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Generally speaking, it is thought that gratitude and respect for parents is one of the highest duties. Of course, this is a complicated area, and as always in the Suttas there are no absolutes. Sometimes people ask me about their experiences with abusive or violent parents, and worry that they don’t know how to respect them. I think the point in such cases is that it is still possible to work towards some kind of forgiveness and peace with what’s happened, even if there is no hope of reconciliation. In terms of right view, there is still an acknowledgement that it is a good thing to respect parents, even if it is not always possible.
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I’m not entirely clear as to your question here. But generally there is no problem with desire as such; it is only desire that is connected with rebirth that falls under the second noble truth. So desire to practice the noble eightfold path and find liberation is not part of the origin of suffering.There are many words used in the suttas to denote some aspect of desire, love, wanting, or craving; some, like taṇhā are used in an exclusively negative sense; some, like mettā, in an exclusively positive sense; and some, like chanda, vary according to context.
Thank you Sujato.
As to my second question - we can find phrasings like these in the suttas :
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, while you dwell contentedly, your scraps of almsfood will seem to you as a dish of rice cleaned of black grains and served with many gravies and curries seems to a householder or a householder’s son; and they will serve for your delight, relief, and ease … " AN8:30 ,To Anuruddha
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,The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words."
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,here I see bhikkhus smiling and cheerful, sincerely joyful, plainly delighting, their faculties fresh, living at ease, unruffled, subsisting on what others give, abiding with mind [as aloof] as a wild deer’s." MN89
What is difference between the delight in the above phrases and the delight from the Noble Truth?
Best wishes!
hi bhante, i missed the first workshop, but cannot find the mp3 to download. please help. thanks.
shirley
still waiting, we will let you know here when it is ready…
Ok, so this one in Pali is:
http://suttacentral.net/pi/an8.30/9.200-9
and the relevant term here is rati, translated by Ven Bodhi as “delight”. This is one of the words which is used both in a positive sense (delighting in seclusion, delighting in jhāna, etc., and in a negative sense, as a term for craving.
In this stock phrase, found eg here:
http://suttacentral.net/pi/mn2/38
The relevant term here is abhinandati, from the root nanda. Nanda, like rati, is used in both positive and negative senses; eg. in the second noble truth we have nandirāgasahagatā, tatra tatrābhinandinī.
http://suttacentral.net/pi/mn89/6.911-6.1016
Here delight renders abhiratarūpa, from the same root rati as above. It’s an unusual compound, with the suffix -rūpa interpreted by Ven Bodhi to mean appearing, thus “plainly”.
So each of these terms is subtly different depending on context. However each expresses some kind of delight in what is wholesome, and as such are quite different from the craving of the second noble truth.
Thank you very much!
With metta,
Dear Bhante,
Please forgive me if the point below was already discussed elsewhere on the forum but I was unable to find it. Great to see so many people participating in the discussions.
You mention kamma as rebirth-producing but it is my understanding that kamma can also have results in this very life. f.I. if you intentionally do a bad action and get punished, partly by self-punishment (feeling guilty) and possibly also coming from the outside in various possible forms (I.e. imprisonment, someone taking revenge, etc). This type of kamma is easier to see in our daily lives. Can you elaborate on this?
Thank you for a great course.
with Metta
Dear Vimala,
I like your picture! Hopefully you don’t look like that quite yet!
Yes, it is explicitly stated in the suttas that kamma can produce results in the same life. This would include any painful experiences that come from punishment for actions done in this life, but more importantly it refers to the mental world you are creating for yourself. Bad acts feel bad, and good acts feel good. This is precisely why virtue, in both its positive and negative sense, is extremely important on the path. Virtue, including generosity, provides the all-important foundation of happiness for meditation to work. I don’t think it is possible to emphasise this enough, and it should be a powerful inducement for us to do everything in our power to do what is good.
With metta.
Dear Ajahn Brahmali,
Thank you for your answer and clarifications.
The reason I brought it up was that during the last workshop in Sydney I participated in one of the discussion groups. One of the questions was about how we can see kamma in our daily lives (if I recall this correctly). Nearly everybody in my group said they could not see the effects of kamma because they could not remember their past lives. They all thought of kamma as rebirth-producing only.
In my opinion it is far more important for our practice to look at the kamma in this life because as you say, seeing the effects helps us lead more virtuous lives.
With metta,
Samaneri Vimala
PS The pictures is ‘Fritz’, the plastic skeleton in the meditation hall of Anenja Vihara.
Session 1 of the Part 1: Myth-busting at BSWA (Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali) had been recorded and put up on LiveStream (usually prior to youtube). I’ve recorded the mp3 (amplified the question about Samyutta-Agama) and uploaded it into GoogleDrive https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B34cfrY-Z4rmfmUxWjl2V0k2Y1RObTZtSHVLWlBBN21FWnlfZ2ZJR2VqdGpNLW9WWmtxYU0&usp=sharing
I listened in live for Session 2, fortunately, but unfortunately didn’t press record on Audacity, but I managed to note down some of the sutta referenced: KN:Ud5.3, MN93, DN15, AN Jhanasoni ([2.17], 10.177), MN57, Black & White Kamma, SN56.48, 47
Dear Ajahn Brahmali I have a question about intention. Some times some people act in the way that I consider very irritating . I understand that is my enterpretation of their behavior and it is upp to me to let go of my expectations. I do try to think with kindness toward them and try to let go of my anger. But after I thought I let go of my anger I found my self in the middle of saying something hurtful to this person who acted irritating to me. I have not planed to do or say anything hurtful and I thought I have let it go but there it was coming out of my mouth.
Would that be considered making intentional karma? And if I apologize to that person from all my heart would that elleminate bad karma?
With meta, Alona.
Dear Alona,
I suspect there is probably a bit of bad kamma there, but not too much. You have tried to let go, but then you find out that you haven’t really fully let go after all! That’s a good learning experience in itself. Try to understand your mind a bit more deeply, especially your intention, and you will be able to find out what is going on all by yourself.
And no, apologising will not eliminate the bad kamma, but it will reduce its effect. Also, apologising is in itself good kamma, if it comes from a good heart.
With metta.
Dear Ajahn Brahmali, thank you for your reply. Also thank you for posting your Dharma talks on YouTube . I really enjoy them and they really helpful in my daily practice. I am trying to understand my mind by paying close attention every day to my intentions. What I see that my wrong intentions come from unwise Self-righteous ideas av how life and people in it should exist (like I know…haha). I think my misunderstanding called a wrong view. But I found that developing right view is very challenging process but absolutely essential for making good karma. ( Sorry for misspellings)
With Metta, Alona.
Maria asked me to bring this over from another thread:
Thank YOU, Ajahn Sujato. I will be away for 3 weeks, signing up now and go to India with Ajahn Brahmali and others. Will miss the 1st class for sure. Sorry.
I really like this topic, ‘Karma and Rebirth’
Happy New Year!
Anumodana!
May you be free,
russ
For some reason, this link doesn’t work…
This should work: