[Buddha-l] Website of the Arya Sanghata Sutra

[[DPD CDT] Shen Shi'an]

Oops... I might have mixed up the salt-related sutta with another 'salty; sutra. Here is the actual one (just commentary though). From 'The Way to Buddhahood' (Venerable Yinshun) p.56: http://tinyurl.com/lzt8mn :

"The Yan Yu Jing (Sutra on the Salt Analogy) explains that if one commits an extremely evil action, it is only necessary that there be enough time to make amends. This is difficult to do if one is old or dying. According to the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Sutra on the Contemplation of Amitayus Buddha), however, reciting Amita [Amitabha] Buddha's name helps alleviate the results of serious evil karma [due to Amitabha Buddha's great compassionate vows to share his bountiful merits with those who are mindful of him. As stated in the same sutra, as excerpted below, even beings who 'commit such evils as the five gravest offenses' can be born in Amitabha Buddha's Pureland if they practise accordingly.]

If one has enough determination - if one cultivates the body [action], practices the precepts, and develops the mind and wisdom - even extremely evil karma will bring only light or indeterminate retribution. This lessening of karmic retribution can be compared to throwing large amounts of salt into a wide river: doing so will not make the water salty. [Likewise, when we practice mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha well, we are connecting to the vast ocean of his merits (pure karma), which dilutes the effects of our evil karma and enables us to be born in his Pureland.] On the other hand, if one commits smaller offenses and does not know how to cultivate the body, practice the precepts, and develop wisdom, one will certainly get bitter results. This can be compared to puting a small quantity of salt into a small cup: the water will become bitterly salty.

That the results can change depending on one's actions is strong proof that karma is indeterminate. In the Dharma [teaching] of the Great Vehicle [Mahayana], karma is viewed as empty [of fixed characteristics due to changeability as exemplified by the above analogy of dilution], which means it can change and that one can repent serious offenses; this is what cultivating wisdom means. Therefore, one should not be discouraged by extremely evil karma [created]; one should repent deeply and practice the Buddha Dharma."


-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Lusthaus [mailto:vasubandhu at earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, 31 July, 2009 6:42 PM
To: Buddhist discussion forum
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Website of the Arya Sanghata Sutra

Shen Shi'an wrote:

> On ' the sutra has the power to wash that all away. Not in Pāli texts
> where one simply cannot escape one's karma.' Well, here's a sutta on not
> so much of washing away negative karma, but diluting its effects:
> http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.099.than.html

This is something else entirely. In the case Jayarava was indicating, grace,
other-power, forgiveness of one's sins by someone else is at play,
eliminating the need for self-correction.

In this Pali Sutta (the online translation has some problems), the issue is
not "diluting" karma, but explaining how -- contrary to a lot of later
Buddhist literature -- there is no one-to-one calculus between a act and its
calculus. Put another way, the impact of a "trivial" act -- and this sutta
is about the impact of *trivial* actions, not all and any type of action --
will vary according to who does it, i.e., the full configuration of causes
and effects contextualizing the action.

To update the analogies (and to take it out of the monastic setting): For a
healthy person to have an occasional drink with friends will NOT have the
same consequential impact as an alchoholic trying to have an occasional
drink. Why? Because the non-alchoholic's habits in this regard are healthy,
while the alchoholic's habits make even a single drink precarious and more
consequential. The non-alchoholic may have a termporary buzz, while the
alchoholic, if he was trying to stay sober, will have a major setback, and
even if still engaged in active drinking, is on a downward spiral that this
drink will contribute to; i.e., the consequences, which will be unpleasant,
are long term and promise something hellish in the future. The
non-alchoholic's "effects" from his single drink are short-term and quickly
forgotten (as long as he's not dumb enough to drink and drive, etc.).

In such cases, it is still one who is responsible for one's own karma --
one's own habits and their consequences. Can Buddha do an intervention?
Maybe, but he can't make you stop drinking.

Dan

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