High Works

Abstain from intentional taking of life,
intentional theft,
and giving up one's ethical conduct
under the influence of pleasure seeking —
in acts of mind, word-thought-and speech, and body.

Analysis of Works

What is the cause, what is the reason
that humans are seen to
be born in low states and high states,
of short life-span of long life,
of many illnesses of few illnesses,
ugly and beautiful,
those who are no accounts and those of great account,
poor and wealthy,
born in low cast and of respected families,
those who are foolish and those who are wise?

Works are "one's own",
beings are heirs to their works.
works are the womb,
works are one's ancestors,
works are the judge.
Works separate beings into low states and high states.

In this case some man or woman slaughters living beings, is cruel, bloody-handed, intent on injuring and killing, without mercy to living beings.

Because of works like that, made his own and fully developed as a lifestyle, he, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in the Woeful Ways or as an Animal or in Niriaya Hell.
But if he should happen to avoid that and find consciousness again as man, he is of short life-span.
This is the way to a short life-span: slaughtering living beings and so forth.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who has let go of slaughtering living beings, cruelty, bloody-handedness, intention to injure and kill, one who lives merciful toward all living beings.

Because of works like that, made his own and fully developed as a lifestyle, he, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in some heaven world.
But if he should happen to fail that and find consciousness again as man, he is of long life-span.
This is the way to a long life-span: letting go of slaughtering living beings.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who is habitually harmful to living creatures with hand or stone or stick or sword.

Because of works like that — he finds consciousness in Hell.

But if not, and he finds consciousness again as man, he has many illnesses.

In the opposite case he has few illnesses.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who is wrathful, grumpy, irritable, intolerant of small criticisms, easily offended, contrary, stubborn, angry and shows his anger, hatred and resentment — Hell.

But if not Hell — he is ugly.

In the opposite case he is beautiful.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who is jealous-minded; jealous, revengeful, envious, covetous, resentful of others gains, honor fame and the respect paid to them — Hell.

But if not Hell — he is of little account.

In the opposite case he is of great account.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who is stingy, who does not give food, clothing, or medicine, vehicles, garlands, scents, oils and perfumes, bed, lodging, light — Hell.

But if not Hell — is poor.

In the opposite case he is rich.

Then there is the case of some man or woman who is hardheaded and proud, stuck up, stiff, does not acknowledge the presence of those who should be greeted, does not stand up for one who should be stood up for, does not give his seat to one who deserves a seat, does not make way for one who should be differed to, does not respect, revere, reverence, honor one who should receive such — Hell.

But if not Hell — born in a low cast of no respect.

In the opposite case he is of high birth in a respectable family.

And again, there is the case of some man or woman who, having come into the presence of a sorcerer or Beggar, does not ask:
"What are skillful Works?
What are unskillful Works?
What is blameworthy?
What blameless?
How should one practice?
What should one not practice?
If I do what, will it be for many a day for my pain and sorrow?
Or if I do what, will it be for many a day for my good and happiness?
— Hell

But if not Hell — he is weak in wisdom.

In the opposite case he is wise.

Works causing short life-span lead to shortness of life-span;
works allowing long life-span lead to length of life-span;
works causing many pains lead to having many illnesses;
works causing few pains lead to having few illnesses;
works creating ugliness lead to ugliness;
works creating the lovely lead to beauty;
works causing the lessening of worth lead to smallness of account;
works allowing greatness of account lead to being of great account;
works causing poverty, lead to poverty;
works bringing wealth lead to being wealthy;
works showing disrespect lead to being low born;
works that brings respect lead to being high born;
works conducive to being weak in wisdom lead to weakness of wisdom;
works conducive to being of great wisdom lead to greatness in wisdom.

 

§

 

Works and the Three Sensations

When one has done a deed by body, speech or mind with the intention of producing pleasure, pain, or not-pain-but-not-pleasure
one experiences pleasure, pain, or not-pain-but-not-pleasure as a result.

 

§

 

Why bad things happen to people of observed good works
and why good things happen to people of observed bad works.

There are four cases of persons existing in the world.

What four?

In the case of the first case, there is the case of some person here who is observed to be of such works as slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him, he is seen to abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure; he is observed to speak lies, utter slander, and use harsh language, he is seen to be a gossip, covetous, cruel, and hold low views.

He, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell.

In the case of the second case, there is the case of some person here who is observed to be of such works as slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him, he is seen to abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure; he is observed to speak lies, utter slander, and use harsh language, he is seen to be a gossip, covetous, cruel, and hold low views.

He, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in some Heaven world.

In the case of the third case, there is the case of some person here who is observed to abstain from such works as slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him, he is seen not to abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure; he is observed to abstain from speaking lies, uttering slander, and using harsh language, he is seen to abstain from being a gossip, covetous, cruel, and from holding low views.

He, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in some Heaven world.

In the case of the fourth case, there is the case of some person here who is observed to abstain from such works as slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him, he is seen not to abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure; he is observed to abstain from speaking lies, uttering slander, and using harsh language, he is seen to abstain from being a gossip, covetous, cruel, and from holding low views.

He, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell.

Then we have the case of some sorcerer or Beggar who, as a result of applying himself, making effort, hard work, and mental discipline reaches such High state of mind that while High he sees with the divine eye superior to the vision of man, some individual who slaughtered living creatures, took what was not given to him and who abandoned his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, spoke lies, slander, used harsh language, was a gossip, covetous, cruel, and held low views and who, at the breakup of the elements at death found consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niraya Hell.

He concludes: "It is true, there are deeds which can be called "bad", there is a result of bad deeds. That individual I saw here doing bad deeds has been reborn in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niriaya Hell."

And then he goes on to say:
"It's true, everyone who does bad deeds ends up in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niriaya Hell.
Those who say so are telling the truth.
Those who say differently are wrong."

And in this way he stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."

But then we have the case of some sorcerer or Beggar making a similar effort and attaining the divine eye, he sees some individual who slaughtered living creatures, took what was not given to him and who abandoned his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, spoke lies, slander, used harsh language, was a gossip, covetous, cruel, and held low views, who, at the breaking up of the elements at death found consciousness again in some Heaven world.

He concludes: "It is not true that there are evil deeds, deeds that can be called bad. There is no result of bad deeds. How do I know? That individual I saw here doing bad deeds has been reborn in a Heaven World."

And then he goes on to say:
"Everyone who does bad deeds ends up in a Heaven World.
Those who say this know the truth.
Those who say differently are wrong."

And in this way he stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."

And then we have the case of some sorcerer or Beggar making a similar effort and attaining the divine eye, he sees some individual who abstained from slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him and who did not abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, he abstained from speaking lies, slander, the use of harsh language, was no gossip, was not covetous or cruel and held High View who, at the breaking up of the elements at death found consciousness again in some Heaven world.

He concludes: "It is true, there are deeds which can be called good, there is a result f good deeds. That individual I saw here doing good deeds has been reborn in a Heaven World."

And then he goes on to say:
"It's true, everyone who does good deeds ends up in a Heaven world.
Those who say so are telling the truth.
Those who say differently are wrong."

And in this way he stubbornly holds on to and stick to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as "This alone is the truth, everything else is false."

And then we have the case of some sorcerer or Beggar making a similar effort and attaining the divine eye, he sees some individual who abstained from slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him and who did not abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, he abstained from speaking lies, slander, the use of harsh language, was no gossip, was not covetous or cruel and held High View who, at the breaking up of the elements at death found consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niriaya Hell.

He concludes: "It is not true that there are good deeds, deeds that can be called good. There is no result of good deeds. How do I know? That individual I saw here doing good deeds has been reborn in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niriaya Hell."

And then he goes on to say:
"Everyone who does good deeds ends up in the Way of Woe, as an Animal, or in Niriaya Hell.
Those who say this know the truth.
Those who say differently are wrong."

And in this way he stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as "This alone is the truth, everything else is false."

As far as this goes, whatever sorcerer or Beggar says:
"There are bad deeds, there is result of doing bad deeds."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

And if he says:
"I saw such and such an individual who was of bad deeds reborn in this bad state."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

But if he says:
"Everyone who does bad deeds is reborn in such and such a bad state."
This is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And if he says:
"Those who know this know the truth,
those who say otherwise are wrong."
This is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed

As far as this goes, whatever sorcerer or Beggar says:
"There are no bad deeds, there is no result of doing bad deeds."
This does not fit the observable and cannot be allowed.

