Karma, Dependent Arising, Rebirth and Jayarava's opinion about it

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Dhamma_no_drama Dhamma_no_drama, modified 5 Years ago at 3/25/19 3:08 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 3/25/19 3:08 PM

Karma, Dependent Arising, Rebirth and Jayarava's opinion about it

Posts: 27 Join Date: 2/26/19 Recent Posts
I just listened to the episode 31 of Micheal Taft podcast where he interviews a guy called Jayarava:
https://deconstructingyourself.com/podcast/dy-031-deconstructing-the-heart-sutra-with-jayarava-attwood

He defines himself as a modern Buddhist that taught himself Pali and is not a hardcore meditator. 
Then he argues about karma and dependent origination being incompatible and denies the possibility of rebirth.
He publishes his ideas on his blog: http://jayarava.blogspot.com/2016/05/karma-and-rebirth-basics.html

Anyone else here listened to this episode? I would love to hear your opinions about his controversial perspective on those subjects.



 
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Not two, not one, modified 5 Years ago at 3/25/19 5:37 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 3/25/19 5:37 PM

RE: Karma, Dependent Arising, Rebirth and Jayarava's opinion about it

Posts: 1038 Join Date: 7/13/17 Recent Posts
Thanks Claudio, I enjoyed listening to it.  Personally, I don't see a contradiction between karma and dependent arising.

The way I see it, dependent arising is the mechanism by which karma is implemented. By acting on the voilitional impulses that have dependently arisen, we create or reinforce sankharas deeper in the psyche, thereby reinforcing but also influencing the chain of dependent arising.

So it's a learning process, in which an action based on passion obsession or resistance obsession burns the karma back in to the mind as a set of learned responses.  Those responses arise again when the conditions are right to trigger them, and if we respond while wallowing in passion/resistance obsession, we burn the karma even deeper.

So my view is that we are just a self reinforcing system of suffering. Dependent arising is the system. Karma is the description of the reinforcement mechanism. Luckily, we also know the cure!

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