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Just as Seeds Cause Flowers to Bloom and Fruit to Appear So Our Actions Give Rise to Happiness and U


Let us read one chapter from a best-selling book written by Kazushi Okamoto, a Buddhist teacher

In Buddhism our actions are also referred to as “karmic seeds,” the word karma/karmic referring, as we have seen, to actions of all kinds.

Shakyamuni compared our actions (our karma) to seeds that come to fruition. Why did he do so? Because just as seeds give rise to flowers and fruits, so our actions give rise to happy and unhappy states.

In 2005 something very strange grew out of the asphalt on a road in Aioi City in Hyogo Prefecture. People thought it might be a weed, but then a white “head” popped out. It was a daikon radish. A daikon radish had pushed its way through the asphalt and soon became the talk of the town. This strong-willed radish was given the nickname “Dai-chan” and became one of the sights of Aioi.

Many people were moved and encouraged by the vital power that enabled the radish seed that was buried under asphalt to break through the hard road surface and bud. But radishes are not the only things that possess great power.

Shakyamuni teaches that our actions possess the power to produce happy or unhappy states. In Buddhism this is called “karmic power.” Our actions of body, speech, and mind give rise to this karmic power that remains stored within us. If you earnestly strive to do your best even when no one is looking, that gives rise to this power stored within you. If you speak to others in gentle, considerate words, this too becomes an unseen power that accumulates within you. If you tell yourself never to give up and to always do your best, that remains as a power within you.

On the other hand, if you slack off when no one is looking, that also remains within you as a negative power. And if you say negative or hurtful things, these become karmic power that lodges within you. This is the teaching of Shakyamuni.

Just as seeds give rise to various kinds of blooms, so this karmic power becomes the seeds of happiness and of unhappiness. Thus our actions are spoken of as “karmic seeds.”

Unless we sow seeds, nothing will grow. And that is why Shakyamuni tells us: “If you wish to be happy, sow the seeds of happiness.” Just as a small seed the size of a grain of sesame becomes a towering tree, or a seed so light that it can be blown away by a breath can pierce the hard surface of the earth and put forth buds, or a seed discovered in strata of earth that are thousands of years old can bloom if exposed to water and fresh earth, so too our actions possess tremendous power to produce both happiness and unhappiness.

(If you plant seeds of happiness, flowers of happiness will bloom, page 32-34)

Source: The Buddhist Village Times #48 | 2015, Just as Seeds Cause Flowers to Bloom and Fruit to Appear So Our Actions Give Rise to Happiness and Unhappiness

 

Source image: Free Wix Images

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