Karma. Once An Action Has Been Performed, There Is No Escaping!

[rockyysdt]

I was interested by a Buddhist author's explanation of the types & effects of karmas which he explained as follows:

• Among the three physical non virtues, killing is weightier than stealing, which is weightier than sexual misconduct.
  

• Among the four verbal non virtues, lying is weightier than divisive talk, which is weightier than harsh speech, which is weightier than senseless chatter.
  

• Among the three mental non virtues, wrong view is weightier than harmful intent, which is weightier than covetousness.
  

Other factors which influence the weight further are:

• The intensity of your motivation.
  
• Your habituation over a long time.
  
• Whether any action harms others who contribute to society.
  
• How keen you are to those actions throughout your life.
  

He also indicated that the weightiest karmas ripen first followed by karmas aroused at the time of death (recommending avoidance of whaling & crying by mourners prior to death), then habituated karmas followed by those that formed earliest.

The scary part is that once you've performed an action there is no escaping:

Even in a hundred eons.

A karma does not perish.

When the circumstance & the time arrive.

Beings will surely feel its effects.

Whether you have committed ill deeds

Or are committing them,

You will not escape suffering

Even if you tried to run away.

No matter where you stay, there is no place

That karma has not created,

Neither in the sky or in the ocean,

Nor even in the midst of mountains.

Although effects can be avoided or diminished (depending on their nature) through purification, by engaging the four forces of contrition, engaging in virtuous acts to counter the original act, intending to refrain from such acts in the future, & by seeking intention to become enlightened.

I wonder what he meant by the mental non virtue "wrong view"?

Could "wrong view" mean "living in ignorance &/or possessing a lack of awareness of what is correct"?

If so, without some level of self awareness & mindfulness, as most of us are ignorant & egocentric, we're destined to rack up endless karma.

[Xangsamhua]

According to Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, wrong view is a deluded mental awareness, together with covetousness, harmful thought, anger and jealousy, inter alia.

All non-virtue arises from delusions, and delusions arise from four causes:

- the root (self-grasping)

- the seed (a cause arising from the continuity of similar delusions in the past)

- the object (any contaminated object of awareness), and

- inappropriate attention (a mental factor that focuses on the object in an inappropriate way).

For a delusion to arise all four causes are necessary, hence it is not as drastic as "living in ignorance &/or possessing a lack of awareness of what is correct", which would, as you say, have us all drowning undeservedly in a karmic whirlpool.

(Geshe Kelsang Gyatso: Understanding the Mind, 2002, p. 38)

[Gigabyte]

"Among the three physical non virtues, killing is weightier than stealing, which is weightier than sexual misconduct."

Are you saying that raping an underage girl has less consequences than stealing a cherry from the supermarket? The cherry can potentially be returned to the supermarket owner to be sold again; different story for the girl.

Just my down-to-earth question...

[rockyysdt]

"Among the three physical non virtues, killing is weightier than stealing, which is weightier than sexual misconduct."

Are you saying that raping an underage girl has less consequences than stealing a cherry from the supermarket? The cherry can potentially be returned to the supermarket owner to be sold again; different story for the girl.

Just my down-to-earth question...

Obviously your example has far greater consequence than stealing.

Remember that any physical virtue will have greater or less weight due to other factors.

The force, violence & harm involved in your example would elevate the consequences of such action.

[thequaife]

I've been doing so many bad things. I am not trying to escape my karma but i would like to do make it better.

Can you advise what can i do?

[Gigabyte]

"Among the three physical non virtues, killing is weightier than stealing, which is weightier than sexual misconduct."

Are you saying that raping an underage girl has less consequences than stealing a cherry from the supermarket? The cherry can potentially be returned to the supermarket owner to be sold again; different story for the girl.

Just my down-to-earth question...

Obviously your example has far greater consequence than stealing.

Remember that any physical virtue will have greater or less weight due to other factors.

The force, violence & harm involved in your example would elevate the consequences of such action.

Thanks for your clarifications, and I do believe that you are right. I just can't take away from my mind that my daughter's cousin (age 18) was recently raped by her uncle, and looking at the mess left behind it seems that this "sexual misconduct" is a far greater deal than just stealing a fruit from a supermarket (or even killing from some people's opinion right now).

