The Buddha on Action and Consequences
We live in a world of actions and the consequences/results, fruits/outcome.
The Buddha referred to ‘fruitless striving and fruitless effort’ through the desire to hold onto the same failed approach.
We can apply equally the Buddha’s analysis to government policies and to our own lives.
Here is a simplified version of what he said (DN ii 220) around actions and results.
You may have to read the bullet points slowly.
Generally speaking, the Buddha said It is not possible to choose:
- to make a very difficult result into an easy result
- to end an experience of a difficult result
- not to experience an action that one or others have started.
- to postpone the result of any action that one has started
- to experience the result of an action now rather than wait for the result later
- to make the result of an action touch a mature place in the mind
- to stop the result of an action touching an immature place in the mind
- to make a painful experience now into a pleasant experience
- to make a small experience into a major experience
- to make an experience a non-experience
- to make a non-experience into an experience.
We experience the impact of prior events.
We need calmness, clarity and a creative vision for real change.