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SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 3:13 am
by mikenz66
SN 35.145PTS: S iv 132 CDB ii 1211 (corrresponds to CDB 35.146)
Kamma Sutta: Action
translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu


The Buddha explains how the results of "old" kamma (the actions we performed in the past) and "new" kamma (the ones we perform now) are both experienced in the present.
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"Monks, I will teach you new & old kamma, the cessation of kamma, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma. Listen and pay close attention. I will speak.

"Now what, monks, is old kamma? The eye is to be seen as old kamma, fabricated & willed, capable of being felt. The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect is to be seen as old kamma, fabricated & willed, capable of being felt. This is called old kamma.

"And what is new kamma? Whatever kamma one does now with the body, with speech, or with the intellect: This is called new kamma.

"And what is the cessation of kamma? Whoever touches the release that comes from the cessation of bodily kamma, verbal kamma, & mental kamma: This is called the cessation of kamma.

"And what is the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma? Just this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is called the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma.

"So, monks, I have taught you new & old kamma, the cessation of kamma, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma. Whatever a teacher should do — seeking the welfare of his disciples, out of sympathy for them — that have I done for you. Over there are the roots of trees; over there, empty dwellings. Practice jhana, monks. Don't be heedless. Don't later fall into regret. This is our message to you."


See also: MN 101; "Kamma & the Ending of Kamma" from the book Wings to Awakening.
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Re: SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 3:15 am
by mikenz66
SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta
translated from the Pali by Maurice O'Connell Walshe


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"Monks, I will teach you about new kamma and old kamma, about the ceasing of kamma and the path that leads to the ceasing of kamma. Listen well, pay close attention and I will speak.

"What, monks, is old kamma?

"The eye [ear, nose tongue, body (touch), mind],[1] monks, is to be regarded as old kamma, brought into existence and created by volition,[2] forming a basis for feeling.[3] This, monks, is called 'old kamma.'

"And what, monks, is new kamma?

"The action[4] one performs now by body, speech and mind. This monks, is called 'new kamma.'

"When, monks, by ceasing actions of body, speech and mind, one touches liberation,[5] this, monks, is called 'the ceasing of kamma.'

"And what, monks, is the path that leads to the ceasing of kamma?

"It is the Noble Eightfold Path, namely Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action,[6] Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration. This, monks, is called 'the path that leads to the ceasing of kamma.'[7]

"Whatever, monks, a teacher ought to do out of compassion, for the profit of his disciples, that I have done, having compassion for you.

"Here monks, are the roots of trees! Here are lonely places! Meditate monks. Do not be slothful, have no subsequent regrets. Thus we charge you."


Notes

1. Woodward quotes SA [SN commentary] as correctly pointing out that "Eye in itself is not old but it has come about by former actions [i.e., kamma.]"

2. Cf. the classic definition of kamma at AN 6.63: cetanaaha.m bhikkhave kamma.m vadaami "volition, monks, I declare to be kamma" (see A.nguttara Nikaaya: An Anthology translated by Nyaa.naponika Thera, Part II [WH 208-211], p.67).

3. Vedaniiya.m. Hence a basis for craving etc.

4. The same word kamma is used in the Pali.

5. This is really the Third Noble Truth.

6. The word here is kammanta. Right Action is specifically the observance of the first three precepts, i.e., abstaining from killing, theft and sexual misconduct.

7. Kammanirodha-gaaminii-pa.tipadaa. The usual term for the Path is dukkhanirodha-gaaminii-pa.tipadaa "the path (or practice) that leads to the extinction of suffering." Here the link between kamma and dukkha is clearly brought out. Those who have attained the goal do not create even good kamma.

Re: SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:53 pm
by rowyourboat
I thought this sutta would be relevant:
AN 3.33 PTS: A i 134 Thai III.34; BJT III.34
Nidana Sutta: Causes
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 2001–2011
"Monks, these three are causes for the origination of actions. Which three? Greed is a cause for the origination of actions. Aversion is a cause for the origination of actions. Delusion is a cause for the origination of actions.