So maybe the wording used to rank the three misconducts should be re-phrased to give the chance/opportunity to interpret them in a real-life contextual situation. From a nerdy point of view, this is relativity: whatever consequences there might be, it's always related to another event. Examples:

- The speed you travel is relative to the speed of the person observing your speed (basic)

- Your level of generosity has nothing to do with how much you give, but how much is left for you

- Stealing food that would otherwise get rotten and wasted has less consequences than a dead sentence for a person dying from starvation

- And so on...

Anyway, thanks for the post, this is healthy food for thoughts.

[phetaroi]

The part that I found most interesting was:

"The scary part is that once you've performed an action there is no escaping:

Even in a hundred eons.

A karma does not perish.

When the circumstance & the time arrive.

Beings will surely feel its effects.

Whether you have committed ill deeds

Or are committing them,

You will not escape suffering

Even if you tried to run away.

No matter where you stay, there is no place

That karma has not created,

Neither in the sky or in the ocean,

Nor even in the midst of mountains."

Now, logically, I have no problem with the concept of karma. We have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and then pay the price for it. But we have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and apparently not pay a price for it. How do we know that we always pay a karmic price for a bad deed?

Now please don't just tell me because the Dhamma says so.

My Christian friends say the Bible is the world of God because the Bible says it is.

My Muslim friends say the Koran is the world of God because the Koran says it is.

It seems like another one of those things -- and there's nothing wrong with this (in my view) -- where this is based on faith.

[samuibeachcomber]

its all a bit heavy for me,and delving into it and continually thinking about it could be very stressful and shorten one's life anyway.hopefully knowing whats right and wrong,a conscience can go along way too, as a deterrant,the things,hopefully our parents taught us.

[rockyysdt]

The part that I found most interesting was:

"The scary part is that once you've performed an action there is no escaping:

Even in a hundred eons.

A karma does not perish.

When the circumstance & the time arrive.

Beings will surely feel its effects.

Now, logically, I have no problem with the concept of karma. We have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and then pay the price for it. But we have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and apparently not pay a price for it. How do we know that we always pay a karmic price for a bad deed?

Now please don't just tell me because the Dhamma says so.

My Christian friends say the Bible is the world of God because the Bible says it is.

My Muslim friends say the Koran is the world of God because the Koran says it is.

It seems like another one of those things -- and there's nothing wrong with this (in my view) -- where this is based on faith.

Well, the Buddha did say this:

Do not accept any of my words on faith,

Believing them just because I said them.

Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,

And critically examines his product for authenticity.

Only accept what passes the test

By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

The Buddha

He also provided the tools to allow followers to find out for themselves. Without personal experience all this is just talk. Putting into practice the Four Noble Truths & Eight Fold Path may provide your answer.

I think we have the choice to either work towards improving our lives & discovering the answers for ourselves through practice, or follow Buddhism as another faith based religion with its customs & superstitions.

NB: If one dwells at the faith level, doubt will always creep in leaving one stranded with no progress achieved.

[fabianfred]

Wrong view in Theravada Buddhism is seen as having the incorrect view that there is no law of karma, no re-birth, no 31 realms.....

I've been doing so many bad things. I am not trying to escape my karma but i would like to do make it better.

Can you advise what can i do?

As the Buddha compared a spoonful of salt in a cup of water being almost undrinkable...but the same amount of salt in a river as being unnoticeable...... so we can also dilute our negative karma by keeping the five precepts thus avoiding creating new negative karma and at the same time create positive karma by the ten ways of making merit. If we consider past karma as enemies with bills waiting to be paid we can run so fast that they do not get a chance to catch us, especially if we practice Vipassana meditation which is the strongest karma of all and is like we jump onto a jet-plane and escape our enemies by reaching the safety of stream-entry and soon after that escaping all karma by escaping rebirth altogether.

Now, logically, I have no problem with the concept of karma. We have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and then pay the price for it. But we have all seen people (including ourselves) do something wrong and apparently not pay a price for it. How do we know that we always pay a karmic price for a bad deed?

