Chapter 22 Chapter 20 Operation of Karma

The vast sea of ​​life and death, the desolate sea people; Self-industry gathers together, and the cycle of reincarnation is endless. ——"Nalanda" The operation process of karma has extremely complicated laws, and only the Buddha can fully understand it.To gain a clear understanding of this difficult problem, one must become proficient in the process of thought development (cittavithi) according to the Abhidhamma. The heart or consciousness, the central part of beings, plays an important role in the intricate fabric of the human being.It is this mind that defiles or purifies sentient beings.In fact, the heart is both a man's worst enemy and his best friend.

When a person falls into a dreamless sleep, he experiences more or less a negative rather than a positive awareness.This perceived consciousness is similar to that of a person during incarnation or death.In Buddhist philosophy, this consciousness is called - bhavanga - rebirth consciousness, which means the life factor, which is an indispensable cause for existence.This consciousness arises and ceases in an instant, like a stream of water, which flows endlessly. We experience this awareness not only in dreamless sleep, but also upon waking.In the course of our life, we experience bhavanga momentarily more than any other consciousness.Thus, bhavanga becomes an indispensable conditioned origination in life.Some scholars refer to this bhavanga, the regenerated consciousness, as subconsciousness.According to the Dictionary of Philosophy, the subconscious mind is "what some psychologists and philosophers call the conscious space beneath the conscious body."

In the view of western philosophers, subconsciousness and consciousness coexist.But according to Buddhist philosophy, the two consciousnesses do not co-exist.Buddhist philosophy believes that consciousness is focused on a certain state, whether spiritual or material. Generally speaking, we experience a specific consciousness all the time.The time limit of this conscious thinking is a thinking moment (moment).Each moment leads to the next moment.It is difficult for human knowledge to realize the momentary arising and passing away of these consciousnesses.Some commentators may say that in the time of one lightning bolt, there may be hundreds of billions of instants arising.

Bhavanga - Reborn consciousness is not a sequential state.It is also different from what FW Mill calls subconsciousness.In Western philosophy, it seems that there is no such thing as bhavanga—reborn consciousness.Perhaps we can express it differently in some philosophical terms.It is called regenerative consciousness (bhavanga) because it is a key factor in the continuation of existence.Continuity of life is considered the closest synonym for Pali bhavanga. As long as it is not disturbed by external stimuli, this regenerated consciousness will continue to extend. When an object or a state of mind enters the field of consciousness, it fluctuates for a moment and then disappears.If the current object is a tangible object, when the regeneration flow of consciousness stops, the sensory consciousness of the object arises and then disappears.Then the eye-consciousness of seeing arises, but nothing more.Immediately following the sensory operation is to accept the object seen in this way for a moment, and then the moment of contemplation arises, to examine the object seen for a moment.After that, there is another moment of attention, and the difference begins to form, and the free consciousness may have an effect.The next stage of separation of ideas (javana), which occupies an important place in psychology, is based on this.At this stage, actions are judged, either good or evil.Karma is fabricated at this time.

If the perception is correct, it is good; if it is wrong, it is evil.Regardless of how things like and dislike come to consciousness, one is fully capable of making the process of discrimination either good or bad.For example, if one meets an enemy, resentment arises naturally.On the contrary, a wise person, relying on self-discipline, shows loving-kindness to his people.Therefore, the Buddha said: Do evil by yourself, get defiled by yourself, don't do evil by yourself, clean by yourself, clean or not by yourself, no one can purify others. (1) Circumstances, external influences, habits and hobbies, and others all affect our thoughts.This is an accepted fact.In this case, free thought becomes appendage.However, it is still possible for us to overcome external forces and freely generate wholesome or unwholesome thoughts.

External influences may be a contributing factor to the outcome, but we ourselves are directly responsible for the karma that follows us. It is very difficult to give an adequate definition of the Pali word javana.Some people think that it can be interpreted as perception, and another explanation is non-thinking tendency, but this statement is not as satisfactory as the first.Here, we keep the Pali primitive. Javana's original intention is to run the stream of consciousness.This is because in the process of thinking, it runs continuously for seven moments on the same object, or for five moments when a person is dying.Although the states of mind that arise in these moments are similar, their underlying power is different.

