KAMMA

       According to Buddhist philosophy kamma is one of five orders (niyama) which are laws in themselves and operate in the universe. Being laws in themselves they require no law-giver. Kamma Niyama is the order of act and result; for example, desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results. As surely as water seeks its own level so does kamma, given opportunity, produce its inevitable result, not in the form of a reward or punishment but as an innate sequence. This sequence of deed and effect is as natural and necessary as the way of the moon and stars.

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       When anything unpleasant comes to us, hurts us or makes us unhappy, our kamma has come to show us our mistake. We must never forget that our kamma is always just; it neither loves nor hates, neither rewards nor punishes. It is never angry, never pleased, it is simply the law of cause and effect.

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       Kamma knows nothing about us. Does fire know us when it burns? No, it is the nature of fire to burn, to give out heat; our affair is to use it in the right way, we are foolish if we grow angry and blame it when it burns us because we have made a mistake.

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       Everyone is the architect of his own fate. We shall reap in the future, in this life or the next, what we are sowing now. As we had the power in the past to make our present what it is, so we have equal power now to create a happy and useful future.

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       If properly understood the doctrine of kamma teaches us to be careful with our thoughts, words and actions in daily life, so that as time goes on it makes us better human beings, willing to perform better and nobler actions towards all and live more harmoniously with our fellow human beings.

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       Naturally, if we realize that the evil we do will return to strike us we shall be very careful lest we do or say or think something that is not good, pure and true. Knowledge of kamma will restrain us from wrong-doing for others' sake as well as for our own.

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       Man himself is responsible for his own happiness and misery. He creates his own heaven and hell. He is master of his own destiny, child of his past and parent of his future.

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       Buddhism teaches us that there is no such thing as a permanent soul an eternal, immortal soul that directs one's actions. So if there is no soul what is it that is reborn? The answer is kammic energy, the actions we have done. These actions do not disappear unless or until they have produced their effects. So each being has body and mind as a result of actions they did in the past, or in the present, and thus this kammic energy goes on and on until its sources are removed, its force ebbs away and the flame dies down, its gradual extinction leading to the goal of Nibbana.

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CAUSE & EFFECT

       Where did we come from? We come from out of the past, even as today comes out of yesterday. This life is the result of the past life, before this life. We come from out of the things we have done before, out of the past labours unfinished. Although we have laboured, our work is not complete, if it were we should not be here, we should be somewhere higher. We come out of past vices and virtues, vices and virtues we have accumulated, out of the darkness of our own ignorance, out of our own desires.

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       Why are we here? We are here because the past gives birth to the future. We are brought here by our own joys, our own sorrows, but most of all we are led here by our desires.

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       Where are we going? We are going to the results of our actions, the effects of our causes. Those whose labours are unfinished will go around the wheel of life, samsara, returning again and again until their labours are finished and the state of Nibbana, the complete cessation of suffering, has been reached.

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       Unless one knows Paticcasamuppada one cannot begin to understand the real nature and function of cause and effect, the cause of suffering, how suffering arises. In meditation there is a stage where one becomes free from doubt about one's own existence; this requires a knowledge of Paticcasamuppada, a proper understanding of cause and effect, so that no doubt exists as to how one arises and passes away as a human being.

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       The lives of men, in fact the whole universe of living beings, are governed by unchanging, eternal laws, such as the laws of cause and effect, the laws of the mind and of the laws of nature. The whole universe is governed by these eternal laws, and not by any imaginary God, a God susceptible to change if one believes that God has compassion to be aroused and partiality won. To the Buddhist the laws of nature, the laws of righteousness which govern the universe, are always the same, the same for one and all. Therefore a man's duty is not to break these rules, not to try to change these laws by means of any prayer or guarding against them, but to know and understand them and to live in harmony with them.

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       The past is the background against which life goes on from moment to moment, the future is yet to be. Only the present moment exists, and the responsibility of using the present moment for good or ill lies with each individual.

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       The present being, present existence, is conditioned by how one faced circumstances in the last, and in all past existences. Our present position in character and circumstances is the result of all that one has been up to the present, but what will be in the future depends on what one does now in the present.

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SICKNESS & OLD AGE

       Since we are subject to birth, old age, sickness, death, and we suffer from dissatisfaction and unhappiness, we are sick people. The Buddha is compared to an experienced and skilful physician, and the Dhamma is compared with the proper medicine; but however efficient the physician may be, and however wonderful the medicine may be, we cannot be cured unless and until we ourselves actually take the medicine. It would seem that many of us are in need of some medicine to cure us of our misunderstanding of one another, our impatience, irritability, lack of sympathy and metta.