Do not forget that only very weighty karma has a chance to give an immediate effect....most will only get the chance in later lives or upon death. If we plant rice today we cannot expect to be able to eat it tomorrow...but must wait several months for it to ripen and be ready.

[fabianfred]

Do not forget that the second precept also covers cheating....so much suffering is caused by unscrupulous businesses and people which destroy people's lives. An employer who underpays his employees or is late in paying them....... a seller who overcharges and makes too much profit....etc.

In modern days it is considered normal business practice to cheat the customer.....in order to get rich quickly.....creating much suffering ........and karma for the ignorant.

Any action which causes suffering to any being is to be avoided...no matter which category of precept it can fall under.

Naturally raping someone is less of an act that killing them. Some forms of lying could get an innocent person put into prison which could cause them and their family much suffering....maybe less than an act of rape.

It is also weightier karma when the being harmed is in a more spiritually advanced state. An action committed against an arahant bears fruit very quickly compared with the same against an ordinary person.

A place like a meditation temple may have several people who have reached an ariya state...but who can tell who they are...and perhaps they do not know themselves...... so we must be careful not to have ill-will towards any.

[rodcourt49]

"Among the three physical non virtues, killing is weightier than stealing, which is weightier than sexual misconduct."

Are you saying that raping an underage girl has less consequences than stealing a cherry from the supermarket? The cherry can potentially be returned to the supermarket owner to be sold again; different story for the girl.

Just my down-to-earth question...

Confucus say..cheery can be returned to the supermarket but not to the girl..

[fabianfred]

Confucus say..cherry can be returned to the supermarket but not to the girl..

If the girl considers that her whole life has been ruined by being raped and allows the act to do so then it is also her own ignorance of the truth which is part of the problem. If we consider that we have all had countless births in the infinite past...then we have all experienced being raped and killed countless times.

The main problem is if our present ignorance of the truth is such that we do not believe in rebirth and karma, and so we might live under the misunderstanding that we only have a single life... a single chance. This ignorance could be because we follow a religion which does not teach the truth about rebirth and karma...or maybe we are 'modern' and 'scientific' and believe none of that 'hocus-pocus' about heaven or hel_l or religion etc.

The Buddha said that the main reason we have been stuck in Samsara for so long is because of our 'Ignorance' of the truth.

[phetaroi]

...delving into it and continually thinking about it could be very stressful and shorten one's life anyway.hopefully knowing whats right and wrong,a conscience can go along way too, as a deterrant,the things,hopefully our parents taught us.

You know, that's a very interesting interesting way of looking at it!

[phetaroi]

Well, the Buddha did say this:

Do not accept any of my words on faith,

Believing them just because I said them.

Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,

And critically examines his product for authenticity.

Only accept what passes the test

By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

The Buddha

He also provided the tools to allow followers to find out for themselves. Without personal experience all this is just talk. Putting into practice the Four Noble Truths & Eight Fold Path may provide your answer.

I think we have the choice to either work towards improving our lives & discovering the answers for ourselves through practice, or follow Buddhism as another faith based religion with its customs & superstitions.

NB: If one dwells at the faith level, doubt will always creep in leaving one stranded with no progress achieved.

Rocky...you have just summarized my belief in a nutshell. It reminded me of my old hiking days. Best bet to stay on the main trail most of the time. Of course, there was the time when I discovered a rattlesnake that wouldn't budge right in the middle of a narrow part of the trail and had to take a side trail before getting back on the main trail. And the time the storm had temporarily washed out the main trail. That time when I went around on a side trail I discovered a lovely viewpoint that was well worth the effort.

Great post, Rocky!

[phetaroi]

Wrong view in Theravada Buddhism is seen as having the incorrect view that there is no law of karma, no re-birth, no 31 realms.....

Do not forget that only very weighty karma has a chance to give an immediate effect....most will only get the chance in later lives or upon death. If we plant rice today we cannot expect to be able to eat it tomorrow...but must wait several months for it to ripen and be ready.

So what do you think my punishment for not believing in 31 realms will be? Are you saying that, like Catholicism, Buddhism is a fear-based religion?

