Contemplating Action | There Is No Suffering

If you can deeply contemplate fundamental ignorance, the rest is easy. The second link refers to actions of body and mind, which occur in response to karmic retribution. While contemplating action, place your emphasis on the attachments that lead you to act with desire, aversion, anger, arrogance, jealousy, or doubt. Causes and consequences have concordant qualities and natures; an unwholesome thought can lead to an unwholesome act. If you can act without engaging these mental afflictions, your actions will not create unwholesome karma; otherwise, suffering inevitably follows.

Here is an illustration: walking along a street at night, you see a toad; you find it repellant, and decide to crush it with your foot. As you step on it, you discover it is just dog shit. Simultaneously, you have received retribution for past karma and have created new karma. Stepping on shit in any state of mind is receiving retribution; but stepping on it thinking it to be a toad, you have
created new karma. In this case, however, you are lucky and the karma is light, because you did not actually kill. If, afterward, you reflect on your actions and feel remorse, the karma is lightened. This is good practice. If you reflect regularly after all actions that is excellent practice. Eventually, you may reach a point where your actions are no longer motivated by affliction.

However, reflecting after the fact is, in a sense, too late. To one degree or another, karma has already been created. Thus, you can improve your practice by reflecting before you act. Whether it is good, bad, or neutral karma depends on the intention behind the action. Of course, terms like good and bad are relative and subjecttive. What is good in one situation might be bad in another. What one person or culture considers good, another person or culture might consider neutral or bad. In general however, Buddhism states that good karma is created by thoughts, words, or actions intended to lead one toward liberation. Good karma is also created when one does things that lead to accumulation of merit and virtue. Bad karma is created by any thought, word, or action intended to cause overt suffering in oneself or in another. Notice that the intention or motivation is more important than the actual deed, and it is one’ s attachment to self and to outcomes that creates vexation. However, if you reflect immediately after vexation arises, you have altered the future effect for that act in the sense that a positive condition has altered the whole process of creating this karma. Not only that, but you will also have learned to be more mindful and will perhaps better control your actions in the future.

Thoughts still create karma, but without corresponding speech and action, the karma created is light. As ordinary sentient beings, we start by acting without reflection. Through practice, we begin to reflect after the act. Gradually, with growing awareness, we reflect before we act. This is cultivation. We slowly move from action to non-action, where karma creation is concerned. Some might think it best to lock oneself in a room to avoid creating any more karma. In fact, you will still receive retribution from previous lives, so you may as well live meaningfully, and cultivate goodness. Besides, you will create karma as long as your mind continues to be moved by things and events, so it does not matter whether you lock yourself up or not. Afflictions will still follow you like a shadow.

The method of contemplating action is simple. Whenever your mind moves, be aware of your thoughts. Try not to act on non-virtuous, unwholesome thoughts. When they arise do not reject or deny them. Just being aware of them is usually enough to dissipate them. If they persist, count or observe your breaths, or recite the Buddha’ s name.

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