What is Karma ?

[whatiskarma]

Hi I posted this here because this man called Sam Han Lee from Korea talked the same as Buddha about Dharma, Karma and Enlightenment, he wrote this in about 1999 and he died in 2008, It was his mission for anybody to read his teachings so there is no copyright. Anyway he had a lump on his forehead which he claimed was the ‘Third Eye’ which he claims appeared after Enlightenment ? He also wrote more about What is Life ? What is Destiny ? and mountains of other stuff.


What Is Karma ?
Cause and Effect of Karma

There is a word "Karma", passed on from the past, but nowadays it is rare to find someone who knows correctly what Karma is. What do we call Karma and what is Karma ? Karma is something that exists in the source which moves oneself, let’s have a look carefully how the Karma which is in the source, is made. The Karma is made by things that happened to you. Then how can things that happened to you make this Karma ? It is important to understand that. This means that something you did is saved in your consciousness. Now we have to look at nature in more detail. Every phenomenon which appears in nature,everything that happened in them is saved in their seed. Human being is a subject with a consciousness. Human beings save everything what they did in their consciousness.

This consciousness works as a spirit and when the spirit comes to meet death it remains independent by separating from the body. When this consciousness which was in the spirit disappears it will be reborn as life soon. But just because the consciousness disappeared it does not mean things that happened in the past will disappear. Even if the consciousness disappeared, everything which happened to you will be latent in that. So these complex things which are latent in you will continuously cause reaction. The habit of Karma is trying to repeatedly keep things that happened to you forever, and that is Karma. There are two meanings which allow everything to exist in the world. The world exists by these two meanings.

1) Reincarnation
Reincarnation means that everything is repeated. Something which exists continuously causes the phenomenon of repetition, past present and future are spinning endlessly. So our life exists by this law and every creature is repeatedly being born and dying by the law of cause and effect. If something was born in the world but does not disappear by itself but tries to keep itself to exist. Something that happened to you has the same meaning. So if something is saved in your consciousness it does not disappear but it continuously acts by receiving the influence of it. According to what happened to you, present and future life will be different. So things in yourself which will stay forever will be different, that's why to make a relationship is something that people must be very careful of. When a person makes a relationship with a bad thing that will produce a bad thing but when a person makes a relationship with a good thing that will produce a good thing.

2) The Law of Cause and Effect
This is also the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma will exist in you by the cause and effect. As long as this Karma exists a human cannot be able to be free from the control of this Karma. If someone has a big Karma and if the person tries to live a good life and to do good things rather than not becoming a good self will ruin others as well and by doing things to become a good self will always make oneself distressed.

Because there should be a good source in yourself but if there is not that good source it is rare to occur good things in you. At this point only Enlightenment can influence you. Without Enlightenment you cannot disobey the direction of Karma which is in you. We can see phenomenon like this from our surroundings easily and it is very important for the life of human beings. Therefore nobody can get out of these phenomena without Enlightenment. The law of nature is strict. In mathematics two plus two cannot be one or five, things which exist are not changeable in truth as well as mathematics it never changes. That is why people say that the most important thing for living all our period of life is Enlightenment.

If someone does a good thing and makes a good result of 60% but makes a mistake of 40% with ignorance while the person was not aware, in this situation the person can control emotions and wrong temper and can fix something which is wrong if the person tries. But if someone makes Karma which is the result of ignorance by making a mistake of 60 % but good Karma of 40% in this situation it is very hard to do a good thing because the power of big Karma interferes rather than good self when the person is doing something. The reason why there are many problems that appear in our society is because the society doesn't accept about how Karma is made by things that happened to someone in the past.

How does Karma appear ?
Karma appears by things in you. How is Karma made ? Karma is made by words and actions,
Karma can be made by actions and words. What kind of Karma is made by words ? When someone says things that the person doesn't know then that will be the Karma. Telling lies is something that ruins oneself and others too. This is Karma which is made by words. That is why disciples who were taught rightly by Buddha wrote at the beginning of the script "I heard like this"

Written by Tathagata
Sam Han Lee
Deceased August 2008

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

Bhikku Bodhi was probably not a buddha, but he wrote a good little paper on Kamma:

https://www.tbsousa.org/v11_10/docs/Questions on Kamma.pdf

Excerpt:

The Buddha says:

"Monks it is volition that I call kamma. For having willed, one then acts by body, speech or mind". What really lies behind all action, the essence of all action, is volition, the power of the will. It is this volition expressing itself as action of body, speech and mind that the Buddha calls kamma.
This means that unintentional action is not kamma. If we accidently step on some ants while walking down the street, that is not the kamma of taking life, for there was no intention to kill. If we speak some statement believing it to be true and it turns out to be false, this is not the kamma of lying, for there is no intention of deceiving.

 

['Amir Alzzalam]

Hi I posted this here because this man called Sam Han Lee from Korea talked the same as Buddha about Dharma, Karma and Enlightenment, he wrote this in about 1999 and he died in 2008, It was his mission for anybody to read his teachings so there is no copyright. Anyway he had a lump on his forehead which he claimed was the ‘Third Eye’ which he claims appeared after Enlightenment ? He also wrote more about What is Life ? What is Destiny ? and mountains of other stuff.