So in Mr. Taber's history class in 7th grade...back in 1961...I accidentally saw the answer to a test question on another student's paper. Since it was an accident, that was not the wrongful act. But then I wrote the answer -- which I didn't know -- on my test paper. You really think that's going to come back to haunt me? Do you think it will purgatory or hel_l?

[phetaroi]

Confucus say..cherry can be returned to the supermarket but not to the girl..

If the girl considers that her whole life has been ruined by being raped and allows the act to do so then it is also her own ignorance of the truth which is part of the problem. If we consider that we have all had countless births in the infinite past...then we have all experienced being raped and killed countless times.

The main problem is if our present ignorance of the truth is such that we do not believe in rebirth and karma, and so we might live under the misunderstanding that we only have a single life... a single chance. This ignorance could be because we follow a religion which does not teach the truth about rebirth and karma...or maybe we are 'modern' and 'scientific' and believe none of that 'hocus-pocus' about heaven or hel_l or religion etc.

The Buddha said that the main reason we have been stuck in Samsara for so long is because of our 'Ignorance' of the truth.

Fred, lighten up. He made a joke.

[Xangsamhua]

So in Mr. Taber's history class in 7th grade...back in 1961...I accidentally saw the answer to a test question on another student's paper. Since it was an accident, that was not the wrongful act. But then I wrote the answer -- which I didn't know -- on my test paper. You really think that's going to come back to haunt me? Do you think it will purgatory or hel_l?

Carpe diem!

No wrongful intention involved. You'd be a bit silly to intentionally write a wrong answer when you (now) know the right one, wouldn't you?

[rockyysdt]

Well, the Buddha did say this:

Do not accept any of my words on faith,

Believing them just because I said them.

Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,

And critically examines his product for authenticity.

Only accept what passes the test

By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

The Buddha

He also provided the tools to allow followers to find out for themselves. Without personal experience all this is just talk. Putting into practice the Four Noble Truths & Eight Fold Path may provide your answer.

I think we have the choice to either work towards improving our lives & discovering the answers for ourselves through practice, or follow Buddhism as another faith based religion with its customs & superstitions.

NB: If one dwells at the faith level, doubt will always creep in leaving one stranded with no progress achieved.

Rocky...you have just summarized my belief in a nutshell. It reminded me of my old hiking days. Best bet to stay on the main trail most of the time. Of course, there was the time when I discovered a rattlesnake that wouldn't budge right in the middle of a narrow part of the trail and had to take a side trail before getting back on the main trail. And the time the storm had temporarily washed out the main trail. That time when I went around on a side trail I discovered a lovely viewpoint that was well worth the effort.

Great post, Rocky!

P.

It was my subtle way of suggesting that you should have a crack at genuine practice.

No more excuses.

But you've not bitten!

Remember, mindful Buddhists are compassionate of others who may face future suffering.

[rockyysdt]

So what do you think my punishment for not believing in 31 realms will be? Are you saying that, like Catholicism, Buddhism is a fear-based religion?

.

I think Fred is suggesting that if you live your life as though it's the only one, you may end up making poor decisions which will have karmic impact later.

If you don't believe in re birth & realms of existence then your decisions in this life might be short sighted or, short term in benefit.

[Xangsamhua]

The main problem is if our present ignorance of the truth is such that we do not believe in rebirth and karma, and so we might live under the misunderstanding that we only have a single life... a single chance. This ignorance could be because we follow a religion which does not teach the truth about rebirth and karma...or maybe we are 'modern' and 'scientific' and believe none of that 'hocus-pocus' about heaven or hel_l or religion etc.

The Buddha said that the main reason we have been stuck in Samsara for so long is because of our 'Ignorance' of the truth.

Fred, I don't think "ignorance" is the opposite of "belief". I think you're saying that "belief" equals "right view" and "ignorance" = "wrong view", and that this is the same as "wrong belief". However, many people may have a right belief in something, but based on a wrong view. For example, I might believe that Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia - an objectively valid belief - simply because my mother told me it was, and she'd heard it from my aunt. This requires authentication.

To believe something purely on the basis of someone with authority may be either wrong view, if authentication is required from a sufficiently verified source, or perhaps from one's own experience, or right view when there is insufficient reason to check out something further, e.g. if the doctor tells me my cholesterol's higher than average.

