Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!
Consequences
By Rasika Wijayaratne
Everything action we perform has consequences and it is up to us to decide whether we can live with them or not. The negative or positive consequences of our actions will be immediately visible to us.1
Some young people feel the need to get approval or permission for performing negative actions that they are feeling some guilt about. They wrongly think that if they get the 'okay' from an elder, parent or friend, then the negative action will also be “okay.” But the fact of the matter is, we can get permission from the whole world to do something wrong, but that wont stop the negative after effects of our wrong actions from coming back to us. Someone can ask “What if I drink in moderation, surely that's okay… right?” The only reply a wise person can give is that “The negative repercussions of drinking would also come back to you in moderation!”2 In other words you reap exactly what you sow, no more, no less, and we need to decide if we can live with that.
This means we are responsible for our actions and the fruit these actions bear. We can't say 'You know I asked X and he/she said it was okay to do it' when things go wrong. Well we can, but there is no point because the reality is we are still responsible for our actions (kamma) and we are the ones who bear the consequences (kamma-vipâka). Its our lives, we shape it, we are responsible for the direction it takes and the all consequences that result. It doesn't matter if our friends influence us to do wrong things, as it is still us who do the wrong thing, and ultimately us we who must bear the consequences. This is why there is always emphasis on associating with good friends. When things go wrong our parents can be there to help out, but we are still responsible for everything that happens to us.
The key is to look at the repercussions of our actions. Having analysed this we need to determine whether it is worth continuing down that path and to decide for ourselves whether we can live with the consequences. Everything that we have achieved to date, the sum total of everything that we are today is the result of what we have done in the past, including what we have done in our past lives. Our actions in the first 15 or more years of our present lives have been very strongly influenced by our parents, but it is still us that performed the actions which shaped our present lives under their strong influence. But at some point we need to start taking responsibility for our own actions and lives, and our will parents will hopefully facilitate this in a gradual way that allows our youths to be more independent.
So as young Buddhists we need to take responsibility for our own actions and our own lives. Being independent does not just mean taking control of our finances, accommodation, study and work, it also means taking control and being responsible of our actions (kamma) and our kammic destiny, without looking for approval from outside. This does not mean we don't ask wise people for advise, it simply means that we don't blame them or others when things go wrong, but own up to our own actions.
1. This is one of the qualities of the Dhamma, and is described by the word sandittika, and describes how the consequences of our actions, negative or positive, can be seen in this very life.
2. There are 6 negative consequences of drinking as outlined by the Lord Buddha in the Sigâlôvâda Sutta “There are, young householder, these six evil consequences in indulging in intoxicants which cause infatuation and heedlessness: (i) loss of wealth, (ii) increase of quarrels, (iii) susceptibility to disease, (iv) earning an evil reputation, (v) shameless exposure of body, (vi) weakening of intellect.”
1. Daily Dâna by Rasika Wijayaratne (on generosity) [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana ]
2. Five Precepts by Rasika Wijayaratne (on morality) [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil ]
3. Metta Meditation by Rasika Wijayaratne (basic instructions on the meditation on loving-kindness)
[ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed ]
1. DN 31, Sigalovada Sutta, The Discourse to Sigala - The Layperson's Code of Discipline
[ http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html ]
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