Living for Outcomes and the "Yoga Sutras"

Ami Fox (foxpoweryoga.com); Wisdom Quarterly

I spent the summer re-reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

These are deep concepts that go far beyond the mat -- yet very practical, commonsense, and elegant.

Now as we ease into autumn, it seems that some of these concepts resonate more deeply. I have been getting hung up on my attachment to outcomes.

Let's face it. This world is all about outcomes: goals, objectives, focus. I am sucked into these frames. For my mental well being, it seems necessary to step away from being results-oriented and ease into a space where the process itself is my motivation for action.

For instance, when I teach a yoga class, I always want the class to go smoothly, for everyone to enjoy the pace, and delight in the presentation. That is not always the outcome. So it is hard to find motivation in the process.

Take working into a posture (asana), for example. It is common for us as Americans to want to look a certain way in a pose. And if it is not achieved, we are often disappointed and feel like a "yoga failure."

"It was the greatest leap ever taken. The speed of Hanuman's jump pulled blossoms and flowers into the air...they cheered" - Ramayana, retold by William Buck (yogajournal.com).

I have worked for years to achieve full Hanumasana. Yet at the end of the year, at the end of the decade, I am still so far from the floor that it is not what my ego would say is a "good" monkey pose splits.

I joke with my classes that there is no trophy in the back with someone doing the perfect monkey pose or downward dog. But I say this to remind myself. The postures are very intelligent, supporting liver, kidney, and endocrine function, as well as increasing flexibility and strength.

It is important to stay with the process not the aesthetics (or even the asceticism) of it, but rather the health benefits.

There is more to come concerning The Yoga Sutras. A conversation is a series of contemplation and utterances. Find more on my new blog.

Internet Bible: "The Fall of Eve" (comic)

MysticPolitics (Flickr.com), Loldwell.com; text by Wisdom Quarterly

How did it all begin? Well according to the biblical teachings pushed on kids in America, it was all Eve's fault. Her fall was the fall of mankind.

(Of course, anyone who reads more deeply is surprised to find out there was more than one first couple and therefore probably more than one origin story and Earthly paradise. The name Lilith may be familiar). Nevertheless, Jewish and Christian histories -- borrowing heavily from distorted sources without attribution -- paint a dismal picture of human life.



This is probably why so many Americans are drawn to Buddhist and allied Eastern philosophies (Taoism, Yoga Sutras, Vedic Brahmanism, Hinduism, Sufism, Jainism, etc.) The potential of what it means to be human is much better.

From the human plane we are capable of attaining anything else, the wished for and the dreaded. It is possible to become a divinity (brahma), a light being (rupa loka deva), a celestial being (akasha deva), a fairy or nature spirit (bhummi deva), a better human, a ghost (preta), an animal, a monster, a hellion, a bodhisattva (striving to save others), a buddha (a rediscoverer and teacher of the timeless truth), a jerk, or a saint (arhat).

"Morality Without God" (video)

Amber Dorrian, Seven, Nguyen (Wisdom Quarterly); art by Mystic Politics
(TheThinkingAtheist)

Atheists often hear the question, "How can you be moral without God?" The real question is, "How can a moral person accept God?" If Judeo-Christian scriptures are true, "God" is a terrible example of morality or basic goodness.

The "God" Idea

Wisdom Quarterly
Of course, this behavior makes more sense when those scriptures are read more carefully and not limited to Christian and Jewish traditions: "God" is always plural and referring to entities from space claiming dominion, or claiming to have "created" (genetically manipulated) the human race and animals, terra-forming the Earth, making the stars, keeping the Sun alight...

Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization information (now embodied in Hinduism's Vedas), Sumerian and Egyptian texts, and channeled communications all point to many visitors over many aeons. Buddhism inherited ancient "Indian" and Central Asian (Near Eastern) traditions, and the same themes are present often with more detail.

Recovered Nag Hammadi Library (Gnostic Gospels) and Dead Sea Scroll texts, however, means one need not go too far afield to begin to understand that the world has been misled about the meaning of "God." And each theistic tradition simply claims, not the physical actors who reveal themselves on Earth in "chariots of fire" from time to time, but the ONE, godhead, non-duality, oneness, Brahman, unity, matrix, the enduring reality behind the illusion of the universe.

