KARMA: Most beautiful homeless gal in LA

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), "Creep" (suttacentral.net); Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Is this the most beautiful homeless gal in Los Angeles? She's here to clean up this town.

We're Young Hollywood here to inherit

Los Angeles is a strange place, probably because Hollywood (a tiny component of LA) is a stranger place. Everything we do is so, like, you know? It's like, right, isn't it? In olden times it was called Valley Talk or, because of 1984, ValSpeak.

We have homeless. We have the most homeless, with great weather and friendly sanctuary city treatment of bums. Can we call them bums? Probably not. Some are not bums. They are the currently unhoused. More Americans go through it than anyone imagines. Rent and housing prices make sure of that. And the drugs. And alcohol.

We have so many homeless, that we can have a beauty pageant. Hot gals of the Sunset Strip, or beach, or asphalt jungle. Look at this karmic result.

Then again, art imitates life. Or is it the other way around? Hollywood imitates Los Angeles, and the U.S. (and the rest of the world because of our hegemony) imitates Hollywood.

Chogyam: Spiritual guru or sexed up charlatan?

Even our spiritual yearnings -- and there are a lot of them -- are soon reduced to "spiritual consumerism," a term coined by Tibetan Buddhist sex cult leader (who seems to have been hinted at in My Dinner with Andre) Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

And that's to say nothing of his even more explicitly sexually abusive ex-leader of the Shambhala Cult, his disgraced sexy son Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (who's still making money and trying to sneak back into power).

Mixed karma, beauty without riches?

We're poor but happy, right A?

How can karma (stored up past deeds) make one beautiful without riches? That's very easy to answer.

If we only had one kind of action (deed) in our pasts, we would only have one kind of result in accordance with that seed. But as we have a countless variety of seeds, we have diverse results.

We may see many things go together and then wonder about it when they don't. But we neither know someone's past, nor the person's present state of mind, nor what is to come. How could someone be born super fortunate then mentally or physically incapacitated? It happens and seems tragic and unfair.

SUTRA: The Karma of Creeps

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), "Creeping," The Book of the Tens (AN 10.216) edited by Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Humans rise or fall by their deeds (karma)

“Meditators, I will teach an exposition of the Dhamma on creeping. Listen, attend closely, and I will speak.”

“Yes, venerable sir,” those meditators replied. Then the Blessed One said this:

“And what, meditators, is that exposition of the Dhamma on creeping? Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma (kamma), the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.

(1) “Here, someone destroys life; that person is murderous, bloody-handed, given to blows and violence, merciless toward living beings. That person creeps along by body, speech, and mind.

“That person's bodily karma, verbal karma, mental karma are crooked. That person's destination is crooked; that person's rebirth is crooked.

“But for one with a crooked destination and rebirth, I say, there is one of two destinations -- either the exclusively painful hells or a species of creeping animal.

What's a creeping animal? The cat-snake

“And what are the species of creeping animals? The snake, the scorpion, the centipede, the mongoose, the cat, the mouse, and the owl, or any other animals that creep away when they see people.

“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds (karma). When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.

“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.

(2) “Someone takes what is not given…

(3) “Someone engages in sexual misconduct…

(4) “Someone speaks falsehood…

(5) “Someone speaks divisively…

(6) “Someone speaks harshly…

(7) “Somone indulges in idle chatter…

(8) “Someone is full of longing…

(9) “Someone has a mind of ill will and intentions of hate…

(10) “Someone holds wrong view and has an incorrect perspective such as:

• ‘There is nothing given [there is no result of sacrificing for others]…’
• ‘There are in the world no ascetics nor Brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’

Behave like a proper affluent royal, Princess! 

“One creeps along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is crooked… One's destination is crooked; one's rebirth is crooked….

“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.

“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.

“Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma, the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.

(1) “Here, having abandoned the destruction of life, someone abstains from the destruction of life; with the rod and weapon laid aside, conscientious and kindly, one dwells compassionate toward all living beings. 

“One does not creep along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is straight; one's verbal karma is straight; one's mental karma is straight.

How do I get this creep off of me?

“One's destination is straight; one's rebirth is straight. But for one with a straight destination and rebirth, I say, there is one of two destinations -- either the exclusively pleasant heavens or eminent [prominent, influential, affluent] families, such as those of affluent nobles [warrior caste khattiyas, rulers, influencers, royals], affluent Brahmins, or affluent householders, families that are rich, with great wealth and property, abundant gold and silver, abundant treasures and belongings, abundant wealth and grain.

“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one. It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.

(2) “Having abandoned the taking of what is not given, someone abstains from taking what is not given…

(3) “One abstains from sexual misconduct…

(4) “One abstains from false speech [bearing false witness]…

(5) “One abstains from divisive speech…

(6) “One abstains from harsh speech…

(7) One abstains from idle chatter…

(8) “One is without longing…

(9) “One is of good will…

(10) “One holds right view and has a correct perspective thus:

• ‘There is what is given [there is a significance and result of giving, particularly to parents, nobles, teachers, etc.]…’
• ‘There are in the world wandering ascetics and Brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’

“That person does not creep along by body, speech, and mind. One's bodily karma is straight… One's destination is straight; one's rebirth is straight….

“Thus, a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.

“It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their karma.

“Meditators, beings are the owners of their karma, the heirs of their karma; they have karma as their origin, karma as their relative, karma as their resort; whatever karma they do, skillful or unskillful, they are its heirs.

“This, meditators, is that exposition of the Dhamma on creeping.”

Original unedited translation: AN 10.216: Saṁsappanīyasutta—Bhikkhu Bodhi (suttacentral.net)