Action (karma) has Fruit

Wisdom Quarterly

Karma is a broad and complex with mental resultants and fruit, vipaka and phala (buddhist-network.com).

According to the Buddha: Beings are owners of their actions (karma, those things willed, performed, and accumulated), inheritors of their actions, are created by their actions, linked to their actions. Their actions produce their destiny.

Whatever actions they engage in -- profitable and unprofitable skillful or unskillful -- the resultants (vipaka) and fruit (phala) will be theirs.

There is one who

• PHYSICALLY: kills living beings, steals what belongs to others, sexually misconducts [harming others under protection or in a relationship];

• VERBALLY: utters falsehoods, uses divisive and aggressive speech, prattles empty speech; is covetous, envious,

• MENTALLY: is jealous, malicious, or holds wrong views.

The intention or motivation behind bodily, verbal, and mental actions -- whether rooted in greed, aversion, or delusion or their opposites -- determines the quality of the fruit to be expected. [The morality of the person or persons one does it to also contributes a great deal.]

Hidden and secret are such intentions determining the eventual result of one's deeds, words, and thoughts [when they opportunistically get a chance to ripen]. It is difficult to know others' ulterior and concealed motives but possible, with mindful reflection, to discern one's own.

But I tell you: Whoever pursues hidden ways and [harmful] objectives may expect one of two results -- either torments in perdition or rebirth among animals. So it is with the rebirth of any being. They are reborn according to their store of actions.

• [The death-proximate consciousness is followed by the rebirth-linking consciousness taking some past act as object; karma therefore gains the opportunity to condition the following life, and other karma results in the conditions one meets, and how one reacts is again the karma one is making and can expect to inherit; therefore, a stumble can lead to downfall unless, in the face of adversity, one maintains the habit of skillful and profitable responses.]

When reborn, beings experience the exact effects of their actions. Therefore do I declare: Beings are owners of their actions, inheritor of their actions, are created by their actions, are linked to their actions either [in the case of unskillful actions] like a heavy load drawn by a yoked ox or [in the case of skillful deeds] a weightless shadow that follows one everywhere.

Their actions produce and condition their destiny. Whatever actions they perform, wholesome or unwholesome, the results and fruits will be their inheritance. Karma causes and conditions not only rebirth but the conditions that follow.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful! (Mudita)

Wisdom Quarterly (The solution and way to success is mudita, explained below)

She can act, sing, dance, marry well but is no golden idol like Yogini Moss (elledecor.com)

Why everyone hates Gwyneth Paltrow
Wwtdd.com but reframed by Wisdom Quarterly
Insufferable Hollywood elitist? GOOP megalomaniac? Or just a really cool person? Gwyneth Paltrow steps in it in her interview with Elle Decor magazine. On being asked to list a few things “she can’t live without,” she revealed a fantasy life detached from most people’s reality. Born to privilege (not in any way by "accident" but thanks to the fortunate fruition of karma seeded in the past), she indeed deserves to surround herself with the finest in life. But is she thankful for all that karma is bestowing on her, or is she bragging, or did her agent answer for her?

• How it all started: Gwyneth dies in "Contagion"
  

Gwynnie, what can’t you live without?

1. DeGournay hand painted wallpaper - “I indulged with one wall in my London living room covered in a gorgeous pattern.”

Seriously, this is the first thing? Of course, maybe it’s reverse order and this is the last. What would Sid do? He would have said “an end to suffering for all living beings” or “happiness in the Land of the Shakyas” or good health, a white pony, and a shady tree for spiritual exertions. But times, they are a’changin. Today, we need our wallpaper! What would our interior designers do with bare walls? Paltrow’s choice begins at $650 per panel, and the average cost is thought to be $12,000 per room, but that’s nothing with Coldplay money.

2. Seasonal flowers - “I like single-variety arrangements -- peonies, hydrangeas, and white lilies -- casually arranged.”

Oh, that’s nice. The devas love flowers, and their presence adds a lot of radiance to a room. She wants the very best but does not want it to look like any effort was involved. Expensive things are just lying around. Space-heaven must be missing an angel (akasha deva), and she’s down here with us.

3. Darren Almond’s photography - “His arresting, large-scale artwork brings a sense of majesty to a room.”

Christies has sold a few of his pictures, ranging in price from $3,515 to $16,250. But "majesty" is a dead giveaway, isn’t it. It reveals her blue bloodline all the way back to Tavatimsa. (I’m thinking maybe Elle Decor put her up to this list to sell more of these items and get a kickback from the producers. More

4 Ways to Be Happy NOW

Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha often extolled four states that accompany peace, pleasure, and positive karma. Of these the third is perhaps the most difficult yet also the best for us to actively cultivate, particularly when we read about the rich and famous. Ever notice how often they appear in the media -- between stories about the wretched and destitute we feel superior to? Why? It might be to keep us feeling inferior and dissatisfied -- ready to BUY (usually on credit) anything offered promising to make us happy. As if happiness could be bought. There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So be here now. And be happy now. Here’s how.

1. Loving-kindness (metta) means boundless friendliness (agape).
2. Compassion (karuna) is the active side of love, alleviated others' suffering.