And if he says:
"I saw such and such an individual who was of bad deeds reborn in this good state."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

But if he says:
"Everyone who does bad deeds is reborn in such and such a good state."
This is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And if he says:
"Those who know this know the truth, those who say otherwise are wrong."
This is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

As far as this goes, whatever sorcerer or Beggar says:
"There are good deeds, there is result of doing good deeds."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

And if he says: "I saw such and such an individual who was of good deeds reborn in this good state."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

But if he says: "Everyone who does good deeds is reborn in such and such a good state."
This is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And if he says: "Those who know this know the truth, those who say otherwise are wrong."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

As far as this goes, whatever sorcerer or Beggar says:
"There are no good deeds, there is no result of doing good deeds."
This does not fit the observable and cannot be allowed.

And if he says: "I saw such and such an individual who was of good deeds reborn in this bad state."
This much fits the observable and can be allowed.

But if he says: "Everyone who does good deeds is reborn in such and such a bad state."
This is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And if he says: "Those who know this know the truth, those who say otherwise are wrong."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

And whoever stubbornly holds on to and sticks to the view formulated by himself based on what he has seen for himself as
"This alone is the truth, everything else is false."
This also is a conclusion based on what is not observable, goes too far, and cannot be allowed.

As far as this goes, in the case of some person here who slaughters living creatures, takes what has not been given to him and abandons his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, speaks lies, slander, uses harsh language, is a gossip, is covetous, cruel, and holds low views, who, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell —
either bad Works to be experienced as pain were done by him earlier,
or bad Works to be experienced as pain were done by him later,
or at the time of dying a low view was adopted and firmly held by him.

It was because of this that at the breaking up of the elements at death he found consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell.

He who is of such works and of such views experiences its fruition either in the here and now or in some other way.

As far as this goes, in the case of some person here who slaughters living creatures, takes what has not been given to him and abandons his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, speaks lies, slander, uses harsh language, is a gossip, is covetous, cruel, and holds low views, who, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in some Heaven world. —
either good Works to be experienced as pleasant sensation were done by him earlier,
or good Works to be experienced as pleasant sensation were done by him later,
or at the time of dying High View was adopted and firmly held by him.

It was because of this that at the breaking up of the elements at death he found consciousness again in a Heaven World.

He who is of such Works and of such views experiences its fruition either in the here and now or in some other way.

As far as this goes, in the case of some person here who abstains from slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him and who does not abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, who abstains from speaking lies, slander, the use of harsh language, is no gossip, is not covetous or cruel and holds High View, who, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in some Heaven world —
either good Works to be experienced as pleasant sensation were done by him earlier,
or good Works to be experienced as pleasant sensation were done by him later,
or at the time of dying High View was adopted and firmly held by him.

It was because of this that at the breaking up of the elements at death he found consciousness again in a Heaven World.

He who is of such Works and of such views experiences its fruition either in the here and now or in some other way.

As far as this goes, in the case of some person here who abstains from slaughtering living creatures, taking what has not been given to him and who does not abandon his ethical conduct in the pursuit of pleasure, he abstains from speaking lies, slander, the use of harsh language, is no gossip, is not covetous or cruel and holds High View, who, at the breaking up of the elements at death finds consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell —
either bad Works to be experienced as pain were done by him earlier,
or bad Works to be experienced as pain were done by him later,
or at the time of dying a low view was adopted and firmly held by him.

It was because of this that at the breaking up of the elements at death he found consciousness again in the Way of Woe, as an animal, or in Niriaya Hell.

He who is of such Works and of such views experiences its fruition either in the here and now or in some other way.

So there are seeds of Works which have not germinated and appear not to have germinated;
there are seeds of Works which have not germinated but appear to have germinated;
there are seeds of Works which have germinated and appear to have germinated;
and there are seeds of Works which have germinated which appear not to have germinated.

 

§

 

Cover Your Bets

The two-sided, safe position
in the matter of whether there
is or is not
a good rebounding consequence from good deeds
a bad rebounding consequence from bad deeds
heaven and hell
mother and father
rebirth according to one's deeds
god, gods, and evil ones
seers who have seen for themselves
is to conform one's actions
to the ways indicated
by the position that "there is."
This way, if there is,
one has made one's self safe;
if there is not,
then even in the here and now
the wise see that one has adopted the two-sided position.
On the other hand,
to say that "there is not"
when one does not know,
is to say that one does know
what one does not know,
which is to speak an intentional untruth,
which the wise see is unwise
even in the here and now.

 

§

 

Beggars!
There are 3
Signs of a Fool
foolish bodily deeds
foolish word-thought and speech
and
foolish imaginings

If there were not these 3 Signs of a fool,
how could the wise know of a fool,
"This fine fellow is a fool, not a real person?"