Karma

           Someone on the telly reminded me of Glenn Hoddle getting the sack from the England manager's job because he said (allegedly) that disabled people were disabled because of stuff they'd done in previous lives. I knew this was horseshit, but I couldn't remember much about karma. Only buddhas are supposed to really understand the workings of karma.

          So I re-read Good, Evil and Beyond: Kamma in the Buddha's Teaching by P.A. Payutto.

          There are three philosophies on karma that Buddha refuted. The first one is: The belief that all happiness and suffering arise from previous karma. (Past-action determinism).

          "Bhikkus, adhering to previously done karma as the essence, there is neither motivation or effort with what should be done and what should not be done. Not upholding ardently what should be done, nor abandoning what should be abandoned, those ascetics and Brahmins are as if deluded, lacking a control, incapable of having any true teaching. This is our legitimate refutation of the first group of ascetics and Brahmins holding these views."

          Well, there it is.