{"id":1947,"date":"2020-03-01T10:03:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T00:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=1947"},"modified":"2020-03-01T10:06:04","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T00:06:04","slug":"karma-from-seed-to-fruit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/karma-from-seed-to-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Karma: From Seed to Fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When an act is committed, whatever it is, we can expect that\nsooner or later it will produce an effect. So if one wishes to overcome\nsuffering, it makes sense to perform certain acts and avoid others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law of causality<\/em> is the foundation of the\nBuddha\u2019s teaching. He said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without doing any harmful act, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abundantly perform beneficial acts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completely tame your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the Buddha\u2019s teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All phenomena arise from the combination of an infinity of\ncauses and conditions in constant flux. Like a rainbow that appears when the\nsunlight hits a patch of rain and vanishes when one of the factors contributing\nto its formation disappears, phenomena occur only through interdependent\ncircumstances and are, therefore, devoid of independent<\/em> and permanent<\/em>\nexistence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phenomena mutually influence each other in a constant\ndynamic and creative process, and nothing arises arbitrarily: the law of\ncausality is inexorable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karma<\/em>, which refers to both actions and their\neffects, is a particular aspect of that law of causality. It is what determines\nour share of happiness and suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, what we experience now is the consequence of\nour past behavior, and we are the architects of our future lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this perspective, our destiny is not dependent on an\nexternal power, such as divine will, for example. It is the fruit of our\nactions. We reap what we sow, and nothing and no one forces a person to be\nreborn in a certain way, apart from the power of his or her own actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActions\u201d refers not only to physical actions but also words\nand thoughts. Actions can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful. Good and evil are\nnot absolute values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conduct is considered \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d depending on the altruistic<\/em>\nor malicious<\/em> intention behind it and the consequences it produces in terms\nof the happiness or unhappiness of ourselves and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every moment of our lives, we reap the consequences of our\npast and shape our future through newly produced thoughts, words, and deeds.\nThey are like seeds that, once sown, will produce the corresponding beneficial\nor harmful fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this perspective, sufferings for which we are\napparently not responsible\u2014the harm that others do us, or diseases, or natural\ndisasters\u2014are due neither to God\u2019s will nor to ineluctable fate, nor to pure\nchance. They originate ultimately from our own actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This idea may seem disconcerting to a Westerner, especially\nwhen applied to an innocent person who is suffering, or a thoroughly good\nperson whose life is a series of tragedies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to understand that, according to Buddhism, every\nbeing is the result of a complex set of causes and conditions, good and bad\nseeds sown in the past, and it is this combination of multiple factors that\nunfolds gradually, each in its own time, in the course of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply being aware of this makes us more responsible in our\nattitude. For example, it prevents us from blaming others for unpleasant things\nthat happen to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to rail and rebel against what befalls us by the nature\nof things is not being fatalistic. We can always make the best of a difficult\nsituation, whatever it might be. And it is up to us to decide what we should do\nor not do in order to lay the foundations for our future happiness and cease to\ncreate suffering for ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we have understood that our harmful actions are the\nsource of all suffering for ourselves and others and that our beneficial\nactions are the source of happiness, we can choose how to act with discernment.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it is said, \u201cIf one keeps one\u2019s hand in the fire, there\nis no point in hoping not to be burnt.\u201d In conclusion, we do not collect a\n\u201creward\u201d or a \u201cpunishment\u201d: what happens to us simply obeys the law of\ncausality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Ricard, Matthieu. On the Path to Enlightenment: Heart Advice from the Great Tibetan Masters<\/em>. Shambhala. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Karma:
Reflection:
Neutral actions<\/em> that are neither good nor bad in themselves, such as washing, walking, and dressing, for instance, can be transformed into beneficial acts if we accompany them with a positive thought. When washing, for example, we can consider that we are purifying our negative karma along with that of all beings.
(Jets\u00fcn Mingyur Paldr\u00f6n)

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