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       The outward form so fascinates the modern man that he puts all his faith in it and imagines that it can provide the answer to all questions. Buddhism teaches us to realize the need for a deeper knowledge of our inner mental forces, and that there is an inner factor which can cause disease or which can be employed in the cure of ill-health.

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       Positive or constructive emotion such as pity, sympathy for others, appreciation of the good, kindness, goodwill and altruistic motives are to be encouraged and cultivated. They react through the mind on the vital glands of the body to build up robust health, happiness, prosperity and long life.

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       The confidence placed in the Buddha by a follower is like that of a sick man towards the physician, or that of a student towards his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it is he who discovered the path of deliverance. A sick man should use the remedy which the physician prescribes in order to be cured, and the pupil should study what his teacher says in order to become learned. In just the same way, a Buddhist who possesses saddha (confidence) should follow the Buddha's instructions in order to gain deliverance.

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       Some people express sorrow when they find old age coming upon them, when they find they are not so strong as they used to be. It is wise for them to realize that their bodies have done good work, and if they can no longer do the same amount as before, they should do gently and peacefully what they can, but not to worry themselves over the change. Presently they will have new bodies, and the way to ensure a good one is to make such good use as they can of the old one, but in any case to be serene, calm and unruffled. The only way to do that is to let all selfish desire cease, and to turn the thought outward, helping others as far as one's capabilities go.

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DEATH & REBIRTH

       According to Buddhism the continuity of flux at death is unbroken in point of time, and there is no breach in the stream of consciousness. The only difference between the passing of one thought moment to another, and of the dying thought moment to the rebirth consciousness, is that in the former case the change is invisible and in the latter case a marked perceptible death is visible. Rebirth is instantaneous. You may ask, "Is the place always ready to receive this rebirth?" The answer is that in the same way as a point in the ground is always ready to receive the falling stone, so there is always an appropriate place to receive the rebirth which is conditioned by kamma.

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       Every birth is conditioned by a past good or bad kamma (action) which predominates at the moment of death. Our forms are only the outward manifestations of the invisible kammic force, and this force carries with it all our characteristics which usually lie latent, but may rise to the surface at unexpected moments. The death of a person is merely the temporary end of a temporary phenomenon, the present form perishing and another taking its place in accordance with the thought that was most powerful at the death moment.

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       Although the organic life ceases, the force which hitherto actuated it is not destroyed; just as electric light is only the outward visible manifestation of invisible electric energy, even so are we only the outward manifestation of invisible kammic energy. When the electric light bulb breaks, the light is extinguished but the current remains, and light again becomes manifest upon concurrence with another suitable bulb. In the same way the kammic force remains entirely undisturbed by the disintegration of the physical vehicle.

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       The true Buddhist regards death as a momentary incident between one life and its successor, and views its approach with calmness. His only concern is that his future should be such that the conditions of that life may provide him with better opportunities for perfecting himself. Holding, as he does, the great doctrine of kamma, he perceives that it is within his power to alter or modify the quality of the life force that continues in the next birth, and that his future environment will depend entirely on what he does now, his behaviour in this as well as in his previous lives.

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GREED

       Generally we do actions because we like, which means based on greed. In the main greed is our guide, desire is our guide, we like this, that and the other all the time, all the time wanting, wishing; and why? Because of avijja (ignorance), not understanding the result of greed, without knowing the influence or power of greed.

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       Most people are unaware when greed arises; only when it is very intense, like lust, so that it cannot be hidden, only then do we actually recognize it, even though all the time it plays the predominant part in day to day existence. Most of our thoughts are about objects we are after.

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       Every time there is a pleasant sight, sound, smell, taste or touch, greed is likely to arise. As long as we have greed without even noticing it, it will ask us to fulfil its wishes, to search, to direct us to the object we are after. So unless one sees that it is greed that is arousing, dictating to and directing us, unless we know the disadvantages of greed we shall never try to overcome this greatest enemy.

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       Greed is like a magnet that drags to it anything that comes near, and it does this via the eye-door and beautiful sights; the ear-door and beautiful sounds, such as music; the nose-door and sweet scents, such a flowers; the tongue-door and delicious flavours; the body-door and the touch of soft, smooth pleasant things; and the mind-door, thinking about all the enjoyable things we have seen, heard, smelt, tasted and touched. The characteristic of greed is grasping. Its function is sticking, like meat put in a hot pan. It is manifested as not giving up; and its proximate cause is seeing enjoyment in things that lead to bondage.

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       Men, when blinded by desire, are carried away by a powerful current, not realizing whither they are going, and where there are many who are blinded by desire for the same things, there is jealousy and rivalry. As they act to satisfy their desires, so they hurt and harm one another with resultant suffering.

