Netstint.com

The Perfections

There are two basic schools of Buddhism, traditionally referred to as North and South, but more accurately Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

Theravada Buddhism predominantly exists in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia. Mahayana Buddhism exists mainly in Tibet, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam. Theravada and Mahayana have both travelled and taken root in a number of Western countries.

Theravada training places emphasis on the Noble Eightfold path. Mahayana training places emphasis on the Six Paramitas. Though outwardly different, they essentially produce the same results.

Paramita is a Sanskrit word which translates as Perfection.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Eastern Religious View

The great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi lived in the last century, passing away in 1950. His life story is a real eye opener and a challenge to our Western view of what constitutes a religion and a religious life.

As a young boy around the age of 14 he had the feeling he was going to die. So he quizzed himself, as to what would happen when he died. He relates how he lay on the floor and allowed the death feeling to flow over him. Moments later he felt somehting die. And then he was free.

Read the rest of this entry »

Its All The Rage

I came across a few sites, mostly so called psychics that offer Karma Cleansing. How is that possible? How can you clean your Karma? Its not possible to consciously access the Karmic seeds stored in the Alya-Vijnana – the Unconscious, so how do these so called Psychics perform the cleaning?

Karma Cleansing 1
Karma Cleansing 2
Karma Cleansing 3
Karma Cleansing 4
Karma Cleansing 5

Karma itself is in four parts:

1. Hetu – Causal Acts
2. Vipaka – Ripening
3. Pratyaya – Conditions
4. Phala – Fruits

Karma is Sanskrit for action. When you perform an act a thought or a word, whether those are good or bad, their seeds are stored in the Unconscious. These are called Hetu – Causal Acts.

The seeds lay dormant until they ripen and are ready to come to consciousness. These are called Vipaka – Ripening.

The Karmic seeds cannot come to be until they meet the right conditions, at which point they bear fruit. These are called Pratyaya – Conditions.

The ripening seeds Vipaka, on meeting the right conditions, Pratyaya, bear fruit and come into consciousness. This is called Phala – Fruits.

This is the stage at which people normally comment on having good or bad karma. They see the fruits of past actions and pass judgement on them as either good or bad.

The Cleansing

So, I would like to know at which point in the process do the psychics cut in and to the cleaning? Do they remove all the bad seeds? How do they differentiate between good seeds and bad seeds?

Maybe they do very little apart from some smart chat and take your money, then leave you on your merry way, believing your somehow better off than you were before you phoned them on their premium rate numbers charged at £1.50 per minute or £60 per hour?

Yeah, I guess thats how it works.

There’s one born every minute. So I’ve been told.

Cause And Effect

Brief notes on Karma. Karma is Sanskrit meaning action.

Karma is a key concept and a fundamental part of Buddhist philosophy and practice.

Karma producing actions take three forms:

1. Thought – Mind
2. Word – Speech
3. Deed – Acts

Karma itself is in four parts:

1. Hetu – Causal Acts
2. Vipaka – Ripening
3. Pratyaya – Conditions
4. Phala – Fruits

Vipakahetu – Ripening Actions
Vipakaphala – Ripening Fruit

There are places on the Internet that purport to help you Clear Your Karmic Debt, if thats possible. Of course there is as much Pyrite as Aurum. Don’t be fooled.

Violent Barbarism

A 16 Year old was given 50 lashes for wearing a knee length skirt in public in the city of Khartoum. To make matters worse, she was not a Muslim; she was a Christian.

It would appear that Islam lacks compassion, or this kind of practice would not occur. Maybe its this brand of Islam? I don’t know.

Its hard to believe such things happen in the 21st century We live in an enlightened age. Unfortunately some people still live in the stone age.

How sad.

Inherent Tendencies

Vasana Sanskrit. Translates as “subtle desires”, “tendencies” or “habit patterns”.

Ramana Maharshi the great Indian sage who lived in the last century, was asked by one of his followers about a deed the follower had planned and whether he would be successful in his deed or not.

Ramana Maharshi replied:

“You will not be able to, as your Vasana will not let you.”

What Ramana Maharshi was saying was…

You will not succeed in your endeavour because you are not strong enough to overcome your inherent or latent tendencies.

This is a situation we have all encountered. You decide you want to get fit, put those running shoes on and get out the door. After a few hundred yards, the voice in your head chirps up:

“This is silly, lets stop now before you get hurt or injure yourself.”

That’s your Vasana. You must overcome your Vasana to move on and attain freedom from your old habits.

Another example would be you want to give up smoking. Throw the cigarettes out and decide I have quit. A few hours later or maybe the next day, the desires kick in. The craving starts and you don’t know how to handle it. You think “oh this is stupid. I’ll quit tomorrow”, then light up a cigarette.

A smoker at that point has encountered his Vasana. His subtle desires, his tendencies or his habit patterns. These he must break and reform. That’s the hardest part.

Online Hindu dictionary has this:

Vasana: Sanskrit. “Subconscious inclination.” From vas, “living, remaining.”

The subliminal inclinations and habit patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one’s attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions, combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti.

The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are found in the dimension of mind called the subconscious, or vasana chitta.