Understanding Karma in Buddhism
Learn more about Karma in my article here: alanpeto.com/buddhism/underst...
There are three types of Karma as identified by the Buddha:
1. Karma generated by the body (your actions)
2. Karma generated by speech (your words)
3. Karma generated by the mind (your thoughts)
This means any actions you intentionally do with your body, speech, or mind will create karmic results.
• Wholesome karmic actions are based upon generosity, compassion, kindness, sympathy, mindfulness, or wisdom
• Unwholesome karmic actions are based upon greed, hatred, and delusion
• Neutral (or “Ineffective”) karmic actions have no impact and include unintentional actions (such as sleeping, breathing, eating, unintentionally stepping on an ant, and killing it, etc.)
Buddhists do not use the words “good” or “bad”/”evil” because karma does not operate within those terms. “Wholesome” and “Unwholesome” are routinely used instead because they relate to what is “wholesome” (skillful/intelligent) and “unwholesome” (unskillful/unintelligent) in relation to progressing towards the path of enlightenment.
There are four types of karmic results:
• Negative Karma: Actions that only produce negative karmic effects
• Positive Karma: Actions that only produce positive karmic effects
• Both Negative and Positive Karma: Actions that produce some negative, and some positive, karmic effects
• Neither Negative or Positive Karma: Also known as “karma without outflows” is the type of karma of enlightened beings (such as the Buddha or one of his enlightened disciples)
And remember, it’s what you intentionally do that matters. For example, if you unintentionally stepped on spider, there is neither wholesome or negative karma regarding that action (“Neutral” karmic action).
The Buddhist focus on Karma is about:
1. Stopping or reducing the amount of unwholesome karma we generate (because it prevents us from reaching enlightenment, which keeps us in the cycle of birth and death)
2. Generating more wholesome karma (because it is skillful which helps us progress on the path towards enlightenment, which will eventually lead us out of the cycle of birth and death)
3. Stop creating “any” karma so we can end our cycle of rebirth (enlightened beings have “karma without outflows”, and thus rebirth ends for them)
There are three things to know about karmic actions:
1. Karmic causes do not disappear: When you intentionally create karmic actions (wholesome or unwholesome), there is no off switch
2. No canceling: Creating positive karma won’t cancel out negative karma (e.g., murdering someone, then trying to cancel that negative karmic action by helping an old woman cross the street)
3. Karmic results come either quickly or slowly: Just like a plant, they can sprout fruit quickly, in a few months, or in years, depending on the conditions, but they always are focused on rebirth
It is important to note that “Karma” is not some retribution by a God or gods, some cosmic force, or being that decides what punishment you get. Karma is entirely under your control if you understand it and change your ways.
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A great explanation. I guess if you can change frames when you talk (using an editing software) then the KZread algorithm will show your video to more new people. Because I think KZread algorithm is tracking those frames, published time, intro clip etc to show the video to new viewers. And there are a lot of important but unpopular buddhist stories which most most people don't know. And there are supernatural incidents, different types of living beings in some stories. And some stories are like beautiful movies with a lot of important things to learn. And those stories will be helpful for creative people to imagine and develop a lot of helpful things. I hope you will think about it too Mr. Alan. Thank you.
Its finals week and I appreciate you
Excellent Explanation
@AlanPeto
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you! 🙏
Great video! I love your channel.
@AlanPeto
Ай бұрын
Thank you so much!
LOVE these videos. Thank you
@AlanPeto
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you Mark! 🙏
Someone's good and bad actions in one of their life's, be lived to decided what is to happn to them in their next life.... 🙏🙏🙏
Given that the aim is to reach neutrality, what does an excess of wholesome karma do? Does it need to be burned off somehow?
@AlanPeto
Жыл бұрын
Wholesome karma still binds you to rebirth and samsara, but it is the right kind that leads you to enlightenment. This is what you want to create. But after you become enlightened, you no longer create wholesome or unwholesome karma (both bind you to rebirth). Instead you create katana “without remainders” meaning your actions are that of an enlightened being.
So have children today who are starving through out the world been bad in a previous life?
@AlanPeto
6 ай бұрын
Thank you for the question. This may be challenging to explain in a short comment reply, so let me know if any questions. Someone in this world right now (you or me) are not a reincarnation of someone in the past. There is no soul/self/me/"I", in Buddhism. That's a construct, essentially, of our mind/several factors. We are a temporary conditioned thing that exists impermanently. Karma is the catalyst for new existences and is what continues on. However, Karma is not a being/god/cosmic force that determines if someone gets punished, etc. "You" are not being punished. "You" are simply the recipient of this Karma. No different than the wind or sea which has no malice. According to Buddhism, Karma has an impact on this life. So, yes, we are a result of past Karma. The Buddha simply talks about this as a natural fact for our understanding, but his focus is on what to do next. That is the transformation of Karma that results in enlightenment and revealing our true state of Nirvana that does not create Karma that binds one to rebirth. Buddhism focuses on the liberating path. While we cannot change the fact that we have this Karma given to us, we can take actionable steps. There are karmic seeds that have not "bloomed". Do we water then and allow any possible unhowlesome ones to bloom, or do we instead water the wholesome ones leading to liberation? Buddhism says let's do the latter. For the karmic seeds that bloomed, what now? We focus on our actions (Karma) now. We focus on wholesome karma through good deeds, acts, and thoughts, for instance. By following the eightfold path. By observing the precepts. Etc. This doesn't mean that karma that already bloomed doesn't impact us, but we still have to move forward. One of the Buddha's most famous monks was once a mass murder (Angulimala - look up his story). His karma was very unholesome. Long story short, he eventually renounced and became a monk under the Buddha - completely transformed. Now, he was generating good karma. In-fact, he is revered to this day for the amazing things he did as a monk. Yet, his unwholesome karma eventually caught up with him and he was killed by the families of those he had killed before. Even then, he was grateful to have been able to focus on generating wholesome karma. Now, your question was about children starving and they are obviously not like angulimala who, as an adult, created that karma. But these children didn't do anything either. Nor did Karma single them out. In a broader answer to your question, Buddhists focus on aleviating the suffering of others (even if it is not at the level of Buddhist enlightenment). So, giving to relief organizations that would, for instance, provide food and support to starving children, is very important, wholesome karma, and merit generating. In turn, it is hoped that the recipient would also be able to be on the path to enlightenment.
Important‼️ To not generate any karma is consequence of becoming an arhant not cause
@AlanPeto
4 ай бұрын
They have “karma without outflows” meaning they still generate karma, but not that of which keeps you in samsara (well, for the arhats at the final stage at least).