Right belief may not be central to life-affirming and wholesome religion. Intentionality and a desire for all beings to be happy may be much more affirming to both the individual and the community. After all, having a belief is a condition, not an intention. One believes what one believes, not what one would like to believe.

I would like to have a genuine belief that, after death, I will meet my parents and my sister who have gone before me, but I don't have it, and it makes me sad. I would also like to believe in rebirth and a karmic law that continues from birth to birth, but I don't have it as yet. I can listen to the teachers and the experiences of others and take on a degree of acceptance, but it doesn't amount to a firm "belief", which is, after all, a fairly absolute condition, rather like being pregnant.

Even an apparently heavily faith-based religion, Roman Catholicism, does not require people to "believe", but to "assent" (Catholic Encyclopedia) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm The Church "believes"; individual Catholics simply "assent" on the ground that the Church in its 2000-year history of experience, study and reflection has a claim on belief that transcends the limited capacity of the individual. Recent attempts by some in the Vatican to replace the "We believe" of the Nicene Creed recitation on Sundays to "I believe" have met with strong opposition, but I've lost touch with where that debate is at.

[fabianfred]

Confucus say..cherry can be returned to the supermarket but not to the girl..

If the girl considers that her whole life has been ruined by being raped and allows the act to do so then it is also her own ignorance of the truth which is part of the problem. If we consider that we have all had countless births in the infinite past...then we have all experienced being raped and killed countless times.

The main problem is if our present ignorance of the truth is such that we do not believe in rebirth and karma, and so we might live under the misunderstanding that we only have a single life... a single chance. This ignorance could be because we follow a religion which does not teach the truth about rebirth and karma...or maybe we are 'modern' and 'scientific' and believe none of that 'hocus-pocus' about heaven or hel_l or religion etc.

The Buddha said that the main reason we have been stuck in Samsara for so long is because of our 'Ignorance' of the truth.

Fred, lighten up. He made a joke.

I know it was a joke...I even corrected his spelling of cherry....

[fabianfred]

In the Buddhist context Ignorance means not knowing the truth or not believing the truth or having an incorrect understanding of the truth.

Not knowing the truth ....the Dhamma..... not knowing about rebirth and karma and about the way karma causes us to take rebirth in different realms...to stay stuck in samsara......that there is an escape from the prison of samsara....is why we have been stuck in samsara for so long.

[Xangsamhua]

In the Buddhist context Ignorance means not knowing the truth or not believing the truth or having an incorrect understanding of the truth.

Not knowing the truth ....the Dhamma..... not knowing about rebirth and karma and about the way karma causes us to take rebirth in different realms...to stay stuck in samsara......that there is an escape from the prison of samsara....is why we have been stuck in samsara for so long.

OK, so ignorance = wrong view, or arises from it. Wrong view arises from causes that may be environmental (e.g. the time and location one is born in), endemic (e.g. intellectual impairment), or karmic, and perhaps others.

Wrong belief may arise from wrong view. It could also arise from right view and right action, e.g. an earnest attempt to discover and validate new information based on what information is already available and the resources we have to work with.

Wrong or right belief still seem different, to me, from wrong or right view. Perhaps this is nitpicking, but its importance rests in how we view people who don't believe what we believe. Are they in a condition of culpable ignorance or are they just victims of circumstance (invincible ignorance, as the catechisms used to say - still do, I think)?

Could it be that right view and right belief are karmic inheritances? If so, how do we negate the karmic consequences? I would think by right action, right speech, right livelihood, etc. within the limits of our ability and resources.

[Gigabyte]

f the girl considers that her whole life has been ruined by being raped and allows the act to do so then it is also her own ignorance of the truth which is part of the problem. /snip

Hello fabianfred,

Could you please clarify two points; even if your reply was an answer to someone making a joke, I still have some misunderstanding about your words.

