Karma

In accord with the Sarvastivada abhidharma texts and The Great Extensive Commentarial Treatise on Special Topics of Knowledge (Skt. Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣa-śāstra), compiled in the late first century CE at the Fourth Buddhist Council, the Vaibhashika system that followed this...

Methodology Karma is a prominent topic discussed throughout the history of Indian thought, with several different explanations found in the varied schools of Indian philosophy, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist. Even within the Buddhist fold, there are several different...

The Complexity of Karma Karma is a topic that concerns what happens to us and why. It is something that is very relevant to all of us on a personal level, not something outside of the sphere of our lives. If we can start to understand karma and how it works, we can begin to...

The founding of the Sautrantika tenet system is attributed to Kumaralata (Skt. Kumāralāta) (aka Kumaralabdha, Skt. Kumāralabdha) in the late first century CE. He rejected the Sarvastivada abhidharma sources in favor of relying exclusively on the Sarvastivada sutras. His views...

Let us first examine the main assertions concerning karmic impulses and revealing and nonrevealing forms in the Mahayana Sutra Basket and then, in the next part of this series, in the Sarvastivada Abhidharma Basket. These are the forerunners of some of the main features of the...

How a Mental Urge, and Not a Revealing Form, Functions as a Karmic Impulse for Actions of the Body  Vasubandhu explains in A Discussion for the Establishment of Karma (Las-grub-pa’i rab-tu byed-pa, Skt. Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa) (Derge vol. 136, 144B): Suppose (Vaibhashika) asks,...

If I explain like I have been doing, is this something that you find beneficial? I ask because there are many different ways the Dharma can be taught. Dr. Berzin: Rinpoche is asking for some feedback. Is this a suitable manner to present this material for you? If you find this...

The name of this work is The Wheel of Sharp Weapons Effectively Striking the Heart of the Foe. I pay heartfelt homage to you, Yamantaka; your wrath is opposed to the Great Lord of Death. [1] [notes by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey: see below] (1) In jungles of poisonous plants...

Part One: Contrasting Bodhisattvas with Ordinary Beings Two Traditions for Developing Conventional Bodhichitta To destroy self-grasping and self-cherishing and to attain enlightenment, all mind training texts emphasize tonglen. This is the practice of giving and taking as...

The Importance of Analysis We were discussing what Kalachakra adds to our understanding of the four noble truths. And we saw that one of the most distinctive features that it adds is the discussion of the flowing or coursing of the winds of karma in our bodies, our subtle...