In the texts it talks of the Precious Human Life which is very rare - considering the multitudes of beings that there are on this planet, different realms and according to the teachings, different worlds.Originally Posted by jocky
We have a precious human life where we can live with a minimum of suffering and have the leisure to pursue a better life/ conditions/ spirituality. One of the reasons that it is precious is that so much can be achieved by one human through helping others etc etc. If you are starving, have mental problems or live unde a dictatorship - these aren't possible.
The Karma that results in a Precious Human Life depends upon the virtuousness of the being in the previous life/ lives ripening. The conditions are created by the being. The conditions required are the good human qualities. Otherwise, with no preparation it may be that a being ends up in one of the other realms or in a human life where condtions are bad due to a ripening of negative karma.
It seems to explain why it is that people can go bad, and do awful things and seem to be successful in one life. The conditions where they can wield power have been created - the results of what they do with that are stored up then, and unless there is purification, they will get a karmic result from that.
These are generalities. The Buddha said that an individual's karma is very complex, and it is difficult to draw conclusions about a person from what we see. So if we see a disabled person, we cannot come to the conclusin that in their previous life they were a bad person and deserve their punishment which is what Glen Hoddle implied before he was ejected from the England Manager post. Karma is accumulated from many lives previous.
You also can't say that the person in this life did bad things in a previous life. there is a relationship - but they are not the same personality/ individual because that part of a person - their character and individuality - is something that is impermanent, (though in our deluded view we consider it to be permanent). The teachings say that all beings want happiness, but are often deluded into thinking certain courses of action will bring it to them. In the short term it might - but in the long run suffering results from their actions.
What karma is not is a simple cause and effect from life to life, just as a being is related but different when they are reincarnated. reincarnation is certainly not the the same as that promoted by some westerners when the yclaim to be important people in the past. For a start it wasn't them on the individual/ personality level.
I hope that answers your question a bit Jocky. If you get me started I just go on and on!
Reply With Quote
