I was chatting with a monk when he made a funny remark. He said, as roughly translated from Chinese, ‘One can have all the wealth and fame in the world… but so what? One can’t even bring one’s underwear into the next life!’ I grinned in agreement and uttered the popular Chinese saying that sums up the idea – 万般带不去;唯有业随身 – which means ‘The ten thousand things (all kinds of stuff) cannot be brought along (into the next life); only karma follows one.’
Then it struck me that the undies example, though quite comical can be more dramatic in illustrating how even something material, trivial, ‘essential’ and taken for granted can’t be brought over to a future life. Here’s my new take on the saying – 底裤穿不过;唯有业随身! – ‘(Even) underwear cannot be worn (into the next life); only karma follows one!’ (The picture above: A pair of undies trying to follow one into the next life!)
Related Article:
The 10,000 Things You Can’t Bring Along
https://moonpointer.com/new/2009/03/the-10000-things-you-cant-bring-along
People takes multi-vitamin, afraid of not eating well and fall sick, people buy insurance for protection etc but no one want to look at the karma as a whole (good and bad), people are afraid by criticizing things create bad karma but may not want to look at eating meat as also creating bad karma etc.
We wanted to have peaceful death, to go pureland, a better rebirth etc. We just emphasis on doing goods but not cutting off the doing evil. We reverse the Buddha’s Teaching – Giving up evil and then practicing good. Initially, by doing more good, we hope to achieve some encouragements etc, but more into it, – unknowingly cling to it and view that is THE way and we forgotten something very important, to stop the evil, not even giving it a try or moving a tiny baby step.
Kind of like what my mother used to scold us. When she brewed cooling herbal tea for us to cool our heatiness, the next moment we eat fried stuff. She got so mad said this “This way you send the ghost out and that end you get them in†in Cantonese. What the point of drinking herbal tea! Oops …
All sort of karma including the bad ones too, follow us … as we forgotten to learn to get rid of our bad evil habits, so in our next rebirth, we are still cling on doing ‘bad’ as we have not trained or re-write that thingy in our subconscious, if there is no chance in the next rebirth, we keep on creating more bad karma until we learn to stop that evil habits or till it got so BIG that it push us deeper to the lower realm …
Maybe, it is time to think about it …
Now I think I begin to understand the hard work and good intention of Shian.
I always think his job is to spread Dharma … But I think, he really care about people and not only animals (by promoting vegetarianism as he sees a much bigger picture, the interlink, maybe he see even more things in it).
He sees the important of Vegetarianism not just to have less sufferings for animals, but he also really care about human too not only in getting to know Dharma but the Karma portion of it.
Kudos to you, Shi an.
It’s true that many have missed the fact that consumer meat these days link the supplier to the demander quite directly. In this sense, there is some karma involved. The karma cannot fall on the killers only, but ‘shared’ with the demanders of the killing too. Some might not agree, but it’s really undeniable economics here. Here is more of what I mean: http://www.4ui.com/eart/214eart1.htm (The Invisible Conveyor Belt of Meat & Murder)
;-(
Vegatarians confuse me. Why is it ok to eat a plant but not an animal? Life is life. The fact is, life continues to exist by consuming other life. On top of that, i’d argue that not only are the plants far more important to this planet than cows are, but they’re also infinitely more important and productive than humans are. There are so many of us ruining the planet right now, the most productive thing we could do is eat each other. And from a buddhist points of view, the buddha was a meat eater!
Hey, this is great, so nice of you to share your view : )
It is time that all Buddhist Organizations stand up to address all these and put these in a prominent places for those who wish to understand more and not hide all the answers somewhere.
People want to know and some just don’t say it out …
Me, not a good source to answer this and to reply this, it will takes few pages long of discussions and sharing on the view … and not an expert in this area …
One solution for you, eat Fruit, you don’t need to eat other and very productive, I don’t think you like the idea of other eating you to survive or can accept this arrangement. Simple, we can’t even stand other who provoke us or did something a little bit unfair to us…
If you can, you are a Buddha already! Congratulation! One more out of Samsara!
Meat animals consume much more plants in their lifetime – before humans consume the animals. For instance, it takes at least 7 pounds of crops to produce 1 pound of beef. For more details on how inefficient this is, please see http://wannaveg.com and http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/aug97/livestock.hrs.html
Life exists by consuming other life, but humans need not consume sentient life. If ‘the most productive thing we could do is eat each other’, are you considering to feed yourself to say, tigers? As much as you’re unwilling, no animal was willing to die to be our food.