Why would one nation impose its imperial will while claiming to be helping and serving a biblical character? Probably because its population buys this story war after war.

We can safely say that that ONE is not doing all of this killing, warring, razing, raping, boasting, and acting all enraged all the time. Let us follow our hearts and keep our heads. We are responsible for ourselves -- everyone, even "God" -- so it is best to tune in rather than drop out. Our karma, choices, pernicious beliefs, and efforts are our own. We can share them with others, but their karma, choices, beliefs, and efforts are their own.

While we can certainly help each other, no one can save another. Famous spiritual teachers made great efforts to help, not to do everything for us. We are responsible for our greed/bias, hate/fear, and delusion/wrong views; we will bear the results of actions motivated by them.

It is our job to love, to be just, to be peaceful, to be kind, and help one another. Whatever tradition it pleases one to adopt, the bottom line is asking, Is this helping? Living in a religiously oppressive society can make atheism, "science," Satanism (whatever we may conceive of as the Dark Side), or even materialism/hedonism seem like a very attractive option. And it leads us to co-create the world we personally live in.

(Mysticpolitics/Flickr)

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
  

The Cow Sutra! (AN 9.35)

"The Cow," Gavi Sutta (AN 9.35), derivative translation by Seven (Wisdom Quarterly)

[The Buddha:] "Suppose there were a mountain cow -- foolish, inexperienced, unfamiliar with its field, unskilled in roaming on rugged mountains -- and it were to think, 'What if I were to go in a direction I have never gone before, eat grass I have never eaten before, drink water I never drank before?'



"It would lift its hind hoof without having firmly placed its front hoof and [as a result] would not go in a direction it had never gone before, eat grass it had never eaten before, or drink water it never drank before.



"And as for the place where it was standing when the thought occurred, 'What if I were to...' it would not return there safely.



"Why? It is because it is a foolish, inexperienced mountain cow, unfamiliar with its field, unskilled in roaming on rugged mountains.



"In the same way, there are cases where a meditator -- foolish, inexperienced, unfamiliar with his or her field, unskilled in withdrawing from sensuality, withdrawing from unskillful states, and entering and remaining in the first absorption, which is characterized by rapture and happiness born of withdrawal, accompanied by applied and sustained attention -- does not stick with a meditation object, does not develop it, pursue it, or become firmly established in it [i.e., does not learn and practice the mastery of each absorption].



"The thought occurs to that meditator, 'What if I, with the stilling of applied and sustained attention, were to enter and remain in the second absorption, which is characterized by rapture and happiness born of concentration, intensification of awareness free from applied and sustained attention.'



"That meditator is not able... to enter and remain in the second absorption... The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the first absorption... [but] is not [even] able... to enter and remain in the first absorption.



"This is called a meditator who has slipped and fallen on both sides, like the mountain cow, foolish, inexperienced, unfamiliar with its field, unskilled in roaming on rugged mountains.







SMART COW

"But suppose there were a mountain cow -- wise, experienced, familiar with its field, skilled in roaming on rugged mountains -- and it were to think, 'What if I were to go in a direction I have never gone before, eat grass I have never eaten before, drink water I never drank before!'



"It would lift its hind hoof only after having firmly placed its front hoof and [as a result] would go in a direction it had never gone before... drink water it never drank before. And as for the place where it was standing when the thought occurred, 'What if I were...,' it would return there safely.



"Why? It is because it is a wise, experienced mountain cow, familiar with its field, skilled in roaming on rugged mountains.



FOUR MATERIAL JHANAS

"In just the same way, there are cases where a meditator -- wise, experienced, familiar with the field, skilled in withdrawing from sensuality, withdrawing from unskillful states, entering and remaining in the first absorption, which is characterized by rapture and happiness born of withdrawal, accompanied by applied and sustained attention -- stays with a meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if, with the stilling of applied and sustained attention, I were to enter and remain in the second absorption, which is characterized by rapture and happiness born of concentration, intensification of awareness, free from applied and sustained attention?'



"Without yet ascending to the second absorption -- but with the stilling of applied and sustained attention -- that meditator enters and remains in the second absorption, which is characterized by rapture and happiness born of concentration, intensification of awareness, free of applied and sustained attention.



