JANUARY 31, 2012

Three Natures Of Karma

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Philosophy2 comments

Karma has been a very commonly used word these days with the familiarity of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ karma. Karma takes the meaning of an ‘act’ or ‘deed’ which is not only limited to physical actions but also encompasses mental actions. It is governed by the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction. Simply put, if something good is done, you will be ‘rewarded’ and if something bad is done, you will be ‘penalized’. It has weight when done consciously, despite of whether it was intended or not ( some say that animals and children are not bounded by karma as they do not have the consciousness as to what is right or wrong ) . Therefore, I would like to emphasise that karma and fate are entirely unrelated as karma entirely results from one’s actions, whereas fate refers to forces outside your control or unavoidable.

Karma refers to the totality of our actions and reactions, not only in this lifetime but also previous and all of this determine our future ( near or next life ). With that, we should note that there are four ways that karma can be produced:

a)      through thoughts

b)      through words

c)      through our own actions

d)      through actions performed by others under our instructions

We should then keep in mind that not all karmas rebound immediately. Let me introduce to you the three types of karma known traditionally in the Hindu religion.

SANCHITA KARMA

-         currently fructifying

-         collected karma from one’s past lifetimes but has not been fully effected

-         it is being experienced now but the stock of sanchita lasts a few lifetimes

AGAMI KARMA

-         growing and developing

-         actions created during your current life which will be added to your ‘sanchita karma’, be it positive or negative

-         for example, you can do good and add on to your stock of good karma to negate the bad karma in the next lifetime

KRIYAMANA KARMA

-         instant karma

-         it is actions created in this lifetime and worked off immediately in this lifetime too

-         for example, when you hit the red light and you get a ticket from the police

In a nutshell, to experience good karma and a better life ahead, we should be mindful of our actions towards others at all times.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you – Matthew 7:12
and
How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.  ~Wayne Dyer

4N 5D Langkawi Yoga and Nature Retreat
2N3D Langkawi Yoga and Nature Retreat

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JANUARY 27, 2012

The Three Teachings – First: Retreat

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Natural Highs, Philosophy, Wellness, Yoga Retreatno responses

Few years ago, a friend of mine lent me a book entitled Three Teachings. It consists of three talks delivered by Tenzin Palmo in Singapore in the year of 1999. Born in London in 1943, she was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1964. Her talks were aimed at an ordinary audience of people with families,professions and normal social obligations.  Therefore, in order to make Dharma appeal to these people without expecting them to leave their social responsibilities, Tenzin Palmo retracts the ‘over-emphasism’ of sitting meditation as the sole means to enlightenment. Instead, she points out that when one lives his or her everyday lives with awareness and open heartedness, that is the very basis of a Dharma practice. Tenzin not only delivers her teachings in plain language and with compassion, but makes it lively with humour.

In this month’s blog post, I have attached a downloadable pdf file of her first teaching entitled “Three Teachings- Retreat“. The second and third teachings will be uploaded in the February and March blog posts. Enjoy:)

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