"Any action performed with greed — born of greed, caused by greed, originating from greed: wherever one's selfhood turns up, there that action will ripen. Where that action ripens, there one will experience its fruit, either in this very life that has arisen or further along in the sequence.

"Any action performed with aversion — born of aversion, caused by aversion, originating from aversion: wherever one's selfhood turns up, there that action will ripen. Where that action ripens, there one will experience its fruit, either in this very life that has arisen or further along in the sequence.

"Any action performed with delusion — born of delusion, caused by delusion, originating from delusion: wherever one's selfhood turns up, there that action will ripen. Where that action ripens, there one will experience its fruit, either in this very life that has arisen or further along in the sequence.

"Just as when seeds are not broken, not rotten, not damaged by wind & heat, capable of sprouting, well-buried, planted in well-prepared soil, and the rain-god would offer good streams of rain. Those seeds would thus come to growth, increase, & abundance. In the same way, any action performed with greed... performed with aversion... performed with delusion — born of delusion, caused by delusion, originating from delusion: wherever one's selfhood turns up, there that action will ripen. Where that action ripens, there one will experience its fruit, either in this very life that has arisen or further along in the sequence.

"These are three causes for the origination of actions.

"Now, these three are [further] causes for the origination of actions. Which three? Non-greed is a cause for the origination of actions. Non-aversion is a cause for the origination of actions. Non-delusion is a cause for the origination of actions.

"Any action performed with non-greed — born of non-greed, caused by non-greed, originating from non-greed: When greed is gone, that action is thus abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.

"Any action performed with non-aversion — born of non-aversion, caused by non-aversion, originating from non-aversion: When aversion is gone, that action is thus abandoned, destroyed at the root, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.

"Any action performed with non-delusion — born of non-delusion, caused by non-delusion, originating from non-delusion: When delusion is gone, that action is thus abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.

"Just as when seeds are not broken, not rotten, not damaged by wind & heat, capable of sprouting, well-buried, planted in well-prepared soil, and a man would burn them with fire and, burning them with fire, would make them into fine ashes. Having made them into fine ashes, he would winnow them before a high wind or wash them away in a swift-flowing stream. Those seeds would thus be destroyed at the root, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.

"In the same way, any action performed with non-greed... performed with non-aversion... performed with non-delusion — born of non-delusion, caused by non-delusion, originating from non-delusion: When delusion is gone, that action is thus abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.

"These, monks, are three causes for the origination of action."
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with metta

Matheesha

Re: SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta

Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:08 am
by mikenz66
Notes from Bhikkhu Bodhi (who numbers this Sutta SN 35.146):

"And what, bhikkhus, is old kamma? The eye is old kamma, to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition, as something to be felt..."

BB: See also SN 12.37
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12. 4. 7. (37) Natumha: Not Yours

Spk here offers essentially the same explanation as for that sutta, adding that in this sutta the preliminary stage of insight (pubbabhagavipassana) is discussed.

Spk on 12.37: It is old kamma (puranam idam kammam): This body is not actually old kamma, but because it is produced by old kamma it is spoken of in terms of its condition. It should be seen as generated (abhisankhata), in the it is made by conditions; as fashioned by volition (abhiancetayita), in that it is based on volition, rooted in volition and as something to be felt (vedaniya), in that it is a basis for what is to be felt [spk-pt: because it is a bases and object of feeling.].

BB on 12.37: See also 35.146 [current sutta], where the same idea is extended to the six internal sense bases. To reflect upon the body in terms of dependent origination, one considers that this body can be subsumed under "ofrm" in the compound "name and form". One then reflects that name-and-form comes into being with consciousness, i.e., the rebirth-consciousness, as a conascent condition, and the both consciousness and name-and-form originate from the volitional formations, i.e., the kammic activities of the preceding existence. Thus the theme of this sutta ties up with the three that immediately follow.

Re: SN 35.145: Kamma Sutta

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 11:20 pm
by paul
Among several other good points, the Wings to Awakening reference states the necessity of investigating the personal results of karma.
The terminology: narrative/cosmological=conventional reality and phenomenological= ultimate reality, is used throughout the reference.