This is my notes on the talk by Ajahn Brahmali. He spoke so fast so I tried to take notes as fast as I could.
What is the law of kamma?
A lot of people often use the word “kamma” or “karma” to describe bad luck or fate. For example, if someone lost his wallet, he would say, “It was my kamma.” It is actually a misunderstanding to describe our kamma simply as our bad luck or fate.
We also often use the word “kamma” to justify other people’s misfortunes. For example, when someone got sick, we would say, “It was his kamma.” If we use it like this, we tend to lose compassion and kindness.
There are a few things that may or may not happen because of what we did in the past, such as:
- Weather. Weather changes not because of what we do in the past.
- Accidents. If we are born as human, we may have accidents, not due to particular actions in the past. Even death can happen due to accident.
- Sickness. Sometimes we are going to be sick. When we go to the doctor, instead of saying that something is wrong, we should say that something is right with us.
When you are born as human being, you can expect suffering, sickness, and problems. We need to understand that there is no alternative, we need to just accept that it’s the way it is. We need to cultivate this kind of thinking.
How to reduce the impact of problems in life?
- caring; to be careful and do things the right way
- practicing Buddhist teaching
For example: Ajahn Brahmali told a story how people often asked him to bless their new cars. He said that he agreed to bless the car and the blessing would work on one condition, that they would drive carefully.
The simile of the salt.
If we put a spoon of salt in a glass of water, when we drink the water, it will be salty. If we put a spoon of salt in a pond, when we taste water, there will be barely any saltiness. If the salt is our bad kamma and water is our good kamma. If we want kamma to work in our favor, make sure that we increase the amount of good kamma so that the bad kamma becomes a miniscule problem.
May all beings be happy!
Learn and Grow!
Inge Santoso, B. Com
No comments:
Post a Comment