Lecture 3

Question 1

what are the three things that taint actions

Answer 1

greed, hatred and delusion

Question 2

what animal represents delusion and what is meant by delusion

Answer 2

pig = delusion/ignorance
not with minor things but with respect to his karma functions/how karma is a thing… fundamental believing is us to be independent of others (not seeing that our actions impact others)

Question 3

what animal represents hatred/anger

Answer 3

snake

Question 4

what animal represents greed/desire

Answer 4

rooster

Question 5

where are the three animals representing greed delusion and hatred found

Answer 5

at the centre of the wheel of becoming

Question 6

surrounding the 3 animal at the wheel of becoming is what

Answer 6

images depicting karma

Question 7

what is the literal definition of karma

Answer 7

action

Question 8

what can good karma lead to

Answer 8

really good situations (healthy body safe environment)

Question 9

what is the popular usage of the term karma

Answer 9

thought as good/bad things happening, switched for the work ‘luck’

Question 10

how is the buddhist term karma different than the westerner’s interpretation

Answer 10

a complex of interrelated ideas that embraces both ethics and rebirth, both intertwined with samsara
concerned with ethical implications of buddhism teachings, with world dimension of teachings and includes primarily the consequences of moral behaviour

Question 11

is karma enforced by a diety

Answer 11

no, it is not a system of rewards and punishments to be handed out

Question 12

how does karma work

Answer 12

understood as a natural process (like gravity)

depending on your intentions karma can be used in all kinds of ways

Question 13

how are faciasts explained to have long lives in terms of karma

Answer 13

past lives they possible did do lots of goof actions but with intentions of gaining power/influence

Question 14

explain the metaphor of karmic seeds (phala vipaka)

Answer 14

aka karmic results (phala = fruit, vipaka = ripening/maturation)
every action plants a seed and that seed doesn’t sprout right away, it hangs around but will eventually wiped (in some time or lifetimes) but the strength of ripening depends on a lot of factors
how you feel about an action after (regret) and intentions influence karma also the end result

Question 15

is karma just physical

Answer 15

no it is all actions (thoughts, physical, speech)

Question 16

doe sone bad action automatically give you net negative karma or bad karma

Answer 16

no,
compared negative actions to salt and mind to water= tablespoon of salt in a big ocean and you don’t taste a difference, but a tablespoon of salt with a drop of water is a big difference
something can happen to two people but they will experience it differently

Question 17

buddha spoke of dark and light actions, is it the same for the reactions

Answer 17

can be mixed

Question 18

define kusala (s) / kusala (P)

Answer 18

wholesome/skillful

motivated by non-attachments, not the 3 (hatred/delusion/green)

Question 19

define akusala

Answer 19

unwholesome, unskillful

motivated by attachment/hatred/delusion