What Is Karma ?
Cause and Effect of Karma

There is a word "Karma", passed on from the past, but nowadays it is rare to find someone who knows correctly what Karma is. What do we call Karma and what is Karma ? Karma is something that exists in the source which moves oneself, let’s have a look carefully how the Karma which is in the source, is made. The Karma is made by things that happened to you. Then how can things that happened to you make this Karma ? It is important to understand that. This means that something you did is saved in your consciousness. Now we have to look at nature in more detail. Every phenomenon which appears in nature,everything that happened in them is saved in their seed. Human being is a subject with a consciousness. Human beings save everything what they did in their consciousness.

This consciousness works as a spirit and when the spirit comes to meet death it remains independent by separating from the body. When this consciousness which was in the spirit disappears it will be reborn as life soon. But just because the consciousness disappeared it does not mean things that happened in the past will disappear. Even if the consciousness disappeared, everything which happened to you will be latent in that. So these complex things which are latent in you will continuously cause reaction. The habit of Karma is trying to repeatedly keep things that happened to you forever, and that is Karma. There are two meanings which allow everything to exist in the world. The world exists by these two meanings.

1) Reincarnation
Reincarnation means that everything is repeated. Something which exists continuously causes the phenomenon of repetition, past present and future are spinning endlessly. So our life exists by this law and every creature is repeatedly being born and dying by the law of cause and effect. If something was born in the world but does not disappear by itself but tries to keep itself to exist. Something that happened to you has the same meaning. So if something is saved in your consciousness it does not disappear but it continuously acts by receiving the influence of it. According to what happened to you, present and future life will be different. So things in yourself which will stay forever will be different, that's why to make a relationship is something that people must be very careful of. When a person makes a relationship with a bad thing that will produce a bad thing but when a person makes a relationship with a good thing that will produce a good thing.

2) The Law of Cause and Effect
This is also the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma will exist in you by the cause and effect. As long as this Karma exists a human cannot be able to be free from the control of this Karma. If someone has a big Karma and if the person tries to live a good life and to do good things rather than not becoming a good self will ruin others as well and by doing things to become a good self will always make oneself distressed.

Because there should be a good source in yourself but if there is not that good source it is rare to occur good things in you. At this point only Enlightenment can influence you. Without Enlightenment you cannot disobey the direction of Karma which is in you. We can see phenomenon like this from our surroundings easily and it is very important for the life of human beings. Therefore nobody can get out of these phenomena without Enlightenment. The law of nature is strict. In mathematics two plus two cannot be one or five, things which exist are not changeable in truth as well as mathematics it never changes. That is why people say that the most important thing for living all our period of life is Enlightenment.

If someone does a good thing and makes a good result of 60% but makes a mistake of 40% with ignorance while the person was not aware, in this situation the person can control emotions and wrong temper and can fix something which is wrong if the person tries. But if someone makes Karma which is the result of ignorance by making a mistake of 60 % but good Karma of 40% in this situation it is very hard to do a good thing because the power of big Karma interferes rather than good self when the person is doing something. The reason why there are many problems that appear in our society is because the society doesn't accept about how Karma is made by things that happened to someone in the past.

How does Karma appear ?
Karma appears by things in you. How is Karma made ? Karma is made by words and actions,
Karma can be made by actions and words. What kind of Karma is made by words ? When someone says things that the person doesn't know then that will be the Karma. Telling lies is something that ruins oneself and others too. This is Karma which is made by words. That is why disciples who were taught rightly by Buddha wrote at the beginning of the script "I heard like this"

Written by Tathagata
Sam Han Lee
Deceased August 2008

Lumps don't appear on one's forehead after being 'enlightened' . . .
Karma is simply the act of making the right choices in life which eventually affect your future.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Hi I posted this here ..
Deceased August 2008 Anyway he had a lump on his forehead which he claimed was the ‘Third Eye’ which he claims appeared after Enlightenment ?

Too long a post to read. Tell us what is your question?
Oh, another enlightened brother!
Did he check with his doctor?
Claims are not facts, and lumps are lumps, not eyes.

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

Topics of the Bhikkhu's paper:

(1) On Kamma
(2) Every choice of ours has a tremendous potential for the future
(3) Kamma is like a seed
(4) Type of Kamma Based on the Time of Fruition
(5) Types of Kamma based on Ethical Grounds - Wholesome and Unwholesome Kamma
(6) Why is one intelligent and another dull minded? How is one born ugly and another beautiful?
(7) Survey of Buddhist Cosmology
(8) Mind is the architect of the whole universe
(9) We are not prisoners of our past
(10) Going beyond kamma - the ultimate aim of the Path

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

(3) Kamma is like a seed

First of all, not all Kamma has to ripen as a matter of necessity. Although it has the tendency to ripen, it does not ripen inevitably. Kamma is like a seed. Seeds ripen only if they meet the right conditions. But if they do not meet the right conditions they remain as seeds; if they are destroyed they can never ripen at all. Similarly, it can be said of kamma that kamma pushes for an opportunity to mature. It has a tendency to mature. If kamma finds the opportunity then it will bring its results. If it does not meet the right conditions it won't ripen. One kamma can even be destroyed by another kamma. So it is important to understand that our present way of life, our attitudes and conduct, can influence the way our past kammas mature. Some past kammas are so powerful that they have to come to fruition. We cannot escape them no matter what we do. But the greatest number of our past kammas are conditioned by the way we live now. If we live heedlessly, unwisely, we will give our past bad kammas the opportunity to ripen and this will either hinder the good kammas from producing their effects or else cancel out their good effects.