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       To be attached to a thing is to be sad at the loss of it. To despise or hate a thing is to be unhappy at the approach of it. Selfish desire for a worldly object results in sacrificing spiritual treasure to secure the desired object which is probably of little value. Therefore selfish desire destroys the sense of value, for selfish desire places worldly possessions above wisdom, and personalities above principles.

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       Greed is grasping, wanting, trying to get. It can be changed by generosity, giving, sharing what we have with others. If we are going to stop going round the wheel of life, we shall have to become without tanha, craving, greed.

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HATRED

       Hatred, illwill or anger is that tendency within us which resents an action of another which challenges our right to what we desire. Our general tendency is to try and dominate others, and we want others to obey our will while suppressing their own; so when someone opposes his will against our's, our action is like that of a dog with a bone when another dog approaches.

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       Though absence of hatred is a grand thing, it is not good enough unless its active aspect is emphasized - that is, loving-kindness. Not to do evil is very good, but it is only a negative aspect. To do good is the positive aspect.

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       We become irritated in many ways, and although our irritation may be slight, if it is allowed to go on day by day it will grow into a deep hatred. Wherever there is displeasure, there is illwill in a subtle or gross way.

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       Some people are proud to speak of 'my anger', but anger can never be justified, because it harms the producer as well as others.

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       If we do anything with hatred, inevitably we shall have a bad, unpleasant result which we cannot change, either by prayers, wishes or desire, it will produce its effect.

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       When a man is angry he is beside himself, as the saying goes, being swept along by a torrent of hatred. It is due to this anger that disputes arise between one individual and another, between one nation and another. Such people as are blinded by anger cannot see that hatred 'ceaseth not by hatred, but by love'.

       Some people may doubt as to whether love can be a basis of policy for settlement, but true love is not what some people look upon as a soft feminine virtue, it is a masculine dynamic power which breaks all the barriers which separate beings one from another.

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       Strong anger is anger with which we do unpleasant things, speak harsh, abusive words and do destructive actions. Sorrow is a form of weak anger which we often hide so that others will not know of it, but inwardly it creates turmoil within us and if harboured for long can cause us to be ill, become weak.

       Grieving, sorrow, is very destructive, one should not allow oneself to be sorry. Weeping, by nature, is anger, and although people say it is natural to weep over the death of a dear one and they cannot help it, it is not an excuse for allowing an evil state of consciousness to arise. The loss of a beloved one is a great loss; but by weeping, being sorry, we lose our good moral consciousness, therefore we have a double loss. If we have to lose something, the wiser thing is to lose once, not twice.

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DELUSION

       The state of greed as well as that of hatred is always accompanied by ignorance, because ignorance is the primary root of all evil. It is far more subtle than greed and hatred, and when a man is hypnotized by it he cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

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       There is a common delusion that man's failings and lapses in conduct are often due to other people about him, and not to himself, but this delusion arises from the error of believing that others can be responsible for a man's misdeeds and errors. All a man's weaknesses and sins arise within his own mind and heart, he alone is responsible for them, and those who succumb to being induced, persuaded or excited by tempters, become co-operators in sin.

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       The ignorant man is deaf to all appeals for mercy; the spirit of loving-kindness and charity is absent from him, and he has no sense of duty towards his fellow men. When he is carried away by the current of ignorance he can become brutal and barbarous, lacking in any sense of common humanity. The Buddhist technique to still the raging torrents of greed, hatred and ignorance is careful self-culture. "Save thyself by thyself' are the words of the Buddha, and he laid down a specific course of practice in mental and physical actions for the successful outcome of this self-culture.

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       The object coming to the view of any ordinary man would be seen only in the light of his own limited knowledge, in the light of his own imagination. He thereby makes mistakes, because he does not go beyond appearance.

       Our knowledge of what we see via the eye, of what appears in the retina of our eye, is composed only of appearances we do not see its real or intrinsic nature; hence we mistake the appearance for an object, the shadow for the substance - like the fox who, upon seeing a bunch of red flowers in the distance, thought it was deep red flesh until to his dismay he came to discover that it was not what he had thought it was.

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ABSENCE OF GREED

       For this we must forget ourselves and substitute the world for ourselves. There is no evil in wanting universal happiness and peace, the evil arises when our desires are only for ourselves and not for others, or not in the sacred interests of truth. When we desire such things as we can share with others, our desires become wiser and more unselfish.

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       The unselfish man puts himself in the position of others and tries to identify himself with all, regretting what he has done wrongly or has omitted to do, having an ernest desire to do better in the future and make amends for the wrong that has been done. He desires not to make himself a burden on his fellow men, but to be a blessing to them by making them happy, so that his unselfish disposition promotes social intercourse and adds to the pleasure of others. He appreciates benefits conferred on him and feels joy at the kindness of his benefactor to whom he has a great desire to return those benefits, or to give something more when possible.