The entire thinking process is completed in this very short moment, and ends after the brand consciousness arises in two moments.Thus, a complete thought process takes seventeen moments. The classics cite the mango tree as an example to illustrate this thought process.A man was sleeping soundly under a mango tree with his head covered. Suddenly a gust of wind blew the tree, and a mango fell next to the sleeping man's head.He lifted the hood, turned to face the mango, picked it up casually when he saw it, and looked carefully, thinking that it must be a ripe mango.He put the mango in his mouth and ate it sweetly, and finally swallowed the rest, spit again.

Deep, dreamless sleep corresponds to this undisturbed stream of regenerated consciousness.The breeze beating the tree is equivalent to the regeneration consciousness in the past, the shaking of the tree body is equivalent to the fluctuation of the regeneration consciousness, the falling of the mango represents the static regeneration consciousness, and turning to face the mango is equivalent to the sensory consciousness triggering consciousness, seeing the mango as thought, picking up the mango as The reception of the consciousness, the inspection of the mango is the contemplation of the consciousness, the affirmation of the ripeness of the mango is the intention of the consciousness, and the real chewing in the mouth is similar to the operation of the stream of consciousness (javana), swallowing a small piece of mango It is equivalent to the retention of consciousness, and falling asleep again is equivalent to the consciousness being deposited in the regeneration consciousness again.Among these seven moments, as we said above, the effect of the first moment is the weakest, and the result can be obtained in this life.This is called the Dangsheng Karma Fruit.If it does not function in the present lifetime, it becomes void.

The seventh moment is inferior and weak, and its result may be produced in the next life, so I call it abnormal ripening karma.Likewise, if it does not generate utility in Second Life, it is automatically void. Momentary results can happen at any point in this samsara until final liberation.This kind of kamma is called infinite karma. Thus, on the basis of time, karma can be divided into: 1.The current fruit newspaper industry. (Ditthadhammavedaniya kamma). 2.Different time fruit newspaper industry. (Upapajjavedaniya kamma). 3.Unlimited time fruit newspaper industry. (Aparapariyavedaniya kamma)

4.Non-effect newspapers. (Ahosi kamma). Receive good karma in this life: Wife and husband have only one top to wear when going out.One day, the husband was very pleased to hear the Buddha's lecture, and wished to offer his only coat as an offering.But his inner greed would not allow him to do so.After a fierce ideological struggle, he finally defeated greed, offered his coat to the Buddha, and couldn't help shouting: "I'm victorious, I'm victorious." The king was very happy when he heard about this. His donation was greatly appreciated and 32 pieces of clothing were presented to him.A devout husband keeps one for himself and one for his wife, and the rest are offered to the Buddha. (2)

