Exposition on Karma (American Monk)

Ven. Subhuti (Jeremy Glick), Pa Auk Monastery, Burma; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

This begets more of this, as we sow so we reap, what comes around goes around, do unto others

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What is the Pa Auk training?

Planting Wisdom: Reflections on the "Lesser Exposition on Karma Discourse" or "Shorter Analysis of Deeds Sutras" (Cula-kamma-vibhanga Sutta, MN 135) is the name of today's talk by Western Buddhist monastic Bhante Subhuti (AmericanMonk.org).

Ven. Subhuti is a long-time American Theravada Buddhist monk and student of the famous enlightened Burmese Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Here he gives a cursory review of a significant sutra with the astounding tale from the Commentary on the rebirth story of Todeyya and Subha, a rich stingy man reborn as a pet dog in his former house, who becomes a close companion of his son.

Todeyya: I was a millionaire, but I was stingy.

The Buddha informs Subha that the dog in a former rebirth was his father, which comes as a massive insult. To prove it, the Buddha asks if his stingy father didn't by any chance leave inheritance money ungiven. He did. He died suddenly without revealing where he kept his treasure, which caused hardship to the family. The Buddha advises him to feed Todeyya the dog a rich meal until he's drowsy and then ask him to go to the treasure. The dog, still stingy, goes to take a nap over the spot her buried the money. This convinces Subha that the Buddha knows what he's talking about and that karma and rebirth are real phenomena. So he becomes a student and practices the Dhamma (Sanskrit Dharma, the Buddha's Teachings on Awakening).

• Meditation - Pa-Auk Tawya (paaukforestmonastery.org)
• Pa-Auk Meditation Centre, Singapore (pamc.org.sg)

Can I meditate in the forest, too?

PaAukForestMonastery.org, edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

He is named after the monastery

The system of Buddhist meditation taught at Pa-Auk Tawya (Pa Auk Forest Monastery) is based on the instructions by the historical Buddha as found in the Pāli language canon and its commentaries.

The system taught is called the Threefold Training:

1. strict observance of precepts (sīla),
2. developing stillness (samādhi), and
3. as a basis for attaining wisdom (paññā).

It is further subdivided into the Seven Stages of Purification, which provide a step-by-step formula for systematically purifying one’s karma (deeds) of body (physical actions), speech (verbal actions), and mind (mental actions) of defilements in order to realize nirvana in this very lifetime.

Use the breath or Four Elements

In brief, the main practice is to begin with samatha (stilling, tranquilizing, making the mind content and joyous) meditation, which is to develop the meditative absorption called jhānas.

A yogi (Buddhist meditator) is free to choose any of the 40 serenity-meditation subjects as taught by the Buddha. At Pa-Auk Tawya, most yogis develop the absorptions or jhānas using mindfulness-of-breathing (ānāpānassati).

Having developed stillness (samma-samadhi or samatha), a yogi may proceed to practice insight (vipassanā) meditation.

There's also Pa Auk in Georgia

As an alternative, a yogi may omit the development of the absorptions, which a subtle and difficult for many who are not naturally inclined (from past life practice of the jhānas).

One will be taught instead to develop the less powerful "access concentration" with the serenity-meditation subject of Four Elements Meditation, prior to the practice of insight meditation.

In either case, the stillness/concentration attained by a yogi produces the "light of wisdom" or "sign" (nimitta) of progress in practice. More

• Like cures like is the homeopathic saying. Is it true for our actions and their results? Giving little begets getting little. Having chosen an action in response to a situation, I can expect that kind of result from the world for a long time. Just one act of stealing, because it occurred over so many mind-moments (which are laid down like seeds in consciousness), will result in exponentially more of that. A good choice -- giving, being friendly, being possessed of right view -- will result in reaping exponentially more happiness than we've sown. It may seem unfair, but it's "lawful," that is, working out in some rule-bound way, according to universal law, in accordance with the nature of the world. Or else all that we did would come to nothing, mean nothing, and be merely random events happening to us with no rhyme or reason, nothing to learn, nothing to improve, no aha moments when it all makes sense and everything is just as it is supposed to be (given what we chose and did previously). The hope is that we can NOW do something different and begin, eventually, to get pleasant, welcome, wished-for results.