(Prologue: I’ve got first-hand experience that a real understanding of the laws of karma can substantially change our lives for the better. I created this weblog to share information and personal experience with others. May it be beneficial!)
Ten seems to be a power number.
- the Ten Commandments;
- Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche’s The Ten Percent Advantage;
- the nursery rhyme Over in the Meadow; and
- the movie Ten
In the post called The Power of Ten: Part One, we saw, in precise terms, what consequences arise for us if we engage in any of the ten non virtuous action.
On the other side of the coin, there are ten virtuous actions that will create positive karma (consequences) for ourselves that will ripen in the future.
From the buddhist point of view, gewa, or virtue, is connected with the
strength of the mind as opposed to being moralistic. The word virtue
comes from the Latin root virus, which means “strength” or “bravery.”
<source: Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche: Taming the Mind and Walking the Bodhisattva Path, p. 69>
Here is the chart of the ten virtuous volitional actions. We noted in a previous post that the ten non virtuous actions have self absorption in common. By contrast, the ten virtuous actions all arise from thinking of others <source: teacher Jay Lippman, Talk 5 of the weekend seminar on Karma, March 13-14, 2010, Toronto, Canada>.
| Action | Description |
| Not to take life | actually save life |
| Not to take what is not given | deliberately give generously to others |
| Avoiding sexual misconduct | vow to be faithful |
| Not to deceive | tell the truth without causing harm |
| Avoiding slander of others | try to bring people together |
| Avoiding harsh words | speak pleasantly and gently |
| Avoiding empty speech | say meaningful things |
| Avoiding greedy thoughts | be content with what you have |
| Not being malicious | appreciate everyone |
| Avoiding wrong views | try to understand the nature of karma |
While it’s good to know that negative karma is finally “burned up,” positive karma also gets burned up! Keeping this in mind, we can ensure that we act in a virtuous way as much as possible. It builds up merit for us. Merit is described as the
good fortune created by virtuous actions. It is the potential power to increase our good qualities and produce happiness.
So until we get beyond creating any kind of karma at all — which involves living in the gap rather than in our cocoons — we need all the positive karma we can accumulate!
Is virtue its own reward? I think so. We feel good about ourselves and appreciate others.
We’ve also seen that virtuous action creates positive karma for our future.
And there’s another benefit to acting in a virtuous way:
The purpose of developing virtue, strength of the mind, is to make the mind more harmonious and stable, more in accord with itself, more in tune. <source: Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche: Taming the Mind and Walking the Bodhisattva Path, p. 69>
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