Category Archives: Karma and Rebirth

Karmic Liberation: The Great Synthesis

Tibetan, or more specifically, Vajrayana Buddhism, offers the great synthesis of all that has transpired in this series: Ritual prayer to lighten the burden of the Bardo; Dhyana-techniques to bring the effects of karma to their completion; Divine Union with the karma-family and Amoghasiddhi; the Yoga of the Thatness; Dogzchen rigpa and Samantabhadra’s matrix. read more

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Karma’s Repository

The advent of Mahāyāna Buddhism that coincided with the beginning of the Christian-era gave birth to the most sublime innovations in Buddhist-thought that have not been surpassed even to this day. Colorful, dynamic and transcendent in scope, resplendent with rich metaphorical language founded in the rich soil of sūtra and śāstra laden literature, the Mahāyāna shaped a new and indefatigable-direction for the nature of the karma-effect. According to the Sarvāstivādin and Theravādin doctrine, one’s goal in unraveling the karmic-equation was to slowly and diligently eradicate it through determined demolition of its defilements, in essence, being empowered to save-oneself. In Mahāyāna doctrine the emphasis was not so much in eradicating its effects, but standing above and beyond it by not focusing so much on individual-salvation, but by the salvation of others by practicing the six perfections or pāramitās. This found its inestimable worth in the cult of the Bodhisattvas. Generally, the causes of birth for ordinary beings are past deeds (karman) and defilements (klesa). But the Bodhisattva’s birth is unique in that it is caused exclusively by his will and purpose. Thus, a Bodhisattva volunteers to be born (sacintyabhavopapatti—intentional birth) into a life of suffering for the precise purpose of alleviating the suffering of sentient beings. read more

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Karmāśaya

In conjunction with earlier blogs in this series, Patañjali’s work does not beat around the bush—there needs to be a daily purification of the sattva, of one’s being. If not undertaken, future karmic seeds will continue to run amok. Mircea Eliade writes eloquently about being conditioned and governed by the seeds of karma: read more

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Lord Over Karma

The Unborn Bhagavad Gita is a manual in being free from the negative effects of karma. The hyperlink indicated is a chapter in the series on the Yoga of Discernment. The Unborn Lord of Yoga (portrayed as Krishna) indicates to a disheartened Arjuna: read more

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Kammanirodha

The emphasis on karma (kamma) in Early Buddhism was upon a series of factors that comprise the very angst of life: individualistic, sociological, and psychological components all constitute early doctrinal factors resulting in karmic-effect. Essentially, Kamma referred to what an individual inherits from oneself in some previous form of existence—not what one inherits from their ancestors. Hence, the Buddha and his sages declared that it was not so much [the action] itself, but rather the exclusive-intentional willing of the individual that is of decisive significance in determining karmic consequences. This Buddhaic-teaching had a two pronged effect upon disciples: one became remorseful over their karmic-[intent] because the wrong they committed could never be [undone]: read more

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The Sacrifice is the Thing

Vedic Origins of the Karmic Doctrine and Rebirth

Before becoming a doctrinal formulation in the early Upanisads, karma had its antecedent roots in ancient Vedic ritual constructions: read more

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Karma and Rebirth

This January series will be a systematic study on Karma and Rebirth. We will consider the topic from many different perspectives, essentially broken down in the following schemata: read more

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