There is NO record that the Buddha ate meat in the scriptures at all, while many of his teachings clearly advocate a more compassionate diet. (His last meal was truffles.) You might want to check out this for more on the Buddhist rationale of vegetarianism: http://www.moonpointer.com/vege
Believe it or not, i’ve got no problem with a tiger eating me or anybody else. We just have to accept that the tiger is a tiger, and if we walk through its jungle we may be eaten. It’s my understanding that the buddha died from eating an offering of mouldy pork while on his travels. At least that’s what’s documented in most of the books i’ve read. In relation to the scriptures, i think it’s very important to remember that they weren’t actually written until many years after the buddha’s death at a time when buddhism was being merged with hinduism to keep the ever decreasing followers who couldn’t grasp the subtleties of buddhism interested. Because of the time lapse, the amount of un enlightened people the verbal teaching passed through, and the hindu influence, i wouldn’t rely on them too much. We’ve all played chinese whispers. The true path always comes from within. :-[
Even if you have no problem being eaten, which I personally don’t believe, others, humans and animals do NOT like being eaten. I don’t believe you can sacrifice yourself perfectly willingly because your statements lack genuine compassion – “I’ve got no problem with a tiger eating me or ANYBODY else.” All unenlightened beings fear pain and death to some extent.
The Buddha did NOT die from eating pork. Please STUDY this book for genuine scholarly findings – http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/lifecherish.pdf Buddhists don’t mix Buddhism with Hinduism. Those who do are not true Buddhists. Please study all the quotes here too – http://moonpointer.com/bvf.php and please see http://viva.org.uk/goingvegan/index.php for NON-RELIGIOUS but undeniable reasons to go vegan. There’s no need to bring religion into discussion at all, if you wish to adapt a more compassionate diet for the sake of the world.
The true path always comes from within… and what you put within too – whether it involved the continual demand of violence… e.g. meat. :bobo:
I have to disagree with your statement in regards to all enlightened beings fearing pain and death. The fear only comes from an attachment to an illusionary self. When you truely realise there is no self, how can you fear for what happens to it? Pain is simply your mind reacting to a signal sent by your nerves. You can control the mind to react however you want to that signal. Whenever you next feel pain i encourage you to just sit with it in mindfulness. Try to find the pain. Ask yourself where the pain is coming from and really examine it. You’ll suddenly realise there is no pain. Just a message being created by your mind. I’ve sat with a painful broken leg in the early days of my practice, and for a while it caused me suffering. It was only when i became mindful of the situation and realised that it was my desire for things to be different that was causing my suffering that my suffering ceased. It was me telling myself that i didn’t want a broken leg, and i wanted to get up to go somewhere that was the problem. As soon as i told myself that my broken leg was a great excuse for me to not have to do anything, and concentrate on my practice it actually made me happy. We are our thoughts, and whenever thoughts cease, and we come back to direct experience, the self also ceases and so does suffering as there is nobody to suffer. As for death. To be afraid of the ultimate freedom is quite illogical to me. When people realise that they’re about to die, what usually happens is their thought process kicks in and tells them, “i cant die yet. Who’ll pay my loans off? Who’ll look after my daughter? I haven’t told my wife i love her! Etc”. The answer is simple. Don’t have these loose does. Don’t take out any loans. Make sure that your family are financially covered. Tell your wife you love her. Be free to die in peace when the time comes with nothing left undone. It all comes back to the core of our practice. Don’t desire things to be different than they are, and don’t become attached to things as they are. Just accept what is and become one with it in the present moment, as here and now are the only truth. Anything else is just an illusionary image in our minds. :-[
1. Please read mindfully. There was no statement that any enlightened being fears pain or death. None of them do. If the enlightened fear either, there is no point to enlightenment.
2. Death is not ultimate freedom if there is rebirth due to greed, hatred and delusion. The idea that death equates to freedom is a wrong view. Only enlightenment is freedom. Fear of death is alright if it drives people to seek enlightenment, to transcend rebirth.
3. I sincerely hope you are reading the info in the recommended links on vegetarianism above, because you appeared to have digressed.
4. Both your poker urls are de-linked as the Buddha discouraged gambling in the Sigalovada Sutta: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html