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       By being unselfish we develop in ourselves the sense of sympathy, and we cannot enjoy happiness worthy of the name without being in sympathy with our fellow men. The best way to be happy, therefore, is to make others happy; every kind act is twice blessed, blessing him who gives and him who takes.

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       If we are to promote the spirit of fellowship we should forget our 'I' in the service of all, we should do everything we can for the sake of others.

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ABSENCE OF HATRED

       To promote the spirit of world fellowship we must make the sublime seeds, the seeds of loving-kindness, grow in our hearts and minds till we are all love. To love one another we should realize that we are all brothers, and brotherhood must be applied with justice, for justice is a natural law. No judge has the right to use his power over a criminal to a greater extent than that permitted by the law of the court, which should be the representative of the natural law of justice.

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       If we do harm to someone we shall be paid back in the same coin; rather as when we throw a stone into a pond, causing ripples to spread out over the surface until coming up against the edge of the banks. The water then moves back again until reaching the stone that has disturbed it. In just the same way the effects of our actions come back to us and if our actions are good we shall have good effects, while bad actions will likewise produce bad effects. To produce good actions love is essential, so we must love everyone, no matter what may be the colour of his skin, whether he is rich or poor, wise or foolish, good or bad; and we should love not only human beings but all beings in the world..

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       In the Metta Sutta, the discourse on loving-kindness, the Buddha says, 'As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her child, her only child, so let a man cultivate goodwill without measure among all beings. Let him cultivate goodwill without measure towards the whole world, above, below, all around, unstinted, unmixed with any feeling of differing or opposing interests. Let him remain steadfastly in this state of mind all the while he is awake, whether he be standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This state of heart is the best in the world."

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       Most of us have not yet learned this lesson, and therefore the sense of a common humanity is absent from our minds, the world is full of pain and cruelty and all wild animals flee from us. There are a few who have learned this lesson, they love everybody and everything, no wild animal flees from them and even a tiger will roll at their feet as a pet cat does at our's. Why do our pet animals love us? Because we love them. If we learn this lesson our enemies will become our friends and wild animals our pets.

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WISDOM

       Wisdom is the power of seeing things as they truly are, and how to act rightly when the problems of life come before us. The seeds of wisdom lie latent in us, and when our hearts are soft and warm with love they grow into their powers.

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       When a man has stilled the raging torrents of greed, hatred and ignorance, he becomes conscientious, full of sympathy, and he is anxious for the welfare of all living beings; thus he observes steadily the moral precepts. It is when his mind becomes pure and his heart is soft by being equipped with this morality and mental development that the sublime seed, wisdom, grows. Knowledge of the properties of the magnetic needle enable the mariner to see the right direction in mid-ocean on the darkest night when no stars are visible. In just the same way, wisdom enables a man to see things as they truly are, and to perceive the right way to real peace and happiness, Nibbana.

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       Wisdom, or insight (panna), enables man to overcome all the defilements completely. As a tree which is destroyed by the root will never grow, even so the defilements which are annihilated by wisdom, will never rise again.

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       One knows only what one has experienced, not just read about or thought about but actually experienced, otherwise one's knowledge is only theoretical.

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       Only by continuous practice can realization, the understanding of things as they really are, not as we ordinarily view them, be achieved.

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SOME PARTING ADVICE

Given, on request, to students upon

Ven. Sayadaw U Thittila's

departure from England in 1966

       Take each thing that comes and decide how you will use it. Choose some definite form of activity, for no one can do everything. What is known as greatness is not sufficient for real success in life unless there is also goodwill and love for humanity. For real success, body and mind must be well occupied.

       One should not bother one's head about things outside one's power, but take good care to occupy oneself with the things within one's power. So, before you let anything worry you, ask yourself if the thing is in your power, and if it is not, turn your attention to something else.

       Treat your body well. Let it have rest, recreation. Avoid fear, reason it out of your life. Do what you can, and be content with that. Avoid anger, for there is no enemy more harmful than one's own anger to oneself. Do not dwell again and again on the same trouble or argument. If a difficulty arises, do not procrastinate, deal with it there and then. Do not let anxiety, fear and distress ramble about the mind.

       Practise meditation on loving-kindness. In this meditation, first you fill yourself with love mentally, "May I be well and happy." After a while you extend it to all others, saying mentally, "May all beings of the universe be well and happy." Mean it, and feel it. Try to see that the whole world is filled with your love, with a great desire that all beings may be well and happy, even as a mother loves her only child and earnestly wishes for its well-being and happiness.

       If you send out these thoughts of metta (loving kindness) before you go to sleep, I am positive that you will have extraordinarily peaceful sleep. If you can maintain these thoughts of metta you will have a serene, peaceful, successful life, and you will be loved because you are loving.


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