On the other hand, if we live wisely now, we will give our good kammas the opportunity to mature and bar out our bad kammas or weaken them, destroy them or prevent them from coming to fruition.

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

Another excellent source from Bhikkhu Payutto on kamma:

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/good_evil_beyond.pdf

"Kamma as a law of nature

Buddhism teaches that all things, both material and immaterial, are entirely subject to the direction of causes and are interdependent. This natural course of things is called in common terms “the law of nature,” and in the Pali language niyama, literally meaning “certainty” or “fixed way,” referring to the fact that specific determinants inevitably lead to corresponding results.
The laws of nature, although uniformly based on the principle of causal dependence, can nevertheless be sorted into different modes of relationship. The Buddhist commentaries describe five categories of natural law, or niyama."

From first chapter.

 

[Aupmanyav]

(2) Every choice of ours has a tremendous potential for the future
(6) Why is one intelligent and another dull minded? How is one born ugly and another beautiful?
(7) Survey of Buddhist Cosmology
(8) Mind is the architect of the whole universe

(2) will beg to differ. Kammas of Hoi Polloi like us have hardly any potential.
(6) Again, Kammas have nothing to do with the intelligence or beauty of anyone born. It depends on which of at least 40 million sperms reaches the ovum first.
(7) I suppose Wikipedia has better information.
(8) Mind is the creator of a person's observed universe.

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

(2) will beg to differ. Kammas of Hoi Polloi like us have hardly any potential.
(6) Again, Kammas have nothing to do with the intelligence or beauty of anyone born. It depends on which of at least 40 million sperms reaches the ovum first.
(7) I suppose Wikipedia has better information.
(8) Mind is the creator of a person's observed universe.

Responding only to chapter headings - lazy or busy? Here is some of Bhikkhu Bodhi's content on #2:

"When a willed action is performed it leaves a track in the mind, an imprint which can mark the beginning of a new mental tendency. It has a tendency to repeat itself, to reproduce itself, somewhat like a protozon, like an amoeba. As these actions multiply, they form our character. Our personality is nothing but a sum of all our willed actions, a cross-section of all our accumulated kamma. So by yielding first in simple ways to the unwholesome impulses of the mind, we build up little by little a greedy character, a hostile character, an aggressive character or a deluded character.

On the other hand, by resisting these unwholesome desires we replace them with their opposites, the wholesome qualities. Then we develop a generous character, a loving and a compassionate personality, or we can become wise and enlightened beings. As we change our habits gradually, we change our character, and as we change our character we change our total being, our whole world. That is why the Buddha emphasizes, so strongly the need to be mindful of every action, of every choice. For every choice of ours has a tremendous potential for the future."

 

[Aupmanyav]

Responding only to chapter headings - lazy or busy? Here is some of Bhikkhu Bodhi's content on #2:

"When a willed action is performed it leaves a track in the mind, an imprint which can mark the beginning of a new mental tendency. It has a tendency to repeat itself, to reproduce itself, somewhat like a protozon, like an amoeba. As these actions multiply, they form our character. Our personality is nothing but a sum of all our willed actions, a cross-section of all our accumulated kamma. So by yielding first in simple ways to the unwholesome impulses of the mind, we build up little by little a greedy character, a hostile character, an aggressive character or a deluded character.

On the other hand, by resisting these unwholesome desires we replace them with their opposites, the wholesome qualities. Then we develop a generous character, a loving and a compassionate personality, or we can become wise and enlightened beings. As we change our habits gradually, we change our character, and as we change our character we change our total being, our whole world. That is why the Buddha emphasizes, so strongly the need to be mindful of every action, of every choice. For every choice of ours has a tremendous potential for the future."

All that is nice and true for a person. But ultimately, all actions go to the dustbin of history, very few survive. Qublai and Genghis, Hitler and Pol Pot, are examples. Some survive to create hate and war, like the Abrahamic religions.

 

[Nicholas Weeks]

All that is nice and true for a person. But ultimately, all actions go to the dustbin of history, very few survive. Qublai and Genghis, Hitler and Pol Pot, are examples. Some survive to create hate and war, like the Abrahamic religions.

Make up your mind, "all actions go to the dustbin" yet some evil ones survive, yet "all that is true for a person" ??

The first paragraph quoted says plainly that "unwholesome impulses" lead toward evil results. The second one says by "resisting" the evil tendencies we can become wise! Both potentials are there - for evil or good. There is no "dustbin"- only a personality that is the "sum of all our willed actions".
All Buddhas taught Dhammapada 183 "never do bad, always do good, purify the mind."