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Action is intention
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:50 pm
by altar
I believe there is a quote to the effect of "Action is intention." All i can find on the internet is "It is action which I call intention." But I can't find a sutta reference. Does anyone know what sutta this is from?
Sorry if this is the wrong forum as i'm basically just looking for a reference. But discuss on the sentence is okay.
Re: Action is intention
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:13 pm
by Lombardi4
Cetanāhaṃ, bhikkhave, kammaṃ vadāmi. Cetayitvā kammaṃ karoti – kāyena vācāya manasā.
"Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect.
AN 6.63
“It is volition, bhikkhus, that I call kamma. For having willed, one acts by body, speech, or mind.
AN 6.63
Re: Action is intention
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:58 pm
by lyndon taylor
Actually I think its intention precedes and predicates action, they are two different words.
Re: Action is intention
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 10:09 pm
by lyndon taylor
For instance you can have the intention to mow the lawn, but the action of actually getting started mowing it might take an hour or two weeks.
Re: Action is intention
Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 11:38 pm
by Cittasanto
lyndon taylor wrote:For instance you can have the intention to mow the lawn, but the action of actually getting started mowing it might take an hour or two weeks.
there are acts of body speech & mind. and as mind precedes all phenomena (Dhp1 & 2), and intention is a mental action it is, as the above quote from AN6 says, Kamma.