"One stays with that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if, with the fading of rapture, I... were to enter and remain in the third absorption...' Without yet ascending to the third absorption, but with the fading of rapture, one remains equanimous, mindful, and alert, and experiences pleasure with the body. One enters and remains in the third absorption, of which the Noble Ones say, 'Equanimous and mindful, one abides joyfully.'



"One maintains that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the fourth absorption...' Without yet ascending to the fourth absorption, but with the abandoning of both rapture and happiness -- and the earlier fading away of both pleasure and pain -- one enters and remains in the fourth absorption, which is characterized by equanimity [impartiality] and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain.



"One keeps that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



FOUR IMMATERIAL JHANAS

"The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the dimension of boundless space.' Without yet ascending to the dimension of boundless space, but with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity [mental proliferation], [perceiving,] 'Space is boundless,' one enters and remains in the dimension of boundless space.



"One maintains that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the dimension of boundless consciousness.' Without yet ascending to it, but with the complete transcending of the dimension of boundless space, [perceiving,] 'Consciousness is boundless,' one enters and remains in the dimension of boundless consciousness.



"One maintains that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the dimension of nothingness [no-thing-ness, one of the 31 Planes of Existence, also called the sphere of the void].'



"Without yet ascending to the dimension of nothingness, but with the complete transcending of the dimension of boundless consciousness, [perceiving,] 'There is no-thing,' one enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness.



"One maintains that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



"The thought occurs, 'What if I... were to enter and remain in the dimension of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.' Without yet ascending to it, but with the complete transcending of the dimension of nothingness, one enters and remains in the dimension of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.



One maintains that meditation object, develops it, pursues it, and becomes firmly established in it.



ATTAINMENT OF CESSATION

"The thought occurs, 'What if I, with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, were to [emerge from the absorptions and, if one is at least a non-returner, were to] enter and remain in the cessation of perception and feeling.'



"Without yet going to the cessation of perception and feeling, but with the complete transcending of the [highest and subtlest absorption (jhana) known as the] dimension of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, one enters and rests in the cessation of perception and feeling.



"When a meditator [frequently a monastic] enters and emerges from that very attainment, the mind is pliant and malleable. With this pliant, malleable mind, limitless concentration is available.



"With this limitless concentration, whichever of the six higher knowledges one turns one's mind to know and see, one can witness it whenever there is an opening.



MAGICAL POWERS

"Moreover, if one wishes, one wields manifold supernormal powers: Having been one, the adept meditator becomes many; having been many, the adept becomes one.



One appears, disappears, goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space; dives in and out of the ground as if it were water; walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land; sitting crosslegged flies through the air like a winged bird; extending a hand, touches and strokes even the Sun and Moon, so mighty and powerful; goes physically exercises influence over this body even as far as the brahma worlds [supreme divine planes of existence].



"All of this is possible whenever there is an opening.



"If one wishes, one hears -- by means of the divine ear, purified and surpassing the human -- both kinds of sounds, divine and human, whether near or far. One knows and [hears] this whenever there is an opening.



"If one wishes, one knows the mind of other beings, other individuals, having encompassed them with one's own mind. One knows a mind beset by passion as a mind beset by passion, and a mind free of passion as a mind free of passion... a mind beset by aversion... a mind beset by delusion... a contracted mind as a contracted mind, and a scattered mind as a scattered mind.... an expanded mind as an expanded mind, and a shrunken mind as a shrunken mind..... an excelled [surpassable] mind as an excelled mind, and an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind.... a concentrated mind as a concentrated mind, and an unconcentrated mind as an unconcentrated mind.... a released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind.



"One knows and sees this whenever there is an opening.



"If one wishes, one recollects manifold past lives (lit. previous abodes of existence), that is, one birth, two births, three births, four, five, ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 1000, 100000, many aeons of cosmic contraction, many aeons of cosmic expansion, many aeons of cosmic contraction and expansion, [recollecting]:



"'There I had such a name, belonged to such an extended family, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I was reborn [lit. reappeared] there. There, too, I had such a name, belonged to such an extended family, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I was reborn here.'