Retribution of bad karma in this life: A hunter led his hounds to the forest to hunt. On the way, he met a begging monk.On this day, the hunter failed to get a prey, he thought it was due to an unfortunate encounter with a monk.On the way home, he met the bhikkhu again, and immediately flew into a rage. No matter how much the innocent bhikkhu begged, the hunter instigated his hounds to rush at the monk.The bhikkhu had nowhere to escape, so he had to climb a tree.The vicious hunter chased after the tree and stabbed the sole of Bhikkhu's foot with a sharp arrow.The monk was in unbearable pain, and the cassock fell off, covering the hunter's whole body.Thinking that the monk had fallen from a tree, the hunting dog pounced on it and bit its master to death. (3) different time news A servant of a rich man had worked hard in the fields all day and came home in the evening.Because it was a full moon day, he saw that other people were observing the eight precepts.When he heard that he could also observe the eight precepts for half a day, he recited the eight precepts and observed the noon that day.But unfortunately, he died the next night.Because of his good kamma, he was reborn in the heavenly world. (4) The son of King Bimbisara, King Ajatasatta fell into the evil realm immediately after his death because of the retribution of killing his father. indeterminate press No one escapes this karma.Even a Buddha or an Arahant may suffer from their past karma.Aeons ago, at the instigation of his vicious wife, the arahant Mu Jianlian tried to murder his own mother.For this reason, he suffered a lot in the evil realm, and in his last life, he was beaten to death with a club by robbers. The Buddha was also framed for murdering a Yiyipai woman because he had insulted a Pacceka Buddha in a previous life. Devadatta attempted to murder the Buddha, but was unsuccessful, but the Buddha's wrist and foot were slightly injured.This is because in a previous life, he had killed his half-brother in order to seize property. According to function (kicca), kamma can be further divided into: 1.recycling janaaka kamma 2.helper upatthambaka kamma 3.Reaction job upapidaka kamma 4.Sabotage upaghataka kamma According to Buddhism, every sentient being is conditioned by the good and bad karma prevailing at the time of death.In Buddhism, this kind of karma is called rebirth (janaka) karma. A person's death is but a brief end to the phenomenon of a short life.Although the current form of life is over, the karma that caused the rebirth was not completely extinguished when the physical body was separated.According to the powerful idea at the time of death, another life form that is neither quite the same nor completely different arises.It is the continuation of this last thought, the kamma of rebirth, that determines the person's place of good and evil in his later life. As a rule, the goodness and evilness of the last thought depends on what one usually does.In some special cases, perhaps due to good or bad circumstances, people who do good may have evil thoughts at the end of their lives, while people who do evil have good thoughts.No matter what happens in normal times, their future birthplace will be determined by this last thought.This is not to say that the results of past actions have all died away.They have in due time their inescapable consequences.This relative variation in rebirth explains the phenomenon that the son of evil is born into a virtuous family, or the son of virtuousness is born into an evil family. In order to assist, maintain or weaken or even prevent this rebirth karma from producing results, another karma may step in and play a role.This kind of kamma is called helpful kamma (upatthamabhaka) and counter kamma (upapidaka). According to the laws of karma, the potential energy of rebirth karma can be completely eliminated by the stronger past counter karma.This relative karmic search for opportunities can come into play when you don't expect it.Just as a relative force can stop a flying arrow and make it fall to the ground.Such karma is called destructive karma.It is more powerful than the above two karmas because it not only stops but destroys all karma. To illustrate how these four kammas work, we can take Devadatta as an example.He tried to murder the Buddha and caused a split in the Sangha. His good rebirth kamma determined his birth in the king's house.He has lived a comfortable and wealthy life for a long time, which is due to his ability to help his career.When he was exasperated by being excommunicated, his reactionary karma manifested, and his destructive karma eventually brought him to a lower realm. According to the order of retribution, karma can be divided into the following categories: 1.Heavy industry (fixed industry) Garuka kamma. 2.Homework Asanna kamma before dying. 3.Habitual karma Acinna kamma. 