuclear forces those are laws. Their impact in the universe is indisputable (except in the mind of some creationists) if you tell me that karma is at the center of how the universe works then you need to give factual examples not just nice anecdotal inferences. The universe and nature are cruel and indiferent to suffering just watch a nature program. there is no moral law. moral is a human creation
hecdaca2007 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
You ask "what happens after the physical body dies?" And I replied to you that nobody - not even a Buddha - can accurately foretell the future. When you have a better understanding of what you mean by "presence or life force" then you will have a better understanding of the question, and therefore of the answer also. Currently you do not have such an understanding.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
I don't have to prove anything to you, prajna. You should simply refrain from making judgements you are not qualified to make. You don't know whether I have a great understanding or not.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, how do you know I am only pretending to be of great understanding? The truth is, you don't know.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
karma is bs. intencions count for nothing in the real world if you don't translate them into action wich is not always possible because of monetary, physical, social or other constrains. Its funny to hear this guy talking about karma and the moral sphere like if he really knoes for a fact or can prove any of it. The thruth is, when you look at life and human interaction karma comes across as a fibble explanation to give us confort in this indiferent universe.
hecdaca2007 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Are you saying that you can't see any evidence that the son pays for the sins of the father? Are you joking? If the father abuses the son both physically and mentally, then the son will suffer. If the father destroys the home, then the son will be homeless. This is common sense. There is plenty of evidence that these things happen.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Nobody can accurately trace the course of cause and effect into the future. Not even the Buddha can do this.
You ask what happens to "YOU" after death. But there is no "YOU" - that's the whole point. That's the reason that literal rebirth can't possibly happen.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
No, you're speaking about things you know nothing about. You don't know what is possible after attaining nirvana. Nor do you know whether I feel that I am my body. You are simply fantasizing.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, it is your judgement that I am making a "mistake", but you are not qualified to make that judgement.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
You keep talking about a "you" as though there were some independent self. There is no such thing. I am not "in" a physical body. This idea is a delusion of yours. Things happen, such as birth, because they are caused to happen. That's how cause and effect works.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
hi i just wanted to ask you does the theravad school believe in karma and the intention behind the deed (e.g abortion)
and also does it believe in skillfull and unskillfull karma. im just curiouse
thankyou
xxmeeeaxx 2 years ago
Yes, Theravada believes in karma (which is deluded intention). But abortion is not necessarily a result of karma. And yes, various intentions are either skillful or unskillful.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
BRING BACK BARBARA!!!
flowdynamic 2 years ago
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flowdynamic 2 years ago
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flowdynamic 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
He struggled to find the truth because living in ignorance is associated with all kinds of suffering, such as boredom, no matter how rich you are. Being rich is not the same as Nirvana.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
No, he wouldn't have "taken on other bodies". The only thing that would have happened is that his ignorance would have had bad consequences. The son pays for the sins of the father.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
There's no evidence for what you are imagining here, and without evidence, what you have is nothing. What you are describing is simply blind faith on your part.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
The Lotus sutra is a counterfeit sutra. It is not a real sutta so it is not the words of the Buddha. The Theravada tradition does not recognize the Lotus sutra as the Buddha's words so it is disregarded. There's a lot more about this in my book "Freeing the Buddha."
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
Prajna8 and Kevin and filled 5 pages while I was busy. Wow, this is a busy site! I'm teaching a karma and rebirth class tonight at the New Westminster School Board in adult Ed. In reply to daihounin's remark, hearing the law is no guarantee that a person will become an arahant, and very unlikely a Buddha as there is only one at a time. Without putting forth effort, a being will not get enlightened. Without X there is no Y. It is not inevitable. Thanks, Brian Ruhe
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Well said prajna8! These fellows must doubt themselves because they only contradict the Buddha but offer no hope for their own future. The Buddha used the simile of the candle going out for the death of an enlightened person, not an ordinary person. Kevin and Barbarra only offer annihilation at death like a candle going out and that's it. Nothing. Thank you prajna8! What's your name?
BrianRuhe 2 years ago
I am using the simile of a candle going of the the death of an *unenlightened* person. Do you think that we, magically, work in a fundamentally different way to everything else in the Universe? You are dreaming, in order to preserve the illusion of your ego. All things work in exactly the same way. We work in essentially the same way as a candleflame. Our physical death is essentially the same as the extinguishing of a candleflame.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
The Buddha died, but does not something of him continue to this day, in his teachings? Yes it does. So there was a continuation of something. And so it is with the candleflame which is extinguished. In the case of a wise person, his wise works will continue in some form, and in the case of a deluded person, their delusions will continue.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, we are speaking of physical death, and this is what the Buddha experienced, just as we will ourselves. If you say that the Buddha did not physically die, then you are simply denying reality.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, you say, "You are talking as if the Buddha became nothing", and yet I specifically explained how the Buddha continues in the teachings that he has left us.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, it's not "crap" that the Buddha continues in his teachings. He really does. You just can't see it. When you understand what happens to a candleflame once it is extinguished then you will understand what happens to someone when they die - the Buddha included.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, the world around you, including the teachings of the Buddha, are not an illusion, but you are unable to see what they really are. Think about what happens to a candleflame when it is extinguished. There is no annihilation. When you understand this, you will understand what happens to a person when they die. This is something you have to face for yourself.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
The candleflame simile applies to all things, since all things work by the same law of cause and effect. You imagine that the extinguishing of a candleflame represents some kind of annihilation, but it does not.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, a candle going out is not "annihilation". Think again. How can a stream of cause and effect come to an end?
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, you say, with regard to a candleflame being extinguished, "OK if it is not annihilation, then what is it?". It is simply a candleflame being extinguished. That's what it is. It is a physical death just like our own physical death. The only difference between the Buddha and anything else in the world is that the Buddha freed himself of delusion.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
When the flame is gone there is less light, and less warmth, for one thing. Perhaps there is more candlewax remaining than one would otherwise have had. That's what it's like. It is change.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
prajna8, don't you understand that it is *you* who don't believe in karma and rebirth. This is what BarbarraBay and myself have been explaining to you. The "literal" interpretation of karma and rebirth is false, whereas the alternative interpretation which we are explaining (along with people like Buddhadasa) is the correct interpretation.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna8, karma and rebirth are indeed real, but not as you conceive of them. There are no streams of karma that are tied to one physical body for life. It is only part of your imagination that there are. And it is precisely these kind of delusions that are keeping you trapped in samsara.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna8, the delusion that is keeping you in samsara is the delusion "I am this separate person in a body", and it is this same delusion that gives rise to your mistaken understanding of karma and rebirth.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, you ask, "What do you mean by 'there no streams of karma that are tied to one physical body for life'?" I mean that streams of karma find their own way. They are continually finding rebirth in all kinds of ways (eg, the delusions of a teacher become reborn in the student), and they do not wait for physical death before they are reborn many, many times, in many beings.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, you say that "there would be not justice", but we've already established that your idea of justice (such as your desire that others not be credited with your work) is a delusion. This body of mine that exists right at this moment was not responsible for things done twenty years ago, and yet it feels the consequences. Such is life. A student who is taught false things by a deluded teacher may not deserve such a deluded teacher, but they get such a teacher anyway. Reality works like that.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago
Prajna, you misunderstand how karma works. A deluded action and the result of that deluded action both happen within a karmic stream, but that karmic stream is not limited to any particular physical body. There is a saying, "The son suffers the sins of the father". If you abuse your children, they will suffer because you have abused them. If you deny this reality, then you will remain firmly in samsara, and you are shutting your eyes to the law of nature.
KevinSolway 2 years ago
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prajna8 2 years ago