The place where the theme of cause and effect really shows up in a big way is in the teaching of dependent origination (paṭicca samuppāda), in which the Buddha explains in detail how karma functions without a self. This teaching has a general expression, and a...
In an earlier post, we stated the Buddhist teaching of non-self. That leads to two questions about karma that confound many people studying Buddhism, which turn out to have answers that are surprisingly understandable. The two questions are: How can...
The teaching of karma can be profound, but its central core is surprisingly simple. Karma literally means action. The Buddha gives a clear, concise definition for karma: It is volition, monks, that I call karma. For having willed, one acts by body,...
There is an important theme you see over and over again in Buddhism, and that is the central importance of cause and effect. All of Buddhism can be said to revolve around the one vital insight that suffering has causes, and that if you take away any necessary...
The Buddha’s teachings on dukkha (suffering) is somewhat more nuanced than we talked about earlier (here). In an important discourse[1], the Buddha clarified that there are three types of dukkha: Dukkha due to physical or emotional pain Dukkha due to...
