Ven. Sujato - Kamma and Rebirth course

[Coyote]

Has anyone else been watching/following the kamma and rebirth course by Ven. Sujato? You can find the videos here and the forum here.

At this stage it's been "myth busting". He's brought up two issues which I'm not really sure I agree are myths:

1) On the subject of unintentional consequences of action (part 4), he brought up the issue of vegetarianism and concluded that the teaching on kamma is not equipped necessarily to deal with such ethical complexities (he wants to say eating meat is bad kamma).

2) That kamma is only active when a choice is being made - this was on the subject of the last mind-moment determining the next life (part 5). Moods or thoughts as such don't have kammic potency, but our choices around them do.

All in all it's been interesting and I'm looking forward to the rest.

[culaavuso]

1) On the subject of unintentional consequences of action (part 4), he brought up the issue of vegetarianism and concluded that the teaching on kamma is not equipped necessarily to deal with such ethical complexities (he wants to say eating meat is bad kamma).

Clarification of Ven. Bhikkhu Sujato's position might be found in a previous essay he wrote:

Since there is no intention to cause harm, eating meat is not bad kamma. There are therefore two logical possibilities: eating meat is ethical; or kamma is not a complete account of ethics.
...
I am suggesting that, while kamma deals with the personal, ethics includes both the personal and the environmental.

2) That kamma is only active when a choice is being made - this was on the subject of the last mind-moment determining the next life (part 5). Moods or thoughts as such don't have kammic potency, but our choices around them do.

This seems to be pointing to the difference between intention and choice.

[Virgo]

You can find the videos here and the forum here.

Looks interesting. Thanks.

Kevin