"Thus one recalls manifold past lives in general and in detail. One knows and sees this for oneself whenever there is an opening.



"If one wishes, one sees -- by means of the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human -- beings passing away and reappearing [being reborn], and discerns how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their karma:



"'These beings -- who were endowed with unwholesome conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled [insulted, disregarded] the Noble Ones [ariya, i.e., anyone who has attained any of the stages of enlightenment], held wrong views, and who undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, such beings have reappeared on a plane of deprivation, in an unfortunate destination, the lower realms, even the hells.



"But these [other] beings -- who were endowed with wholesome (kusala) conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile [but who listened and regarded] the Noble Ones, who held right views, and who undertook actions under the influence of right views -- with the breakup of the body, after death, such beings have reappeared in fortunate destinations [human plane and higher], even in heavenly worlds.'



"Thus -- by means of the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human -- one sees beings passing away and reappearing, and discerns how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their karma.



"One knows and see all this for oneself whenever there is an opening.



"Then if one wishes, through the stilling of mental proliferation, one remains in the unsurpassed freedom of mind, freedom of heart, freedom through wisdom, full liberation here and now.







"One knows and sees all this for oneself whenever there is an opening."

• The field of work (kamatthana) for serenity meditation
• Buddha or Arahant - Don't take the finger for the Moon
• Magic cow gone wrong: reptilian hybrid in Cambodia
  
  

For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted, reprinted, and redistributed in any medium. It is the author's wish, however, that any such republication and redistribution be made available to the public on a free and unrestricted basis and that translations and other derivative works be clearly marked as such.

Dr. Death Dies: Euthanasia and Suicide?

Amber Dorrian, Seven Dharmachari, Ashley Wells Wisdom Quarterly
Advocate, enabler, possible murderer Dr. Kevorkian with suicide device he invented

Dr. Jack Kevorkian -- famed fighter for suicide "rights" -- has passed away overnight. His tireless efforts to change laws not only in Michigan but throughout the United States led him to prison for assisting in a suicide and being charged with murder in the process.

As American who feel entitled not only to our rights but to medical help to do everything from ruin our health, kill pain, transplant our organs, to kill ourselves. It's the American way.

But it is not the Buddhist way. As unpopular as this position has to seem to many "freedom" loving Western Buddhists, it must be said that suicide is not neutral karma. Euthanasia is not neutral karma. They are decidedly unprofitable. And this is why.

The reason is very simple and uncontroversial. It doesn't even get "religious." Because certainly let everyone and anyone do whatever s/he wants. No one is attempting to dictate or legislate what anyone else does.

Buddhism is not about how to judge others. It is about how to evaluate ourselves and our actions (karma) to maximize the good, eliminate the harmful, and bring about happiness for ourselves, others, and both (which we could think of as society or humanity in general).

All bad karma has only three roots. In fact, one can decide if something is skillful or unskillful (profitable or unprofitable) by honestly and insightfully examining the motivation (cetana, intention) prompting. Of course, karma is not just physical action but verbal and mental action as well.

What are the roots of the unwholesome?

If one's action is rooted (motivated, prompted, impelled, driven, caused, engendered...) by greed, hatred, or delusion then it is impossible for it to have a beneficial (pleasant, welcome, wished for result).

That's a strong statement. And the arguments against it are so painfully obvious that they do not need uttering. All of the confusion is based on details that people simply gloss over because they do not know or because they want to win arguments.

What motivates euthanasia? On the one hand, it would obviously seem to be compassion: "I can't bear to see you suffer. Let me put you out of your misery."

A careful examination of this motive reveals the hate (dosa). First of all "greed, hatred, and delusion" are, of course, not words the Buddha ever used. His words were lobha, dosa, moha (Pali, Prakrit, Magadhi terms). We translate them as with unsatisfactory and misleading English stand ins and then argue about what we know they mean in English. And it's as if we could not careless what they mean in Pali or Sanskrit or Magadhi, the language they were spoken in.

Greed (liking and preferring), hatred (aversion and fear), and delusion (wrong view and ignorance).

