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Dadul Namgyal: We sometimes have difficulty With the proper practice of the other factors of the
remembering what we ate yesterday, let alone Noble Eightfold Path, particularly Right Effort, Right
remembering things we did or experienced a year Mindfulness and Right Composure, one can verify all
ago or even longer. So, it is natural for us to have three relationships to some extent. But it seems that the
almost zero memory of any past life. Forgetting is not success rate of the first one is very low compared to that
evidence that something never happened. Even if we of the latter two. Thus for the majority of Buddhists, the
were to recollect things in the past, through déjà vu, law of kamma and rebirth is just a belief based on faith,
or familiarity, or disposition, how are we to verify that not experiential verification.
on our own? Even so, there are many cases of people
remembering and recognizing things in their previous Ming Wei: Actually, the ultimate objective in Mahāyāna
life that have been verified. One reason we ordinarily Buddhism for being Buddhist is not simply to acquire
have difficulty remembering past life or lives is that the good karma and benefit oneself, but to uplift and
transition between a death of a past life and a rebirth work for others’ welfare. Nevertheless, karma is not
into a new life takes place on the basis of a very subtle a solution to life’s problems. It must be sought in the
level of consciousness, after the grosser levels have spiritual teachings which aim to bring the process to
progressively dissolved nearer the time of actual death an end through Enlightenment. Karma represents the
along the process of dissolution. We live our entire life, beginning stage of religious faith and stimulating the
waking and sleep times included, in very gross levels of search for solution.
consciousness. That is how no active memory remains
there, except for as latencies, which could ripen later in Dadul Namgyal: Although the minute details
life. of a karma and its results may be beyond the
comprehension of an ordinary person like us, the
There are certain methods of cultivating memory of past general outlines of karma are not that difficult to make
lives through meditative stabilizations and absorptions sense of. It is important to remember the four general
explained in the scriptures. This comes under the outlines of karma and its working:
topic of six super knowledges or paranormal cognitive 1) Karma is definite in that happiness comes only
powers that can boost one’s own progression along the from constructive actions, and suffering only from
path as well as serve as great tools in aiding others on destructive ones. It never occurs the other way
their journey. around.
2) Karma is expandable in that a small action can bring
4. The law of karma states that our existence is a a large effect in the same way that a small seed can
result of either good or bad karma that we did produce a large tree.
in previous existences, i.e. good actions result 3) We will not experience the effect of an action we
in good rebirth, and vice versa. Is this principle have not done. If we have not created the cause
merely to be believed based on faith, or should to undergo a particular experience, we will not
we as Buddhists verify the truth of it ourselves? experience it, even though others around us may, by
their own doing.
Aggacitta: The first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path 4) Karmic seeds do not get lost or magically vanish.
is Right View, which is initially belief in the law of cause The effect of an action will be experienced unless
and effect in relation to it is counteracted. It will not get lost of its own. To
• kamma and rebirth a certain extent, the truth of these points can be
• material phenomena verified on the external world and can be applied
• mind-body interaction. to the inner world of subjective actions and their