Heres some games we played on the first evening
5 precept game - the group was divide into five small groups and each group picked a precept and made a advertising poster for that precept.
Kamma means: action.. what we do/say and each action has a cause
So kamma is about Cause and effect.
So cause is simply the start of an action
and the effect of that is the result...
So please let me explain the game first...
So I would like you to get in two circles ... each group has a
bean bag or something to throw.
So you start saying any word that comes in to your mind (does
anybody remember the buddhist swear word? - read
the book buddha in the jungle to find out more) and then you
throw the ball to somebody in the circle and then they must respond
with a word.
Then after game
You can see how we connect words together by association or by habit....
So you can see the cycle of cause and effect. So this is how go about creating Kamma – creating action – when we do not have refuge in Buddha, refuge in awareness, each cause creates and effect and each effect creates a cause and so on.
With awareness we can start to see this process and we can choose do something about it.
So the Buddha talks about two types of effects wholesome (good) and unwholesome (bad)
How do you think we know whether some action is good or bad?
What is the result of your action – wwtbd (What would the
buddha do)
discussed about the preciousness of a human birth
So this goes back to the precepts about what we spoke about last night.
Another of looking at this is to ask yourself what
actions would you
least like have done to yourself?
Just have a think about this today...
So this morning we looked at how any action has a cause and effect
–
And how any actions can produce a good effect and/or bad effect
The buddha defined it interms of light and dark
i) dark with a dark result, - GOOD
(ii) bright with a bright result, BAD
(iii) dark and bright with a dark and bright result, CHOPSEY KAMMA
(iv) neither dark nor bright with a neither dark nor bright result.
- RESULT of Meditation
more information here
So how do we know what type of action, produces
what type of result.
Here is an example – a person walks into a kitchen their
is another person in the kitchen there is a knife on the table.
What do you think could happen know - lets here
some examples?
And what do you think the result of that action could be?
In Buddhism we use the word “intention”
– it’s a big word which means to choose to do something
for some specific reason.
We can choose to use a knife to kill someone, or chop a piece
of cheese for a monk or nun.
So in a very complicated world – how do we
make this choice.
Any ideas?
We make choice on what we’ve be taught, learnt and when we get old enough we can investigate the very choice, by feeling and understanding the effect and then by giving it values or judgments from our own experience.
Lets do a mantra on some of the more positive choices you can make when decided on a looking at a situation.
Metta – mean lovingkindness and you can use choice do think
in this way when you feel hate
Karuna – means compassion you can use choice do think in
this way when you feel selfish
Mudita - symapthetic joy you can use choice do think in this way
when you jealousy
Uppekha – means even minded/ balance you can use choice
do think in this way when you feel unbalanced.
we chant the words metta, karuna, mudita, upekkha along with movements
Brahavihara (divine abodings) mantra with movements
- read the
Brahmavihara sutta
movement metta opens hand out like embracing
karuna (touch heart)
mudita (throw hands up)
uppekha – hands out in line with shoulders - to represent
balance
So I would like to finish of by reading a book called
good news/bad
news
Why do we react to certain situation?
Because we have a memory and then that memory helps us make a choice, we either like something, dislike something or a not bothered by it.
So how is it possible to escape from creating action the answer is with awareness.
I'd like to read a short section from Fox in Socks by Dr.Seuss
When we read a story like Fox in the socks we can get lost in the words, we try to understand the story rather than trust in the point that recognise that something is happening: – understanding awareness
The Theme is Good -Evil and The Way It Is
Rainbows 2nd-5th May
Family weekend 27-29th June
Family Camp 16th-25th August
Young Persons Retreat 21st-23rd November
Creative Weekend For Adults 19th-21st December