Non-Buddhists and their kamma

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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manas
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Re: Non-Buddhists and their kamma

Post by manas »

(I had good intentions with this post, but have felt it was best to 'extinguish' it, on second thoughts.)
Last edited by manas on Wed Mar 06, 2013 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
SarathW
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Re: Non-Buddhists and their kamma

Post by SarathW »

Sotapanna person is not fully eradicated attachment and aversion.
So he/she still may envoleve with unwholesome activitis but with KNOWLEDGE and WITHOUT PLEASURE (please someone correct me if I am wrong).
But he/she is assured Arahantship within seven lives.
This matter is discussed in:

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14256" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
whynotme
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Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:52 am

Re: Non-Buddhists and their kamma

Post by whynotme »

wow, bhikhhu Pesala very straight and clear, well said
Stephen K wrote:My meditation was disrupted today. I couldn't stop thinking about my mother. She killed a chicken a few days ago. And another one today. We are raising chickens in our yard and she kills a few of them every now and again. I told her not to do it. I told her it was bad for both her and the chickens. But she is not a Buddhist. She doesn't believe in kamma and rebirth. She is not aware of the Buddhist precepts and the consequences of their breach.

Which is the point of this thread. Is the vipaka of a non-Buddhist, who is not aware of kamma, rebirth, and the precepts, different from that of a Buddhist? In other words, if a Buddhist and a non-Buddhist perform the same type of kamma, for example killing a chicken, would there be any difference in their vipaka that would be the result of that kamma?

My uncle, who is one of the wisest men I know, drinks alcohol from time to time. Another wise man I know (my former gym instructor) swats flies. In fact, I saw Barack Obama once swat a fly. Actually, if I weren't a Buddhist I'd probably still swat flies like I used to before I was a Buddhist.

But you can understand why. They are not Buddhists. If someone knows nothing of Dhamma, they are very likely to do things contrary to Dhamma.

The question is, would there be a difference in their kamma simply because of the fact that they do not understand the consequences of their actions? Would their kammic results be less serious, more, or the same, compared to the same of a Buddhist?
The dangerous thing about being non Buddhist and doesn't believe in kamma is: normally it seems not very important, they (non buddhists) are maybe rich, wise, happy.. but life is long and unpredictable. If suddenly things don't go the right way then you would be surprised by how a man react to a harsh situation. Even for a Buddhist who believes in kamma, it is a very hard struggle, i.e going bankrupt, war, or greed arise.. Those situations are the main different deciding factors between believing or not. If you don't have faith, then even the wisest person will make very stubborn mistakes, they even don't fit to their daily wisdom, e.g murder, stealing,..

Sometime you see criminals with very good background but just one moment of evil thought.. being wise for the most of your life mean nothing when making one big mistake, you lose it all.
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