The 12 Links_3_Karma
Channel: Ven. Yönten
Date: 2019-08-22

Day two of a weekend course on the 12 Links of Dependent Arising. This session focussed on some of the nuances of karma. 
Link 2: Karmic Formation 
Link 10: Potential Existence/Becoming

Facilitated by Ven. Yönten

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Additional information about Karma from the Lam Rim: 

The Four Certainties of karma:
1) Karma is definite/certain
2) Karma increases
3) We don’t experience the result of cases we haven’t created
4) Actions once done do not go to waste


From 'The Compendium of Knowledge:’
"What sort of categories do you obtain by abbreviating the factors? There are four types: the projecting factors, the projected factors, the actualizing factors, and the actualized factors. 

What are the projecting factors? Ignorance, compositional activity, tivity, and consciousness. 

What are the projected factors? Name-and-form, and-form, the six sources, contact, and feeling. 

What are the actualizing alizing factors? Craving, grasping, and existence. What are the actualized factors? Birth, aging, and death. 

Qualm: Well then, do the two types of causality-one with respect to projection and the other with respect to actualization-demonstrate  one instance of causality wherein one person takes rebirth or do they demonstrate two instances?

 If the former, it would be incorrect to claim that the actualizing factors, craving and so on, occur after the establishment of the group of factors beginning with resultant period consciousness and ending with feeling [the projected factors]. 

If the latter, there would be no ignorance, compositional activity, or causal period consciousness [projecting factors] in the latter cycle of causality [the ordering of projection], and no craving, grasping, or existence [actualizing factors] in the former cycle of causality [the ordering of actualization]. 

Reply: There is no such fault, because, whatever is projected by the projecting causes [ignorance, compositional activity, and consciousness] must be created by the actualizing causes [craving, grasping, and existence]. 

When what is projected [name-and-form, the six sources, contact, and feeling] has been actualized, it is that very thing, the projected, that is designated as being born, aging, and dying.
 
Qualm: Well then, what is the point of presenting two cycles of causality? 

Reply: Such a presentation demonstrates that the characteristics of the true sufferings that are the effects of projection differ from those that are the effects of actualization. 

The former [consciousness ness of the effect period, name-and-form, the six sources, contact, and feeling] are dormant at the time of projection. 

Since they have not actually been established, they will only become suffering in the future. However, the latter [birth, aging, and death] are situations in which the suffering has been actualized, and hence are suffering in this lifetime. 

Moreover, the two cycles of cause and effect were presented for the sake of demonstrating that the effect-taking taking rebirth-has two causes: projecting causes and causes that actualize what has been projected [by the projecting causes]."

The Levels of Yogic Deeds states the reason for this:
"Given that the factors of birth and aging-and-death and the group of factors beginning with resultant period consciousness and ending ing with feeling are phenomena with shared characteristics, why have they been taught to be of two types? 

This is done (1) in order to demonstrate the different characteristics of things that bring suffering and (2) in order to demonstrate the distinction.”