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How To Repent and Re-Gain Good Karma
I made a grave mistake about a month ago and had an abortion. While it was the best choice for me, I'm realizing now how different Buddhism feels on the issue, and I'm beginning to see the error of my ways.
Please, what can I do to repent and regain good karma? I know that Buddha himself said that this was very grave and difficult to overcome.
Please, what can I do to repent and regain good karma? I know that Buddha himself said that this was very grave and difficult to overcome.
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You can "go through" your bad karma (like taking the trash out), and create more good karma.
You can purify yourself.
Don't worry about the karma. Instead gain wisdom from the experience, don't have unprotected sex.
Buddhism does consider abortion to be the taking of a human life. At the same time, Buddhists generally are reluctant to intervene in a woman's personal decision to terminate a pregnancy. Buddhism may discourage abortion, but it also discourages imposing rigid moral absolutes. The rigid following of rules is not what makes us moral. Further, imposing authoritative rules often creates a new set of moral wrongs.
The First Precept of Buddhism often is translated "I undertake to refrain from destroying life." Some schools of Buddhism make a distinction between animal and plant life, and some do not. Although human life is most important, the Precept cautions us to refrain from taking life in any of its countless manifestations.
That said, there is no question that terminating a pregnancy is an extremely serious matter. Abortion is considered to be taking a human life and is strongly discouraged in Buddhist teachings. However, I do not believe any school of Buddhism absolutely forbids it.
The five conditions of panatipata (Killing)
1. The being must be alive.
If the being is not alive, you did not kill it.
2. There must be the knowledge that it is a live being.
You did not, at the time, know the being was alive.
3. There must be an intention to cause death.
Did you intend to kill your unborn child? Or what was your intention?
4. An act must be done to cause death.
The Abortion in question, you asked someone to kill your unborn child for you. So a way to repent is to apologize to that person who you asked to do that for you. Chances are that person doesn't see what s/he is doing is wrong. Chances are they won't care that you apologized, but do so anyway. It's a start.
5. There must be death, as the result of the said act.
And so there was death. It affected you in a terrible way upon its realization. You were ignorant then you are wiser now. Take this as a way you can grow.
If all the said five conditions are fulfilled, the first precept is violated.
If the precept is violated, just retake it with full awareness.
There is no cosmic judge to punish you nor ledger of good and bad karma that you need to balance. You must look around you and do what is correct and appropriate for this day. That's all any of us can do.
My suggestion is to just let it go now,you regret it, and its in the past.
The karmic consequences from unskillful acts can be the distress in our own troubled minds.
Karma is intention - so have the intention to avoid harming other sentient beings from now on.
Kind wishes,
Dazzle
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1. The power of remorse. To sincerely regret your action.
2. The power of resolve. To resolve to never again commit the act.
4. The power of the remedy. To recite a prayer of confession, such as The Sutra of the Three Heaps.
3. The power of reliance. To imagine you are in the presence of the Three Jewels while confessing.
But, I would suggest following Jinzang's advice. The idea here is not to make the same mistake again, not to beat yourself up about it. This is Buddhism, not Christianity. We don't make people torment themselves over past mistakes like Christians do.
I am sorry to hear that you had to go through this, but if it meant that your life would be negative and more importantly maybe that the babies life would not have been adequate at that specific time in your life, then maybe it was for the best... One could even argue that you generated a degree of positive karma in doing it for the right decisions as well as negative karma.
As others have said here, the solution is to acknowledge your regret over your action, vow not to repeat it, and then don't repeat it.
I too, express my sorrow for the difficult choice you were faced with. We always do the best we can in any situation, given what our options are, who we are and what we understand at that point in time. Learn and move on in your life.
You are already regaining good karma, because you realised you've done something wrong, and you try to correct it .
Everyone of us have done things that we truly regret.
The 1st lesson is not to repeat the same mistake.
You cant undo bad karma.
But you can accumulate good karma so that your good karma far outnumber bad karma.
You can buy some animals and set them free.
Just be aware of the ecological consequences and in some places hunters actually catch these animals to sell to BUddhists who want to set them free.
Have you read about the life of Milarepa? He killed many people at a weding and yet was able to overcome this act with great effort and devotion.
He was a serial killer. He became an Arahant by changing his ways and seeing and understanding compassion.
a investigate the meaningless of nonvirtue
b by investigating fear of its result
c by investigating the need to be free of it quickly
2 Power of Antidote. The complete antidote to evil deeds is the practice of virtue.
3 Power of Resolve
One who lacks self guidance
And later possesses mindfulness
Is like a radiant moon being freed from clouds.
For example, Nanda, Angulimal, Ajataashatru, and Udayana
4 Power of Reliance. Taking refuge in the Three Jewels and cultivating the mind towards upreme enlightenment.
Like entrusting myself to a brave man when greatly feared
By entrusting myself to this awakening mind I shall be
swifty liberated
Even if I have committed extremely unbearable evils.
Why then do the conscientious not devote themselves to this?
I thought your question important enough to respond to without reading any other responses so I wouldn't be influenced one way or the other. If I repeat something another said, it's only because I didn't read any other responses.
You say you made a 'grave mistake', but did you really? You also say 'it was the best choice for me'.
Look, the reality is that in a perfect world we would all emerge from the womb fully mature and possessing perfect wisdom and we would never do anything foolish or in the heat of the moment. The real reality is none of us live in that world.
In your case stuff happened, you were confronted by a really difficult thing and you made a choice.
I will not judge you for your choice and I hope that in time neither will you. It's a really difficult thing to make a life and death choice for another and then have to live on with that choice. Had you made the choice to not abort you would also suffer. Your lot was to suffer in this case no matter what.
Just spend some time considering what got you into the position of having to make this unenviable choice, make the changes you realistically can to not find yourself in the same situation again, forgive yourself so that you can later forgive others and move on. It's all you can do. Life isn't perfect and it involves a pretty significant amount of suffering. The more you care, the more you suffer, but not caring is worse than suffering.
@Jae,
Very Old Thread.... OP isn't even around anymore....
I feel a bit daft now! Perfect opportunity to try to contemplate embarrassment and put it aside!
I know the original poster hasn't been here since around the time the thread was started because if you click on her name on her post... you will go to her profile. There you can click on "comments" under her avatar and see what she's posted and when.
Try it. That's how you can tell if someone is still around or not... at least as far as posting.
They do say faith/confidence can move mountains. Then we climb the mountain of Love . . . I think we have a plan . . .
HA HO HA HO HA HO HO HO
OM YA HA HUM
:clap: