[Buddha-l] Re: karma and action

[Richard Nance]

On 10/23/05, Bob Zeuschner <rbzeuschner at adelphia.net> wrote:

>Yes, "karman" means action.
>HOWEVER, the way most people have been using relevant to meat eating, it
>is a special sub-category of actions. It is those actions which are
reflexive, that is, actions such that consequences similar to the act
rebound upon the agent...

Bob -- if you reread my comments carefully, you'll see that I've
anticipated this objection. I wrote:

> given that this is a list devoted to
> Buddhism, "intentional action(s)"

So far as I'm aware, "intentional actions" and "actions such that
consequences similar to the act rebound upon the agent" are presented
as coextensive within the tradition. (This leads to the thorny problem
of whether and how fully-fledged Buddhas have intentions. Thankfully,
for the purposes of this discussion, we don't need to worry about that
problem very much.)

I still think the test I've proposed can prove useful in clarifying
things. If others feel that the test is too reductionistic, then they
should feel free to ignore it.

Best wishes,

R. Nance