4.Accumulated poly industry Katatta kamma. The first heavy or great cause.This kamma determines the fruition in this life or in a future life.On the side of goodness, the heavy karma is dhyana, while on the side of evil, it is the sinful deeds that will be rewarded immediately, that is, killing the father, killing the mother, killing the arhat, shed the blood of the Buddha, and breaking the harmony of the monks. For example, if a person is practicing jhana, but later commits one of these great evils, his wholesome karma will be erased by these powerful negative karmas.No matter what kind of jhana he attains early on, he will be conditioned by negative karma in his later life.Devadatta split the Sangha because he hurt the Buddha.He lost all his supernatural powers and fell into the evil way. King Ajatasatta, as the Buddha said, if he had not committed the heavy karma of killing his father, he might have attained the first holy fruit.In this case, strong negative karma hinders spiritual practice. When no heavy karma arises, karma at the time of death (asanna) takes place.This is what a man does and thinks in the moments before he dies.Because of its crucial significance in determining a person's future life, there is still a popular tradition in some Buddhist countries to remind the dying person to contemplate the good deeds he has done so that he can experience good karma before death. Sometimes, if a person who does evil is lucky enough to remember his good karma just before death, he may die happily and gain a good life.This does not mean that he enjoys a good life, so he is free from the negative karma accumulated during his lifetime. On the other hand, sometimes a good person may be forced to be affected by unfavorable circumstances, suddenly recall evil deeds or have unwholesome thoughts, and die a painful death. One's habits (acinna), whether good or bad, become second nature.They tend more or less to regulate the character of man.In idleness, we often keep ourselves busy with habitual thoughts and actions.Likewise, at the time of death, we have to conjure up our habitual thoughts and actions unless influenced by external forces. The last category of this category is gathering karma (katatta means because of what was done in the past), which includes all karma other than the above three karma.It is like an asset reserved for a particular being. The last category is divided according to the realms of fruition, which are: 1.Akusala kamma may ripen in the sensual world (kamaloka). 2.Wholesome kamma may mature in the sensual realm. 3.Wholesome kamma may ripen in the fine-material world (rupaloka). 4.Wholesome kamma may ripen in the immaterial world (arupaloka). Maturity in the evil karma of the desire realm Body, speech and mind can create ten kinds of evil karma.Three of them are bodily acts, killing (panatipata), stealing (adinnadana), and sexual misconduct (kamesumicchacara). The four kinds of bad karma are the actions of speech, namely, lying (musavada), double-tonguing (pisunavaca), harsh speech (pharusavaca), and gossip (samphappalapa). Three kinds of negative karma are conscious fabrications, namely greed (abhijjha), hatred (vyapada), and delusion (micchaditthi). Killing is the deliberate taking of life from a sentient being.Strictly speaking, the Pali word pana means a sentient being in relation to its special existence.Killing refers to arbitrarily damaging the vitality of others so as not to allow them to survive naturally. Pana means the breather, therefore, all sentient beings, including animals, are considered to be Pana(6), but not plants, since they have no mind.However, monks are forbidden even to harm plants.At this point, it might be pointed out that it does not apply to lay people. To constitute killing karma, the following five conditions must be met, namely: 1.Sentient; 2.Know it as a sentient being; 2.Intent to kill; 4.5. Force to kill;Death results. The severity of negative karma depends on the goodness and magnitude of the being concerned.Killing virtuous people and big animals is more sinful than killing evil people and small animals, because creating this kind of bad karma requires greater effort and the loss is quite serious. The evil rewards of killing are: short life, sickness, long-term pain due to separation from loved ones, constant worry and fear. Five conditions must be met to constitute the industry of stealing, namely: 1.Other people's things; 2.Knowing that it is someone else's property; 3.Stealing intentionally; 4.Efforts to steal; 5.really move its stuff. The inevitable consequences of stealing are poverty, misery, disappointment, and a parasitic life. The karma of adultery must have four conditions, namely: 1. The thought of enjoying; 2. Corresponding efforts; 3.A satisfying way; 4.satisfaction of desires. Because of adultery, it is inevitable that there will be many enemies, who will combine with a wife or husband who does not love, and will be born as a girl or a sterile person in the next life. The formation of the karma of lying must meet four conditions, namely: 1.unreal; 2.deception; 3.4. Speech;form a deceptive fact. The inevitable result of lying karma is accusations, insults, untrustworthiness, and bad breath. The formation of double-tongued karma must meet four conditions, namely: 1.Divided people; 2.2. Divided intentions, or wishing to be close to others; 3.Corresponding efforts; 4.language exchange. The inevitable result of bilingualism is the destruction of friendship between friends for no reason. Three conditions must be met to constitute the karma of bad speech, namely: 1.The injured person; 2.Thoughts of hatred; 3.discredit the facts. The unavoidable result of the karma of speaking harshly is: Although I have absolutely no intention of harming others, I am still disgusted by others and my voice is hoarse. Two conditions must be met for the generation of the karma