1) "If the girl considers that her whole life has been ruined raped and allows the act to do so" (I assume here that your meaning is that she allows the act of considering her life ruined rather than allowing a man to rape her - I hope I'm right on that one - sorry, I'm not English native)

Well, there might be other consequences to this rape that are well not under her control. For example, if she gets pregnant or get infected by a STD (which she can eventually also transmit). I know that you will say that now it's her problem because she is allowing an unwanted child or a deadly disease to ruin her life. Well, her life might be ruined after all in a down-to-heart thinking and "real life". Anyway, I still think that this sexual misconduct has a heavier consequence than stealing a cherry, and back to my question to why try to sort things in a certain order if they can't be compared? You might want to compare 2 pommelo with 4 oranges; the oranges have more importance in terms of quantity, but the pommelos have more importance in terms of weight. Even if they are all fruits, can you really compare pommelos with oranges and sort them without criteria? Then can I say that from the three fruits, the cherry is heavier than the pommelo, which is heavier than the orange?

2) "...then it is also her own ignorance of the truth which is part of the problem." - What is the truth? She doesn't know what is your truth but she knows her own truth: she was the victim of a sexual misconduct by a trusted family member and she now lives in the fear of being pregnant or infected by a STD. By the way, her truth is what she believes, which is catholism. Not much room for karma and re-incarnation in there.

In my own humble opinion, your truth is what you decide to believe. Everybody truth is what we decide to believe.

[phetaroi]

So in Mr. Taber's history class in 7th grade...back in 1961...I accidentally saw the answer to a test question on another student's paper. Since it was an accident, that was not the wrongful act. But then I wrote the answer -- which I didn't know -- on my test paper. You really think that's going to come back to haunt me? Do you think it will purgatory or hel_l?

Carpe diem!

No wrongful intention involved. You'd be a bit silly to intentionally write a wrong answer when you (now) know the right one, wouldn't you?

Well, that was actually my logic, too...and long before I began thinking about Buddhism.

[fabianfred]

Since this is the Buddhism forum I write with that in mind.

The Buddha taught...the Dhamma........ which according to the Buddha is the Truth...the Ultimate truth...the real truth.....not what is considered to be/or understood to be/or believed to be the truth. There can only be one Ultimate truth....not many.

As a student and follower of the Buddha I have complete confidence that what he taught is true.

I do not claim my truth, or anybody else's truth....just what i am certain is the truth...

It would be common amongst those who do not believe in an afterlife...or rebirth and karma....to think that their life has been ruined by being raped....their one and only life...one and only chance....and this would cause them much suffering.

If, on the other hand, that person understood the truth....that we all have many many lives, and that there must have been a reason for their suffering the rape....karma.....then they would be far better able to accept it and recover from it and not feel that their whole life has been ruined by it.

[phetaroi]

Well, the Buddha did say this:

Do not accept any of my words on faith,

Believing them just because I said them.

Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns,

And critically examines his product for authenticity.

Only accept what passes the test

By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

The Buddha

He also provided the tools to allow followers to find out for themselves. Without personal experience all this is just talk. Putting into practice the Four Noble Truths & Eight Fold Path may provide your answer.

I think we have the choice to either work towards improving our lives & discovering the answers for ourselves through practice, or follow Buddhism as another faith based religion with its customs & superstitions.

NB: If one dwells at the faith level, doubt will always creep in leaving one stranded with no progress achieved.

Rocky...you have just summarized my belief in a nutshell. It reminded me of my old hiking days. Best bet to stay on the main trail most of the time. Of course, there was the time when I discovered a rattlesnake that wouldn't budge right in the middle of a narrow part of the trail and had to take a side trail before getting back on the main trail. And the time the storm had temporarily washed out the main trail. That time when I went around on a side trail I discovered a lovely viewpoint that was well worth the effort.

Great post, Rocky!

P.

It was my subtle way of suggesting that you should have a crack at genuine practice.

No more excuses.

But you've not bitten!

Remember, mindful Buddhists are compassionate of others who may face future suffering.

Rocky, let me make a few things clear.

The Four Noble Truths --

1. There is suffering (dukkha). I am in complete agreement with this. I have tested it for myself. I have found it to be true.

2. There is a cause of suffering (craving). I am in complete agreement with this. I have tested it for myself. I have found it to be true.

