about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate? Le

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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absolute
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about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate? Le

Post by absolute »

hello everyone i am new here in this forum.
here is a quote from the movie the bucket list: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate? Leave the perfect trail of slime? yeah it is funny quote but meaningful. what can animals do for good karma? you know, they don't have own self awareness, and from the six realms that deva, asura, human, animals, hungry ghost, and hell can only mankind do good or bad karma? how can other beings if that don't have consciousness do action with their own ? if some carnivorous animals kill other animals to eat doesn't it mean they do bad karma right. so how are other beings do karma?
dude
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by dude »

Animals can make good causes.
tatpurusa
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by tatpurusa »

... just be absolutely snail as a snail is ...

but beware of psychopathic snails! They tend to imitate humans and profit from other snails, even dead. Actually they thrive on
dead snail corpses .. :( :crazy:
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futerko
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by futerko »

tatpurusa wrote:... just be absolutely snail as a snail is ...

but beware of psychopathic snails! They tend to imitate humans and profit from other snails, even dead. Actually they thrive on
dead snail corpses .. :( :crazy:
Yeah, they're just a shell of their former selves! :tongue:
tatpurusa
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by tatpurusa »

:rolling:
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yan kong
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by yan kong »

absolute wrote:hello everyone i am new here in this forum.
here is a quote from the movie the bucket list: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate? Leave the perfect trail of slime? yeah it is funny quote but meaningful. what can animals do for good karma? you know, they don't have own self awareness, and from the six realms that deva, asura, human, animals, hungry ghost, and hell can only mankind do good or bad karma? how can other beings if that don't have consciousness do action with their own ? if some carnivorous animals kill other animals to eat doesn't it mean they do bad karma right. so how are other beings do karma?
Just because they act on basic instinct doesn't mean they aren't conscious. That being said I think rebirth in forms such as a snail are about exhausting the negative karma that led to such a situation rather that cultivating positive karma to escape such a situation.
"Meditation is a spiritual exercise, not a therapeutic regime... Our intention is to enter Nirvana, not to make life in Samsara more tolerable." Chan Master Hsu Yun
Alfredo
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by Alfredo »

It might chance to be in the same cave as some yogi, and hear the Buddhadharma (or at least the words of the Buddhadharma) that way. Or circumambulate a stupa very, veeeeeery slowly.
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TheSpirit
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by TheSpirit »

I think being born as a snail itself is the result of negative karma and living as a snail or suffer as one help slowly diminish the negative karma.
“To be fully alive is to have an aesthetic perception of life because a major part of the world's goodness lies in its often unspeakable beauty.”
― Yukitaka Yamamoto
plwk
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by plwk »

More here

What does a snail have to do to reincarnate?
Choices, choices, choices...
For the not so fortunate ones, they end up under a 5 year old's shoe or a passing truck.
For the fortunate ones, they end up in a French menu as escargot or a museum exhibit.
For the Buddhist snail, they end up in a Rinpoche's garden...
dude
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by dude »

TheSpirit wrote:I think being born as a snail itself is the result of negative karma and living as a snail or suffer as one help slowly diminish the negative karma.
Compared to the hell and hungry spirit realms, being born as a snail is downright groovy.
Compared to enlightenment, everything else is suffering.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

The snail doesn't have to do anything.
taking birth as a snail, or any other type of being is the result of causes.
When the causes for taking birth as a particular type of being no longer arise,
taking birth as that particular type of being will not result.

the causes of the type of rebirth in the next lifetime
are not all accumulated in the present lifetime.
If the causes to be reborn as a human are there,
even if the causes of rebirth as a human,
what are sometimes called the "seeds of karma"
if those seeds were planted many lifetimes ago
if the conditions are right,
a being might be born as a human in the next lifetime.

Does that answer the question?
.
.
.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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kirtu
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by kirtu »

We could help the snails by blowing mantras on them, or blowing mantras into water and share that with them )this from Lama Zopa).

Kirt
“Where do atomic bombs come from?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “That’s simple. Atomic bombs come from the mind that likes this and doesn’t like that.”

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche
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明安 Myoan
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Re: about karma: What does a snail have to do to reincarnate

Post by 明安 Myoan »

Snails are adorable. Baby snails are the some of the cutest things I've ever seen.
But back to topic :)

This is an interesting theoretical idea, and PadmaVonSamba answered it beautifully, as usual.

While they're snailing it up, what can you do to help, as far as your capacity allows?
Watch where you walk, especially when the ground is wet, so you don't squish any. That's already very useful to a snail :rolleye:
Second, don't stop there but actively generate benevolence and concern for any being you become aware of, even the small and slimy ones.

So many people just ignore beings. Many more blindly respond to aversion and splat bugs (or people) they don't like.
How rare and wonderful to be aware of your own potential for ignorance and aversion and turn them to concern, not killing beings carelessly underfoot, adopting a loving and engaged attitude instead!
Namu Amida Butsu
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