of frivolous words, namely: 1.Indulge in idle chatter; 2.spoken words. The unavoidable consequence of the karma of frivolous speech is that the five faculties are damaged, and the words are untrustworthy. Greedy karma must meet two conditions, namely: 1.Other people's things; 2.Thoughts of possessiveness: "want to have for me". The unavoidable result of the karma of greed is that one's wishes cannot be realized. To constitute the karma of hatred, there must be two conditions, namely: 1.Another sentient being; 2.Have the idea of ​​harm. The unavoidable results of the karma of hatred are ugly, sickly, and hateful in nature. Ignorance is seeing things wrongly. Incorrect beliefs, such as denial of karma, are also included in this negative karma. Two conditions must be met to constitute this evil karma, namely: 1.To view something in an evil way; 2.To understand things according to wrong concepts. The unavoidable result of the karma of ignorance is vulgar greed, low intelligence, stupidity and ignorance, chronic illness, and condemned views. According to Buddhism, there are 10(7) wrong views, namely: 1.No kindness, such as giving, thinking that giving will not get good rewards; 2.No good karma such as generosity; 3.Do not give to others, thinking that such a good deed has no good reward; 4.Good and evil deeds have no rewards; 5.There is no such belief in this world; 6.The afterlife, that is, people born in this world do not believe in the existence of the past, and people born in this world do not believe in the future; 7.No mother; 8.No father, that is, no matter how you treat your parents, there will be no retribution; 9.10. There are no sentient beings who have reincarnation;There is no one who has realized this world and the next world, and has realized the existence of others, integrity, precepts, Brahmans and Brahmans (here refers to Buddha and Arahant). Good Karma Ripe in the Desire Realm Such good karma (kusalakamma) has 10, namely: 1.Giving (dana); 2.Keep the precepts (sila); 3.Meditation (bhavana); 4.Love respect (apacayana); 5.6. Profit (veyyavacca);7. Dedication of Merit and Virtue (patidana);Rejoice in the good deeds of others (anumodana); 8.Hearing the Dhamma (dhammasavana); 9.Lecture (dhammadesana); 10.To express one's opinion directly (ditthijjukamma). Sometimes the seventh and tenth karmas are subdivided, and the ten good karmas are said to be twelve. Praising the good deeds of others (pasamsa) is added to rejoicing in the merits of others (anumodana), and taking refuge in the Three Jewels (sarana) and mindfulness (anussati) replace expressing one's own ideas. Giving to others brings wealth to oneself.Observing the precepts leads to rebirth in a noble home and a state of happiness.Practicing meditation guides people to the realm of form and formlessness, and helps them obtain higher knowledge and liberation.The dedication of merit will make the next life rich.Rejoicing in the merits of others can make the next life happy.Lectures and listening to the Dharma can open up wisdom.Love and respect can make the next life noble.Profit makes friends in groups.Complimenting the good deeds of others brings you the praise of others.Taking refuge in the Triple Gem extinguishes desires.Mindfulness brings joy in all kinds of ways. Good karma matured in the realm of form In the fine-material world there are the following five fine-material jhanas or bliss (8), which are purely conscious: 1.The good consciousness of the first jhana includes search, service, joy, joy, and control of one mind. 2.The good consciousness of the second jhana includes service, joy, joy, and control of the heart. 3.The third Shana consciousness includes pleasure, joy, and restraint of the heart. 4.The fourth jhana consciousness includes happiness, and the mind is controlled in one place. 5.The good consciousness of the fifth jhana includes the equanimity of actions and the control of one place of the mind. These jhanas have their corresponding results in the physical realm. Good karma matured in the formless realm In the formless realm, there are four formless jhanas that produce corresponding results, namely: 1.Good consciousness is at the base of boundless space (akasanancayatana). 2.Good consciousness is at the base of boundless consciousness (vinnanancayatana). 3.Good consciousness is in nothingness (akincannayatana). 4.Good consciousness is in the base of neither perception nor non-perception (n'eva sanna n'asannayatana). (9) [Note] (1) "Dharma Sentence Sutra", verse 165. (2) "Buddhist Legends", Volume II, p. 262. (3) "Buddhist Legends", Volume II, p. 282. (4) Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 278. (5) According to some scriptures, he did kill them. (6) In plants there is no succession of stimuli through the nervous system, they do not know what nerves are, Dr. KV Franchi, "You and Life", p. 125. (7) "Fa Ji Lun", p. 233; "Exposition", Volume II, p. 493; "Buddhist Psychology", p. 355. (8) According to "Abhidhammathasangaha", there are five forms of meditation, however, "Visuddhimagga" mentions four kinds of meditation.The two interpretations are not much different.In the former, jhanas are divided into five according to their five components.In the latter, the second jhana contains the last three parts but not the first two. (9) For detailed explanation, please refer to the Abhidhamma Handbook by the Elder Nalanda.