Of course, Dr. Kevorkian and euthanasia fans and supporters are not motivated by "hate." They are, however, often motivated by aversion (dosa). These terms differ from the English in one important respect that cannot be overstated. The ancient terms equally mean the entire range of the word. "Hate" (dosa) includes all shades of aversion.

And when someone is suffering (because of illness, because it is assumed they are about to die, because of loss of dignity or capacity, suffering because they are suffering), we think it is our compassion that would motivate us to kill them. But it is not. And the same is true for suicide or enabling suicide. In order to kill, in order to enable, in order to commend death, right at the crucial moment of acting (whether by flicking a switch, speaking a word, or approving in mind) the motivation is AVERSION.

What are we, or what is the person killing whether in the case of suicide or "mercy killing," expressing an aversion towards? That pain we observe. Our own empathy produces an unpleasant, uneasy, sometimes unbearable feeling. (Mirror cells in our brains are now implicated in this process).

It is not possible to kill without this aversion, which itself is rooted in delusion (because we neither understand the enormous value of human life nor the danger in death) and greed (preferring relief from our own empathic or sympathetic suffering).

We have died countless times. We will die countless more. We have been reborn just as many times. This is nothing new. Normally, our aversion does not have major consequences. We leave the room, leave the relationship, leave the situation. People themselves worsen what has happened by dwelling and reacting. That is their karma. What is ours?

Our kindness, our sympathy, our love will always be rewarded -- BUT it will almost never be rewarded on the spot or anytime soon.

Karma Works (out) in Mysterious Ways

The second terrible mistake we make, if the first is failing to comprehend what the Buddha taught by ignoring the actual terms he used, is failing to understand the result or reaction of our action.

• It is completely mistaken, and it bears emphasizing because it is so popular a misconception, that a suitable definition for karma runs: "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

This is true for Newton and Newtonian physics. It may or may not hold up in quantum mechanics. But it certainly fails to hold water in Buddhist terms. The reason is very simple. The actions we perform do not usually bear their result anytime soon. We naturally and naively rationalize when something "bad" happens to us that it is because we did something like that.

The Buddha forcefully rejected this naive view, which was prevalent in Vedic brahmin's ideas about karma (Vedic Brahmanism influenced Hinduism, but they are not the same; there was no Hinduism at the time of the Buddha but was only later developed and then traced itself back to before Buddhism to the time of the Vedas). The truth is the reaction is exponentially disproportionate to the action.

For example, toss a steel bearing at a large rubber mat on the ceiling at 10 MPH, and it will bounce back in the opposite direction at a little less than 10 MPH (some of the energy being dissipated as noise, heat, resistance, overcoming gravity, etc.) But toss it at a sheet of glass, and it will rupture and shatter that glass creating a massive crescendo of noise and shards falling and wounding and possibly gravely injuring the thrower.

For example, killing a human being is just killing -- just doing a simple but significant thing like flicking a switch on one of Dr. Jack Kevorkian's suicide devices. A family may or may not get hurt, society may or may not be negatively impacted, we usually have no idea about the unintended consequences of our killing. But whether or not the dead, the collateral damage victims, or society is harmed, the killer certainly will be. For that action, as simple as it was (maybe taking a pill, pulling a trigger, misusing a razor), brought about a karmically significant action. And that action has the capacity to bring about an exponentially disproportionate result.

• Since most Americans intuit that there is more to life than this life, acknowledging a future beyond it, most would probably not state that publicly. We are forced to say we hope so but don't know. Did the Buddha know? Did he say? Should we believe it? There's no reason to "believe." We can check. We ourselves can see. But we don't make that effort. We reason we'll just wait and find out. That's our choice; that's our karma. Meditation is the way to know. And for those who don't believe that "seeing is believing," there is empirical evidence and lots of it. Testimonials, hypnosis, legends, religious lore, we reject all of that and assume that's all there is. How many of us look into the scientific evidence for "reincarnation." (Scientists are not Buddhists and usually do not see the distinction between reincarnation and rebirth). The lines of evidence include prodigies, confirmed past life memories and identities, past life body markings, and so on. Having rejected spiritual tradition and science, we didn't know to even look for empirical evidence. Had we, we could have found it. If it runs counter to our view of the world, we'll reject it anyway. It is simply not a part of our experience. It doesn't fit. And until it becomes cool, fashionable, and part of the consensus-reality (zeitgeist), we'll have nothing to do with it, publicly.

