Karmapatha
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karmapatha (P. kammapatha; T. las kyi lam; C. yedao 業道). Literally, "course of action," refers to the ten wholesome and ten unwholesome actions (karma), which lead to favorable or unfavorable rebirth, respectively. A favorable birth is considered to be rebirth as a human (manuṣya) or deva; an unfavorable birth is a rebirth as an animal, preta or hell being.[1]
Ten unwholesome actions
- three actions of the body
- (1) killing (prāṇātipāta)
- (2) stealing (adattādāna)
- (3) sexual misconduct (kāmamithyācāra)
- four actions of speech
- (4) lying (mṛṣāvāda)
- (5) slander or malicious speech (paiśunyavāda)
- (6) offensive or harsh speech (pārūṣyavāda)
- (7) frivolous prattle (saṃbhinnapralāpa)
- three actions under the category of mind
- (8) covetousness (abhidhyā)
- (9) ill will (vyāpāda)
- (10) wrong views (mithyādṛṣṭi)
Ten wholesome actions
The ten courses of wholesome action (kuśala-karmapatha) are the opposites of ten unwholesome actions:
- abstaining from the first seven unwholesome actions,
- being free from covetousness (abhidhyā) and ill will (vyāpāda), and
- holding right view (samya dristi)
Though the seven cases of abstinence are exercised entirely by the mind and do not necessarily entail overt action, they are still designated wholesome bodily and verbal action because they center on the control of the faculties of body and speech.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. karmapatha
- ↑ The Noble Eightfold Path by Bhikkhu Bodhi