The Power of Ten: Part One

(Prologue: I’ve got first-hand experience that a real understanding of the laws of karma can substantially change our lives for the better. I created this weblog to share information and personal experience with others. May it be of benefit!)

If I make certain decisions, I will get certain outcomes. That is the law of karma — the basic flow of nature. <source: Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche – The Four Sessions of Basic Goodness and here.>

In the post of March 28, 2010 we heard the story of Sariputra, the monk, who roared with laughter. We saw that once the consequences from our past volitional actions ripen,
we cannot change them. So it would be a good idea to get familiar with the
10 non virtuous actions and the karma accumulated from having engaged in them — especially as one of those non virtuous actions is not understanding how karma works! Yikes!

As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche puts it, karma is tit for tat. <source: description of One of the Four Reminders: Karma, its cause and effect. For full quote, please click
here.>

Here is the chart of the 10 negative consequences that arise from ten past volitional actions. The one thing they all have in common is that they spring from self-absorption <source: teacher Jay Lippman, Talk 5 of weekend seminar in Toronto, Canada on Karma, March 13-14, 2010, Toronto, Canada>:

RESULTS OF PAST NON VIRTUOUS ACTIONS
ACT IN PAST
RESULT IN PRESENT
ENVIRONMENT
Killing Short life Little vitality
Stealing Poverty Meager harvests; hurricanes etc
Sexual misconduct Unfaithful spouse Unclean
Lying Slandered – heap blame on you; deceived Bad odor
Divisive talk Arguments; fighting; friends untrustworthy Difficult place
Malicious talk Criticized Difficult place
Empty talk People won’t listen to you; lack self confidence Barren place
Greedy thoughts Great attachments; never feel satisfied Worse conditions
Malice Great aggression; avoid what is beneficial Wars, diseases, etc.
Wrong view (i.e. don’t understand how karma works) Stupidity No help; best sources of health dry up for you; everything you do turns to dust

In a future post, I will demonstrate the information in the chart by using real examples from real lives.

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