As a result of killing (not the ripening of this karma but just societally), we may fall into disrepute, go to court, go to jail, are harmed by others, and may even be killed (death penalty, revenge, or vigilantism). So we suffer greatly, and yet our killing-karma (the deed's reaction) has NOT been met with.

When we, as a result of this karma bearing its results (as rebirth-linking karma, frustrating karma, or any of the many other types and categorizations of karma) meet with those results, it is woeful. It is unwished for. It is unwelcome. It is hard to bear.

If that karma ripens as we are passing away, it will produce rebirth in one of the "unfortunate destinations," the countless worlds categorized for simplicity by the Buddha as four general planes of existence loosely translated as: animal, hungry ghost, demon, and hellion.

(To prevent misunderstanding, these should not be confounded with Judeo-Christian conceptions and categories from which they differ. Those conceptions typically lead to absurdities that causes most of to reject them out of hand as nonsense, and few Christians have the capacity to correct our dismissals without resorting to blind faith. In Buddhism, these categories make sense and are internally consistent. A simple example is that the hells, of which there are eight major realms and countless individual experiences of it, are not populated by "demons" but by hellions and wardens, and while none of them are "eternal" damnation, they certainly seem interminable and agonizing and it is uncertain when one will ever find a way out).

Not satisfied with being a doctor or ex-convict, Dr. Kevorkian wanted to join Congress.

With these two points in mind -- the thorny problem of language and the near impossibility of knowing what karma (from our storehouse compiled in countless past lives) is ripening at any moment or with regard to any event we are experiencing -- all we can say is that karma is action conditioned by intention.

Motivated by wholesome intentions (nongreed, nonhatred, nondelusion, all of which are very wide categories), deeds yield profitable (pleasant, wished for, welcome, beneficial) results when they ripen, which is not likely to be soon.

In meditation it becomes possible to know why something happened. But it is no easy feat. The Abhidharma ("Higher-Dharma," a collection of technical works forming one third of Buddhism) explains how to discern this to some extent.

Only a supremely enlightened buddha actually has the capacity to know the circuitous and otherwise incomprehensibly tangled route karma will take as it works itself out. Yet it is possible for an ordinary person of ordinary capacity to gain absorption (profound meditative concentration) and use it as a foundation for insight practices (vipassana). Going back from the event or circumstance asking the question, "How did this come to be" one cannot directly trace the mind impression back to the significant karma that originated it. It will almost certainly take the help of a qualified teacher who has done it to accomplish, or facility that has been previously developed, but it is possible.

Euthanasia is not necessary

There is a difference between pain and suffering. Pain is a part of life. "Suffering" is optional. (Here it is very important to understand that English and not Pali/Sanskrit is being spoken). Most of our suffering is the result of "mental karma" -- that is, our mental reaction to pain or things we do not like even if it is pleasurable to most.

Dying can be painful. Often it is not. The body has mechanisms for dealing with physical pain. These are automatic and onlookers are almost certainly not aware of them. The mind leaves, the "spirit" (an energy inherent in breath that produces or sustains subtler bodies) leaves. Even if pain or the causes of pain are in the body, they may not be in the mind. Likewise, much suffering may be in the mind that is not first in the body.

Help the dying be in peace and have quiet, relieving their pain, worry, or misgivings. This is compassion. There is no reason to kill them. Their otherwise good result from whatever karma might ripen can be replaced with the unwholesome, unprofitable karma of killing if they kill themselves prematurely. "Anything can happen." Any and many things do happen that we could not have expected. When we are control freaks trying to control the outcome, we almost always make a mess of it. Trust in karma, or produce good (mental and verbal karma) at the time of dying. For whatever ripens at these junctions (these countless transitions from one state to another) conditions the next state.

• Wishing someone harm will always bring harm (when it ripens, which is not immediate) to the wisher, rarely to the person upon which harm is wished.
• Wishing someone well will always bring good (when it ripens) to the well wisher, only rarely to the person whom we wish well.
• Speaking words motivated by greed/hate/delusion (lobha/dosa/moha) will always hurt the speaker, and lots of times the spoken to, too.
• Speaking words motivated by nongreed/nonhate/nondelusion (alobha/adosa/amoha) will always help the speaker, and lots of times the spoken to as well.

