Understanding Karma and Human Behavior : หน้า 14/47

Introduction of our actions having brought this suffering of disharmony into our lives and seek to address the causes that are creating and accumulating bad karma. And our accumulated karma designates the way we are reborn. In every stage in this prison of life, as an infant, adult or elderly person, we face the same 10 conditions of the body. We feel 1) hot or 2) cold, 3) thirsty or 4) hungry, we need to 5) defecate and 6) urinate. Moreover, if we cannot restrict or 7) bodily and 8) verbal action they become 9) social suffering. After we die we are born again, which is 10) the consequence and aggregate of our accumulated karma. Animals also share the same prison and need to refuel their elements, as explained later, but they refuel them more directly. For example, when animals are thirsty they drink water from the lake whereas human beings drink pork or even harmful mind-altering beverages. Animals refuel their element by breathing unadulterated natural air; human beings, however, add perfumed air freshener as a pleasurable enhancement. For heat, animals stand in the sun whereas humans clothe themselves in haute couture products to be fashionable and stylish. When animals are hungry they hunt prey or forge the plants available to them whereas human beings go out to buy pizza or give in to cravings and addictions. This distances us from the reality of our existence and the true nature of things, from what is a necessity and what is not. While it may be a necessity to earn a living to support ourselves and families, this also creates threats and danger from defilements and conflicts that will undoubtedly arise as we seek to refuel our four elements and learn how to make and sustain a living. Without training to be clean, orderly, punctual and respectful we will not possess the basics with which to deal with our four major problems in life that started from the need to survive and refuel the four elements externally. Then we have to learn how to make a living. Then we have to engage in work and may end up having conflicts or disagreements with people around us. Finally, our defilements increase and overpower our decision making, which generate more problems afterwards. Key elements in our behaviour that we must learn and cultivate to help mitigate the threats and dangers we encounter when making a living are cleanness, politeness, orderliness and punctuality or we will be disorganized, socially inept and disrespectful. A well-trained and self-disciplined person will meet with positivity from our elders, or if badly trained will receive only negativity and fail to interact appropriately. We acknowledge that a trainer is someone who not only teaches but also practices what he preaches. A trainer is a model for goodness, is someone who shows the brightest way, and a true definition of a trainer is someone who can at the same time point to and illuminate the path of enlightenment for others. This is why we need a proper trainer from the day we are born to learn to be able to make the right decisions. This training can be given simply based on the principle of cleanliness, orderliness, politeness, punctuality and respectfulness even while we are being fed or our diapers are being changed. It goes without saying that the earlier in life, even from birth, that a person is taught these basic principles as a habitual self-discipline the easier progression becomes. It’s as they say: Definitely not! If it were easy to teach basic principles, there would be no more bad people in the world, and human beings would have babies like puppies, not just one at a time. Nurturing to independence and teaching just one child the difference between good and bad is difficult enough. The malleings of good and bad is incorrectly taught, it is certain that bad habits will develop. The bodily conditions of hot, cold, hunger, thirst, urination and defecation play a big part in habitation. Our habits start from how we treat these conditions, our state of physical health will depend on how we treat these conditions, and what our life goal is will influence how we treat these conditions. Because it is this difficult to train someone, humans mostly bear one child at a time. How these conditions are treated will influence whether or not a person becomes angry, jealous, greedy, mean, talks too much, boasts etc. or not. In other words, the treatment will affect the way, and the moral and physical quality of life that person leads. Treating the aforementioned 10 conditions directly relates to how wisely we use, store and acquire the four necessities of food, clothing, shelter and medicine.