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The Reason We Are Here Is To Improve Our Karma?
DaltheJigsaw
Mountain View Veteran
The Reason We Are Here Is To Improve Our Karma?
That's our purpose?
True or False?
Why?
That's our purpose?
True or False?
Why?
0
Comments
The reason we're here is to progress towards Enlightenment, and to alleviate suffering for self and others.
karma is our conditioning. it's our thought, feeling, belief patterns that we've acquired.
i choose to brush my teeth everyday = good teeth
i choose to not brush my teeth = bad teeth
there is a choice (freewill) but things are determined by our actions (bad or good teeth).
when ones true nature is found, all karma is seen as empty of any inherent existence.
karma is just seen as thought, feeling, and belief patterns. when one detaches from that, they are liberated into nirvana.
though i have heard that enlighten beings have past karma (from past lives, i don't know anything about reincarnation) that they are working with to achieve full enlightenment. sometimes our conditioning is so deep that we need to constantly extinguish the flame. we do this in the present moment, with total mindfulness.
we see a thought arise and we choose to either act on it or to not act on it.
it is what it is. Response verse reaction.
In zen we make note that our true nature cannot be defiled, even though we have karma.
Imagine your true nature as the sky and everything else (thoughts, feelings, beliefs) as clouds.
We are the sky. The clouds go in and out of existences.
TLDR: absolutely, karma is empty. relatively, karma is our thought, feeling, belief patterns we've acquired.
hope this clears much up.
The purpose as afore mentioned by the others I would agree with. If a person were to get caught up in simply doing good and "creating good karma" then they themselves would not become enlightened. Don't desire good karma. Don't make it the ultimate goal. Let it go and you have no karma and everything is in balance.
we come to buddhism wanting freedom from suffering, we leave buddhism want to save all beings.
What is enlightenment in your eyes?
I wonder if we asked a person who is enlighten if he would even know...
As I do not think enlightened people are even concerned with that type of thought.
we can try. meow
if we experience suffering, we are here to find a solution to it (if we feel the need)
So the only type of karma worth cultivating is that which liberates us from this cycle of suffering. Which is true in the single life situation too. Though karma to remember to take the cookies out of the oven in time is also key
Perhaps another thing to note is that even when you are really good at something no-one bothers asking because they're all content doing it wrong or following someone else who appears to know what they're talking about.
Maybe someone here knows what I'm talking about.. I do wonder sometimes.
I think what Leon had in mind is that some children come into this world with their own wisdom, and troubled parents would do well to pay attention to these little teachers.
But anyway I agree with what you said Dakini!
anyway
But that's part of the problem with kids seeing their parents as gods. They can be benevolent gods, or wrathful gods, in the case of troubled or unskilled parents. Lots of parents aren't what I would call "exemplary", not in the usual sense of setting a positive example.