Finally, if there are any misgivings, an important line of evidence comes from the Vinaya ("Monastic Rules," another collection that comprises a third of Buddhism, with the Abhidharma and the Sutras being the other other two thirds). If killing were only the physical act of killing, the Buddha would not have made a rule against the verbal karma of killing.

The rule states that any monastic who kills a human being is "defeated," that is to say, is immediately and irrevocably no longer a monastic and cannot reordain in this lifetime. Loss of this status is not the karmic-result of killing but rather the consequence of violating this disciplinary rule. The karmic result is yet to be met with!

The Monastic Rules goes into more detail. Any monk or nun who encourages or persuades or speaks in praise of another committing suicide (or euthanasia or abortion) will have violated this rule if that person subsequently commits the act. Some words can be as or more harmful than deeds. What motivates such words other than unprofitable mental-karma (motivated by greed, hate or, most likely, delusion)? Such is the power of karma that traps us and that can free us.

Good actions have exponentially disproportionate results. Even a small good act can bear incredible and seemingly undeserved rewards and happiness. Abstaining from killing (in thought, word, or deed) is just such a good act.

We know Dr. Kevorkian was a good and high minded person. His intention was not to harm. Nevertheless, overcome by delusion, he was not helping his karma and ended up doing more harm than good for society. Progress depends on mavericks, rebels, and trailblazers. He certainly opened up conversations about medical treatment, privacy, and choice, but by bringing legitimacy to the unprofitable act of killing, he seems to have further muddied the waters and legitimized the perverse allopathic medical model.

• AIDS turns 30 (HIV is still not the cause)

Karma: The Royal Wedding Dress (photos)

Wisdom Quarterly

How better to make a splash than to employ a little shock value? It would not be the first time, as Kate's see through college dress (right) shows. Her official selection was see through but longer than expected:

The most photographed woman on Earth, the beautiful Princess Kate Middleton (not to be her official title due to House of Windsor technicalities), has to surprise the world. And what better way than following on the heels of her last runway modeling adventure? We predict that she will be showing off her youthful form. Not since Jackie O's , Jennifer Aniston's hair, or Princess Diana's dress has there been this much made of a fairytale wedding.

But "commoner" Catherine Middleton's story is better because she is descended from coal miners and her prince, combat-ready William, is second in line for the throne. He could actually become monarch of one of the world's great super powers. It is not the US alone but the Old World banking interests (along with Germany) that rule the world by proxy. Weddings are wonderful! Marriages, not so much. Kate Middleton will be the epitome of a British Berketex bride:

British pro-feminist punk mavericks, Crass, perform "Berketex Bribe"

PHOTOS: 1. Sexy, see through wedding dress (fashion-gallery blog); 2&6. Kate's St. Andrew's University fashion show see through dress used to first attract Prince William Spencer (celebritynewsandstyle.com & shinystyle.tv); 3. first view of the partially see through wedding dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander (SkyNews/telegraph.co.uk); 4. new wedding dress options (artndesigns.org); 5. sexy wedding dress (wedding-beginning.com); 7. Prince William and Catherine Middleton (AP); 8. "Love at first sight" (Lin Pernille); 9. official photograph of the wedding dress (telegraph.co.uk); 10. "Heartbreak" (sivgal.blogspot.com).

• Watch the Royal Wedding live on YouTube
  

Why Kate, Why Not Me?

Karma distinguishes beings -- high and low, beautiful and homely, rich and poor, smart and slow, long-lived and short-lived, coupled and alone, and so on.

In the "Smaller Exposition on Karma Discourse" (Culakammavibhanga Sutta), the Buddha states the following:

"Beings are the owners of their karma [their store of intentional deeds, whether physical or verbal or mental, both those ripening in happiness or suffering], heirs of their karma. They originate from their karma, are bound to their karma, have their karma as their guide."

The Buddha urged disciples to tear down the forest of defilements -- states and traits within the categories greed, hatred, and delusion -- the roots of all suffering. In their place, he encouraged them to cultivate such habits as generosity, compassion, and wisdom.

