Four elements that make an action complete: Difference between revisions
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#the basis (Skt. ''vastu''; [[Wyl.]] ''gzhi'') | #the basis (Skt. ''vastu''; [[Wyl.]] ''gzhi'') | ||
#the intention (Skt. ''āśaya'') | #the intention (Skt. ''āśaya'') | ||
#the execution (Skt. ''prayoga'') | #the execution<ref>Although it’s translated as ‘execution’ in ''The Words of My Perfect Teacher'', the word is a little ambiguous as it has two meanings in English. One meaning is to carry out a course of action, and the other is to carry out a sentence of death on a condemned person. Here it has the first meaning. But it might be better to translate it in a way that conveys what is meant here—that it’s the act carried out as a result of the previous two elements, basis and intention.</ref> (Skt. ''prayoga'') | ||
#the completion (Skt. ''niṣṭhāgamana''; Wyl. ''mthar thug'') | #the completion (Skt. ''niṣṭhāgamana''; Wyl. ''mthar thug'') | ||
An example is given of the negative action of taking life in the ''[[Words of My Perfect Teacher]]''<ref>[[Patrul Rinpoche]], ''The Words of My Perfect Teacher'' (Boston: Shambhala, Revised edition, 1998), pages 103-104.</ref>: | An example is given of the negative action of taking life in the ''[[Words of My Perfect Teacher]]''<ref>[[Patrul Rinpoche]], ''The Words of My Perfect Teacher'' (Boston: Shambhala, Revised edition, 1998), pages 103-104.</ref>: | ||
:Take the example of a hunter killing a wild animal. First of all, he sees an actual stag, or musk-deer, or whatever it might be, and identifies the animal beyond any doubt: his knowing that it is a living creature is the ''basis'' for the act. Next, the wish to kill it arises: the idea of killing it is the ''intention'' to carry out the act. Then he shoots the animal in a vital point with a gun, bow and arrow or any other weapon: the physical action of killing is the ''execution'' of the act. Thereupon the animal's vital functions cease and the conjunction of its body and mind is sundered: that is the final ''completion'' of the act of taking a life. | :Take the example of a hunter killing a wild animal. First of all, he sees an actual stag, or musk-deer, or whatever it might be, and identifies the animal beyond any doubt: his knowing that it is a living creature is the ''basis'' for the act. Next, the wish to kill it arises: the idea of killing it is the ''intention'' to carry out the act. Then he shoots the animal in a vital point with a gun, bow and arrow or any other weapon: the physical action of killing is the ''execution'' of the act. Thereupon the animal's vital functions cease and the conjunction of its body and mind is sundered: that is the final ''completion'' of the act of taking a life. | ||
Every action has these four elements therefore how they come together determines whether an action yields positive, negative, or mixed results for the future. | Every action has these four elements therefore how they come together determines whether an action yields positive, negative, or mixed results for the future. | ||
Latest revision as of 08:26, 6 December 2021
Four elements that make an action complete —
- the basis (Skt. vastu; Wyl. gzhi)
- the intention (Skt. āśaya)
- the execution[1] (Skt. prayoga)
- the completion (Skt. niṣṭhāgamana; Wyl. mthar thug)
An example is given of the negative action of taking life in the Words of My Perfect Teacher[2]:
- Take the example of a hunter killing a wild animal. First of all, he sees an actual stag, or musk-deer, or whatever it might be, and identifies the animal beyond any doubt: his knowing that it is a living creature is the basis for the act. Next, the wish to kill it arises: the idea of killing it is the intention to carry out the act. Then he shoots the animal in a vital point with a gun, bow and arrow or any other weapon: the physical action of killing is the execution of the act. Thereupon the animal's vital functions cease and the conjunction of its body and mind is sundered: that is the final completion of the act of taking a life.
Every action has these four elements therefore how they come together determines whether an action yields positive, negative, or mixed results for the future.
References
- ↑ Although it’s translated as ‘execution’ in The Words of My Perfect Teacher, the word is a little ambiguous as it has two meanings in English. One meaning is to carry out a course of action, and the other is to carry out a sentence of death on a condemned person. Here it has the first meaning. But it might be better to translate it in a way that conveys what is meant here—that it’s the act carried out as a result of the previous two elements, basis and intention.
- ↑ Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher (Boston: Shambhala, Revised edition, 1998), pages 103-104.