3. There is the cessation of suffering (nirvana). I cannot test this at this time. I can believe it is possible. I am not sure it is desirable; a.k.a., I am not convinced that all suffering is bad and should be eliminated.

4. There is the eightfold path leading to the cessation of suffering. See my comment on number 3.

The Eightfold Path --

Right Thought. I believe that I fully understand my purpose(s) in following the teachings of the Buddha, and I have developed a structure of belief that encompasses my overall belief in the wisdom of Buddha, as well as beliefs I hold that are not Buddhist. I know what my outlook is about the world and world issues and I know how I fit into my outlook. I do not believe in every word of the Dhamma for a variety of reasons, including that Buddha did not write it, we don't really know who wrote it or when, or how faithful the finished product is compared to what Buddha actually taught. I refuse to fall into the trap that Buddhists often fall into (every word of the Dhamma is "the truth"), that Christians fall into ("the Bible is the word of God because it says it is the word of God"), and that Muslims fall into ("the Koran is the word of God because it says it is the word of God"). Guess what...two of those groups are 100% wrong. I am not going to be childish and assume and proclaim that the group I associate with most is the group who owns the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Right Speech. It is a concept that I practice intently. I may fail sometimes -- and certainly have been known to get carried away online -- but this is something I work very hard to adhere to.

Right Action. In the fundamental ethical behaviors of this, I do extremely well. I don't destroy living beings with a very few exceptions that are not reasonable (e.g., no snake is going to live in my house). I do not steal; period. I have perfected myself and for a very long time now I have refrained from sexual misconduct. I do not lie, unless you want to count the little white lies that are a kindness to others. I do not drink and have never in my entire life taken drugs.

Right Livelihood. In no way have I ever intentionally harmed anyone in my professional life. In fact, quite the opposite. I saw my career as a teacher and a school administrator as "a calling" and held myself to the highest standards. Many years ago at an embassy reception in Washington...where I felt very out of place...an ambassador asked me, "And what do you do?" "I'm just a teacher." "What do you mean just a teacher? What could be more noble?" And that's exactly how I did see my profession and how I operated within it. I saw my profession as a way to live a moral code.

Right Effort. I work very hard to remove negative thinking with positive thinking. One of the concepts outside of Buddhism in which I have a great deal of faith is "the power of positive thinking". I think it compliments Buddhism.

Right Mindfulness & Right Concentration. While I don't meditate as often as I should, I make every effort to focus my concentration on my body, my emotions, and how I think in times of challenge. I have been able to overcome reliance on an antidepressant drug by doing so. I have been fairly successful at reducing the frequency of labile hypertension by doing so. I accept my age and the limitations it is placing on me.

Right Understanding. I have left right understanding until last, "out of order" from the normal. If to be a "good Buddhist" I am required to believe everything in the Dhamma or other Buddhist teachings, then I will never be a good Buddhist. There are things in the Buddhist belief system that I believe very strongly. There things that I am open to, although not yet convinced about. And there are things I will never know until "the end"...and who knows then if we will be aware. I do not just accept any Buddhist belief. To give you two very specific areas where I am far from any decision -- non-permanence of the self and karma...although more the workings of karma.

And every time I have a Buddhist on this site tell me that I'm on the wrong path, I remind myself that the other half of the Buddhist world (the Mahayana half) things that person is on the wrong path. Every Christian disagrees with them. Every Muslim disagrees with them. Virtually the whole world disagrees with them. And yet, I like to believe that every...hmmmmmmmm...culture owns some part of "the truth". For me, it is the difference between exclusion and inclusion, a concept which I believe ought to be part of the Nine-fold Buddhist Path.

[KarenBravo]

I've been doing so many bad things. I am not trying to escape my karma but i would like to do make it better.

Can you advise what can i do?

Become an atheist?

[sabaijai]

Rocky, several threads have addressed this topic in the past. Perhaps the most directly relevant thread is this one:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Extinguishin...l&hl=vipaka

There are a few more -- auggest searching for 'vipaka.' At any rate, let's add to the above thread so that we can keep all discussion of whether karma can be cured, fixed or erased in one place. That way points that have already been made can be built upon without things getting tedious for long-time members. Thanks.