17th.Karmapa Thaye Dorje (Teaching about karma)

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17th.Karmapa Thaye Dorje (Teaching about karma)

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Blog from India - 29th August 2007 My dear Dharma friends, Today, I would like to conclude this 3 part series on karma. We will begin with the last three of the 10 non-virtues, known as the thoughts accumulated out of desire. This can be desire for other's possessions, for example, or having great pride or ego in our own possessions. The ninth non- virtue is "Harmful Mind". This is a moment when we are not at peace and we do not wish for others to be at peace. This is a karma produced out of anger. The last of these 10 is "Mistaken View" or "Inauthentic View". This refers to not having the knowledge or understanding of "Causality". In Buddhism, our greatest treasure for understanding happiness is having the profound view or understanding of karma. We face difficult circumstances because we lack that view point. We interpret these happenings as having no cause or that they are caused by others. This is not logical at all and just creates more confusion. If we are facing difficulties, it means we have accumulated karma for these results. If I am the one who caused these, then I am the one who can prevent them. This is very logical. Therefore, when one wants to understand the nature of one's mind, it is important to understand that everything happens for a reason and it is due to the relationship between cause and effect. When one accumulates positive or negative actions the outcome is guaranteed. There is no way of changing causes. Even the Buddha would not be able to prevent the outcome of one's own accumulations. In a very logical way, the only way to be free from suffering is to prevent it from the beginning. As we become an individual who aspires to achieve the path of a bodhisattva, there are ways to transform our karma. Otherwise, there is simply no escape from the effects. The very nature of karma is that it produces its results unfailingly. If you want to be free from the unfavorable results we try to perfect and purify the view of causality. It is important to know and understand that whatever we perceive or experience is a result of one's own mind. Situations arise because our minds are contaminated by afflicting emotions. To be free from them we must understand our mind's nature is free. "Emptiness" is the common term but it does not mean that mind doesn't exist at all but that it is "free" in itself. Whatever we experience, whatever we have that is touched by suffering is very much like a dream. If one can understand that our existence is a very elaborate and detailed dream, then we may have this thought of why should we care. As a beginner, we must be careful. We have to care because this dream is a result. We are living in a continuous habitual pattern. We have been training our minds until now to think there is something when actually there is nothing. This great space is void of self yet we try until our last breath to maintain that there is an "I". We develop this habit thinking there is a "Self". So, in order to serve this "Self", we very ignorantly commit these unnecessary actions and the result is exactly what we are experiencing right now. We experience this dream state constantly struggling to promote that there is a "Self". Whether we are conscious or not, the habit is very strong. As a result of being in a dreamlike state, we also have dreams within dreams. That is actually funny. We can have an unpleasant dream and wake up saying, "Oh! I'm alive." But, we are actually still in a very thick dream. Therefore, if one truly wants to achieve happiness where we are in a state of undisturbed happiness, we must understand the nature of one's own mind and what happens when we do not understand that nature. I hope this will be food for thought and that one can have the time to delve in to the basic meaning of this teaching. Even as an experienced practitioner, it is important to remind ourselves of this subject. Until we understand the mind's nature, there is always the risk of falling back into one's old mistakes. I ask all of you to please be careful and do your very best. 17th.Karmapa Thaye Dorje.

Author:
pinokiofromtokio

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karmapa, thaye, dorje, dharma, karma, buddhism,