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Speech, thoughts and action

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
What does the teaching of the religion/spiritual path you follow say about how we should watch our speech, action, and thoughts both toward our own life and toward others?
 

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
All of those contribute to our karma “account”. Good and bad thoughts, words and actions all add to or withdraw from it.

So, while it may give me satisfaction to wish that a person die in a fiery vehicle crash for harming kittens, and it may never happen, it still doesn’t do my karma any good.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
All of those contribute to our karma “account”. Good and bad thoughts, words and actions all add to or withdraw from it.

So, while it may give me satisfaction to wish that a person die in a fiery vehicle crash for harming kittens, and it may never happen, it still doesn’t do my karma any good.
In your scenario you describe, does Hinduism call it Thought karma since the wish is a thought?
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
With regard to speech, I follow the Toltec philosophy of being impeccable with my word and not making assumptions about the words or actions of others.

As far as my actions are concerned, I behave in accordance with my dharma, which is based upon the Ṛta.
 

wizanda

One Accepts All Religious Texts
Premium Member
What does the teaching of the religion/spiritual path you follow say about how we should watch our speech, action, and thoughts both toward our own life and toward others?
'If we can not bridle our tongue what use is our religion (James 1:26)'.

Most religion is all about better action, the approach or our purpose for doing it often can trip people up: as those who watch for their own righteousness, often miss the point of seeing our own hypocrisy.

In our opinion. :innocent:
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
A word about thoughts, which I intentionally left out of my first post in this thread, as I don't see how thoughts can be relevant to the subject.

Thoughts are a product of the mind. Sure I can watch my thoughts, but I have no control whether or not a thought appears in my mind. I strongly doubt anyone else has, either.

Using @Jainarayan's example of the thought of someone drowning kittens dying in a fiery crash, I'm confident that the appearance of such a thought cannot be controlled.

However, what can be controlled is the ego's reaction to this thought. Once one understands ego and why it reacts in such a way (in this case, anger and outrage), one can begin to manage the ego and thereby, one's actions.

As I see it, it's actions and behavior resulting from the ego, not thought, that plays a role in causality (karma).
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
A word about thoughts, which I intentionally left out of my first post in this thread, as I don't see how thoughts can be relevant to the subject.

Thoughts are a product of the mind. Sure I can watch my thoughts, but I have no control whether or not a thought appears in my mind. I strongly doubt anyone else has, either.

Using @Jainarayan's example of the thought of someone drowning kittens dying in a fiery crash, I'm confident that the appearance of such a thought cannot be controlled.

However, what can be controlled is the ego's reaction to this thought. Once one understands ego and why it reacts in such a way (in this case, anger and outrage), one can begin to manage the ego and thereby, one's actions.

As I see it, it's actions and behavior resulting from the ego, not thought, that plays a role in causality (karma).
Yes, I must say I agree on much to what you say here :) when we let go of the ego the mind will silence a lot, and when a thought arises there will be time to look at it and know if it is a wholesome or unwholesome thought. and can react to it thereby.
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
I like the approach brought by the 1st Chabad Rebbe: Thought, Speech, and Action are the 3 Garments of the Soul.
 

Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
Colossians 4:6

Ephesians 4:31-32

Colossians 3:12-14

Not very many apply it in this world...especially now when the Bible is scoffed at!

But when viewing it in context, it’s wisdom is priceless, IMO!

(Reading these Scriptures in the supplied KJV....my goodness! It’s awful! Please, staff, add another version, like you used to have!)
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
No spiritual or religious path, i simply say what i mean to say and do what must be done.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
What does the teaching of the religion/spiritual path you follow say about how we should watch our speech, action, and thoughts both toward our own life and toward others?
Trial and error. Sometimes you say and do things you regret, sometimes you don't.
 

syo

Well-Known Member
What does the teaching of the religion/spiritual path you follow say about how we should watch our speech, action, and thoughts both toward our own life and toward others?
Dharma and Karma. In greek paganism the Good-use Dharma and Good Karma are named Arete. The ill-treated Dharma and Bad Karma are named Kakia. The path of Arete (Goodness) and the path of Kakia (evilness). We should choose the path of Arete, in my opinion.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Dharma and Karma. In greek paganism the Good-use Dharma and Good Karma are named Arete. The ill-treated Dharma and Bad Karma are named Kakia. The path of Arete (Goodness) and the path of Kakia (evilness). We should choose the path of Arete, in my opinion.
Striving to be the best we can morally, ethics and compassion is very important to gain any form of Spiritual awakening :)
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
What does the teaching of the religion/spiritual path you follow say about how we should watch our speech, action, and thoughts both toward our own life and toward others?
In Judaism, the thing that really counts is action. If for example you give to the poor for a shallow reason like getting your name on a plaque so that others can admire you, it is still a very good thing.

Think about it for a second. Let's say you are homeless and hungry. Someone offers you food. Do you care why they offer it? Do you care if it is for their own pride and glory? No you certainly do not. All you care about is that they gave you food.

Certaiinly giving with kavanah (heart) is on a higher level, and we should strive for it. It is personal spiritual growth. But you get the point. Unlike Christianity, doing good for the wrong reasons is still going good. It is worth something.

Let's look at the example of Tzedakah, or the giving of charity/social justice. The Rambam came up with levels of virtue. All the levels are good indeed. Yet they are ranked in order of how good they are, level 8 being the lowest, and level 1 being the highest to aspire to:

  • Level 8 — The donor is pained by the act of giving
  • Level 7 — The donor gives less than he should but does so cheerfully
  • Level 6 — The donor gives after being solicited
  • Level 5 — The donor gives without being solicited
  • Level 4 — The recipient knows the donor but the donor does not know the recipient
  • Level 3 — The donor knows the recipient but the recipient does not know the donor
  • Level 2 — Neither the donor nor the recipient knows the other
  • Level 1 — The donor gives the recipient the wherewithal to become self-supporting
 
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