DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Question regarding the precept against harming living things and euthanasia

**stuck_in_WA** · 10-26-2011, 04:24 PM

I recognise this as the Ariyamagga Sutta. This section which I have highlighted from an essay by Thanissaro Bhikkhu , available online, found when I was seeking some writings about intention and kamma ( karma ) may be useful here also -

Essential to the Buddha's second insight was his realization of the mind's role in determining the moral quality of actions. His analysis of the process of developing a skill showed him that skillfulness depended not so much on the physical performance of an act as on the mental qualities of perception, attention, and intention that played a part in it. Of these three qualities, the intention formed the essence of the act [§10] — as it constituted the decision to act — while attention and perception informed it. Thus the skillfulness of these mental phenomena accounted for the act's kammic consequences.

The less greed, aversion, and delusion motivating the act, the better its results. Unintentional acts would have kammic consequences only when they resulted from carelessness in areas where one would reasonably be held responsible. Intentional actions performed under the influence of right view — which on this level means conviction in the principle of kamma conviction in the principle of kamma [II/E; III/A; §106] — led inherently to pleasant states of rebirth, while those performed under the influence of wrong view led to unpleasant states. Thus the quality of the views on which one acts — i.e., the quality of the perception and attention informing the intention — is a major factor in shaping experience.

This observation undercuts the radical distinction between mind and material reality that is taken for granted in our own culture and was also assumed by many of the Samana schools of the Buddha's time. From the Buddha's viewpoint, mental and physical phenomena are two sides of a single coin, with the mental side of prior importance [§8].

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a...1.html#part1-b

For my purposes here, please interpret rebirth as you see fit - lol.

10-26-2011, 04:24 PM	#8
stuck_in_WA Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 417 Senior Member	I recognise this as the Ariyamagga Sutta. This section which I have highlighted from an essay by Thanissaro Bhikkhu , available online, found when I was seeking some writings about intention and kamma ( karma ) may be useful here also - Essential to the Buddha's second insight was his realization of the mind's role in determining the moral quality of actions. His analysis of the process of developing a skill showed him that skillfulness depended not so much on the physical performance of an act as on the mental qualities of perception, attention, and intention that played a part in it. Of these three qualities, the intention formed the essence of the act [§10] — as it constituted the decision to act — while attention and perception informed it. Thus the skillfulness of these mental phenomena accounted for the act's kammic consequences. The less greed, aversion, and delusion motivating the act, the better its results. Unintentional acts would have kammic consequences only when they resulted from carelessness in areas where one would reasonably be held responsible. Intentional actions performed under the influence of right view — which on this level means conviction in the principle of kamma conviction in the principle of kamma [II/E; III/A; §106] — led inherently to pleasant states of rebirth, while those performed under the influence of wrong view led to unpleasant states. Thus the quality of the views on which one acts — i.e., the quality of the perception and attention informing the intention — is a major factor in shaping experience. This observation undercuts the radical distinction between mind and material reality that is taken for granted in our own culture and was also assumed by many of the Samana schools of the Buddha's time. From the Buddha's viewpoint, mental and physical phenomena are two sides of a single coin, with the mental side of prior importance [§8]. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a...1.html#part1-b For my purposes here, please interpret rebirth as you see fit - lol.
	Quote