3. Joy-in-others'-success (mudita)

Appreciative, sympathetic, or vicarious joy means experiencing pleasure by delighting in the happiness of others rather than begrudging their success or well being. Just as a parent aware of a child's accomplishments and successes. The pain of envy, jealousy, meanspiritedness, smallmindedness are all enemies of this form of happiness that is always available since we think someone is always doing better than us. Altruism is not necessary, just a spirit generous enough to be happy for others. Delighting or lauding others' good karma is good karma! If one were to joyfully reflect with appreciation or vicarious joy on someone else's merit -- such as giving the Buddha or an arhat a gift -- one would share in that merit. The reverse is true, too: Begrudging others' success, fame, beauty, longevity, influence, respect, or wealth is demerit (unprofitable mental karma). Envy, jealousy, disgust at their success leads to our own failure. Imagine that. No one teaches that in Judeo-Christian culture. We reap what we sow, so we are sowing seeds of discontent to begrudge others' actually deserved fruits and results (even if we cannot find when those seeds were planted, owing to their cause in the distant past shrouded by rebirth and recoverable only by the cultivation of absorption in meditation and the exercise of the divine eye).
4. Equanimity (upekkha)
This means impartiality, equipoise, looking back on without elation or dejection, non-bias, wishing these states on all beings everywhere without preference or distinction. They are, after all, called the Four Immeasurables or Four Boundless States. Far from indifference, with which many confound it, like the others it is experienced in absorption (jhana) after the first three Divine Abidings are cultivated.

Hater (H8R) TV

• H8R: new anti-mudita show encouraging hate
  

Why we die of sugar and disease (video)

(LatestNutrition) Isolated sugar (fructose separated from its natural components) is a toxin. The American Heart Association now recommends that we keep added sugars to less than 5% of our calorie intake. That's about 25 grams or 6 teaspoons per day for an average-sized adult.

• More evidence linking sugar to heart disease

Diabetes (pancreas)
This statistic is staggering, especially when we realize that there was practically no diabetes prior to 1940!

May 27, 2006: Study finds that a third of American adults have diabetes, and many do not know it. (Reference: June 2006 issue of Diabetes Care).

“Our results underscore the importance of tight glucose [sugar] control in limiting beta-cell destruction…” Glucose [sugar from carbohydrates] causes diabetes. (Reference: Diabetes 2001; 50 1683-1690).

Symptoms of Diabetes
Type I (often come on suddenly and severely)

-Exceptional thirst
-Dry mouth
-Need to urinate often
-Weight loss (though you’re hungry and eating)
-Weakness and tiredness
-Blurry vision

Type II (sometimes do not occur or come on gradually)

-Blurry vision
-Cuts or sores that are slow to heal
-Itchy skin, yeast infections
-Increased thirst
-Dry mouth
-Need to urinate often
-Leg pain

Low-Carbs and Diabetes
1999: Diet of 50% fat [half fat], 30% protein, and 20% [low] carbohydrates improves weight loss and blood lipid profiles in Type II diabetics. (Reference: abstract of presentation before 1999 meeting of Endocrine Society by James Hayes, MD, endocrinologist.

Why Do We Die?

Two-thirds (66%) of people die from just two conditions that involve fatty degeneration.

• Cardiovascular disease - 43.8%
• Cancer - 22.4%

95% of Americans are deficient in essential fatty acids (EFAs). (Reference: Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill (2nd edition), Udo Erasmus, Alive Books, Burnaby, BC, Canada, 1993.

How Disease Works
One way disease works is that the body can produce its own "cleansing" agents (such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and prions) when the need arises. These agents may also be transmitted from others or, as in the case of Mad Cow Disease, by humans ingesting prions by eating the flesh of infected animals.

When these agents start cleaning out the toxins in the body, the toxins are dumped into the bloodstream to be filtered and eliminated from the body. These toxins then cause symptoms doctors diagnose as "disease." Diseases are usually named according to symptoms.

The medical and pharmaceutical establishments then try to produce an enzyme disrupter (allopathic drug) to STOP the cleansing process. This is not done to cure but in order to stop the patient's uncomfortable symptoms.

The drug NEVER "cures" the disease. It just stops the cleansing process so the patient's body remains sick and filled with the toxins, even though the patient may feel somewhat better -- at least for a time. (Reference: Dr. Joseph Mercola, 2003. mercola.com).

"Medicine is far from having decreased human sufferings as much as it endeavors to make us believe. Indeed, the number of infectious diseases has greatly diminished. But we still must die in a much larger proportion from degenerative diseases," Dr. Alexis Carrel, "Man, the Unknown."

(Reference: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Weston A. Price, D.D.S., McGraw Hill - NTC; 15th edition (June 2003). ISBN: 0879838167 (out of print). More

"The Botany of Desire" (video)

(Link)

(PBS) "The Botany of Desire" is an eye opening exploration of the human-plant relationship. Featuring author Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on a fantastical ride exploring the human and plant worlds -- from the plants' point of view. The program shows how four familiar American favorites evolved to satisfy our yearnings for intoxication (altered consciousness), control, sweetness, and beauty:

1. our favorite weed, marijuana (for medicine)
2. our favorite vegetable, the potato (for chips)
3. our favorite fruit, the apple (for pie), and
4. our favorite flower, the tulip (for tiptoeing).

"Veggin'out" is so in
Tips for starting a vegetable garden
Vegetable and herb gardening is in and studies indicate it will continue to grow in popularity. If you're not growing your own yet it's time to start. Why? The reasons are as varied as the people who garden. Some do it to save money. Others want to ensure their food is chemical-free, and as safe as possible. Still others grow their own vegetables because fresher is just better. Many do it because gardening is good for you and some because it’s still fun to play in the dirt. More

Mr. Natural
Outdoorsman has made life of exploring urban wilderness
Justin Chapman (PasadenaWeekly.com)
Christopher Nyerges has lived the life he’s written so passionately about in numerous books, magazines, and newspapers -- that of a philosopher outdoorsman traversing an increasingly urbanized wilderness, a man able to survive off the land in any given situation. “In a survival situation, you’re either prepared or you’re not... And most people are wholly unprepared. That being said, I look at failure, which most people try to avoid, as a good thing. Failure from the standpoint of character-building means that you have your weaknesses exposed, and if you’re smart, you then do something about it.” More