We reap what we sow: Karma
When we experience the fruits and results (states and circumstances) of seeds (actions) we planted, it is because what we planted is finally coming to fruition. Actions ripen opportunistically -- as soon as they meet the right causes and conditions, even tens of thousands of years later.

Without them as the basis, good things do not arise for us. When that good is exhausted, as it inevitably must be, pleasant and welcome circumstances fall away.

"Love at first sight" is no accident but the result of karma (Lin Pernille/Flickr.com).

Good karma is easy to accept, and we have no trouble accepting credit even if we do not remember what we did to deserve our good fortune (because it is usually not done in this life).

It is far more amazing and difficult to believe, but when a thief and criminal enjoys ill-gotten gains, it is only because of former good karma.

"Crime does not pay" because when this bad karma ripens, it will ripen in suffering. It is not ripening immediately. The good one is experiencing is not due to stealing!

It is impossible that it should be otherwise: All the good one is experiencing is being experienced due to good karma. All that we are doing is our present karma, the results of which will be experienced later.

(This clarifies the apparent contradiction that crime does obviously pay since criminals sometimes go a long time without meeting with the negative repercussions of their choices. It is only an apparent contradiction. In reality, good results in what is welcome and pleasant, bad in what is unwelcome and difficult to bear).

Understanding this, beings are wise to engage again and again in meritorious deeds (good karma, any actions motivated by nongreed, nonhatred, and/or nondelusion). It is not every world that one has the opportunity to make good karma -- whether by negligence in superior worlds of pleasure or preoccupation with pain in inferior worlds.

Like attracts like: Good begets good, and bad begets bad. "Good" and "bad" are very unfortunate translations since we have an aversion to oversimplifications. Skillful, wholesome, profitable are all translations for kusala, the opposite being akusala.

These actions are not "rewarded" and "punished" as such; they follow an impersonal law of attraction. They rarely ripen immediately but are able to lay dormant for aeons. Therefore, one should not judge another as "good" or "bad" based on circumstances. For we all have seeds of good and bad, and any ripening is burning that karma off (exhausting the good and lightening our load of bad). The potential we have is incredible. The opportunity we have to do good now, to plant seeds now, to make the most of what we have is even more incredible.

That one should become a queen is not unusual. It would not be possible if she did not deserve it. Envying her or being jealous is demeritorious karma for us. Rejoicing in her good fortune, the ripening of former well done deeds, profitable and ripening in pleasure, is good karma for us now. Sovereignty in the human world is not a very high thing relative to other possibilities: it is short-lived, often mixed with strife, and uncertain.

That same good karma could have ripened in superior worlds where it would last longer, be purer, and be more stable. It is, to give a simile, like being beautiful only in elementary school as opposed to blossoming in high school. We would all wish to be beautiful everywhere at all times for all the benefits it brings, but life becomes more important and significant. For all the good it does Kate Middleton to become a real life princess (actually Duchess of Cambridge), how much better might her good karma have ripened later on?

We do not want to wait, desiring immediate gratification. But waiting would often benefit us, whereas rushing soon leaves us disappointed, unfulfilled, and un-actualized.

Will I Ever Find My Prince/Princess?
An elderly couple once came to the Buddha. They expressed their love for one another, having been promised in marriage to each other from a young age.

Their wish was to meet again, to be reborn together, to be a couple again. The Buddha told them how they could accomplish this and thereby become "twin flames" or "soul mates" in a future life:

The "ideal couple," as they were called, once came to the Buddha and said, "Venerable sir, we married after being acquainted from childhood, and there has never been a cloud on our happiness. Please tell us if we can be married in the next life?"

The Buddha answered, "If you both have exactly the same faith, both receive the same teaching [regarding morality] in exactly the same way, and if you have the same wisdom, then you will have the same mind in the next birth."

Whether or not all of this is done, those bonded by the karma of love and hate (attachment and aversion), will meet again as they have met many times. The business started now is not finished now but rises like flames out of embers again and again. Far wiser is it to let go, forgive, and abandon these habits unless we wish to again meet one another with an instant attraction or animosity.

• A Buddhist Bible (hinduwebsite.com)