posted January 09, 2015 12:10 PM            

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According astrologers, the time at which a person is born is predetermined by the cosmic energy and the karmic energy. Hence, it can be concluded that life is not merely accidental: it is the result of the interaction between an individual's karma and the universal energy force. The course of a human life is predetermined, caused partly by a being's own actions in the past and the energies that activate the cosmos. Once started, a life is controlled by the interaction between these two forces even to the moment at which a birth takes place. A skillful astrologer then, as one who understands cosmic as well as karmic influence, can chart the course of one's life, based on the moment of the person's birth.

While we are in one sense at the mercy of these forces, the Buddha has pointed out a way through which we can escape its influence. All karmic energies are stored in the subconscious mind formally described as mental purities and impurities. Since karmic forces influence one's destiny, a person can develop his mind and negate certain evil influences caused by previous bad kamma. A person can also 'purify' his mind and rid himself of all karmic energies and thus prevent rebirth. When there is no rebirth, there is no potential life and there will consequently be no 'future' existence which can be predicated or charted. At such a stage of spiritual and mental development , one will have transcended the need to know about his life because most imperfections and unsatisfactoriness would have been removed. A highly developed human being will have no need for a horoscope.

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The article doesn't spell this out, but I assume the author is suggesting that meditation enables us to have clearer sight of our karma (which is encoded in our birth charts) and then modify our actions to counteract that karma.

After studying astrology for a few years, I get a sense of the challenges arising from charts, but perhaps through meditation those realizations are more personal, more powerful, and inspire changes in behavior more efficiently.

posted January 09, 2015 05:26 PM            

Vajra, you too!

What about any notion of Collective Karma?
Are there any beings who incarnate to help burn off karma for others' particular-individual life? (I'm thinking here of Christianity, but understand that I'm not waving a religion flag okay? Faith knows that I don't do that, but some people here may not be familiar with me. This was a genuine question.)

I've recently listened to a few videos on Buddhism, and had already understood some Hindu-type philosophies. With combining Buddhism, Jung, and astrology, I found this woman to present her points very clearly. (if you are curious) Jungian Psychology & Astrological charts.

posted January 09, 2015 10:16 PM            

Crisis is the crucible that tests and pushes people, and a few find themselves possessed of incredible strength that transcends the pain, and sometimes that strength is spiritual. I think Scorpio and Pisces are the most likely to soar to the heavens on this, though many won't and will fall to the poison of this world to become part of it rather than someone who has risen above it and helps others to do the same.

posted January 09, 2015 10:30 PM            

In another life I was a pirate who married 2 women in different ports, neither one knew of the other (at first) and because of this I couldn't retire as then I'd have to choose one when I couldn't (wonder if I was a Libra back then, too?), and it created drama and problems. One wife came to know because a "friend" of mine told her in seducing her and they had an affair, but me and that friend both died together on a voyage and she with her children suffered horribly and hated us both.

That woman became my mother in this life...but I was already incarnated when she was first born and we mixed briefly on a hippie commune where she'd been abused...and once again I left her and failed (didn't know of it until it was too late) to stop the abuse. I was friends with her mother, however...who'd become my grandmother years later!

The friend in the pirate days was Dad in this life, and they had their own problems to work out. Mom was incredibly bitter over things in this life and I believe many of her problems with me was from other lives, particularly where I was the pirate. And I get this feeling that if it isn't somehow resolved we're going to keep getting pulled together magnetically into dysfunctional relationships of various kinds (similar with Dad). I've tried to make some kind of peace between us but they're not fully ready for that.

Leaving early in November over some family drama Mom came out of her trailer as we came down the long dirt driveway we stopped and I used the moment to say sorry things got messed up, we all make our mistakes but should try to rise above them rather than stay mired in them. Then in a deeper voice trying to sound like Jacques I added, "And I'd say that even if I were a French pirate named Jacques, ma Cherie." Then I nodded in the firm way Jacques did before he left one of his wives and waved saying "Adieu" as I got back into the car.

Perhaps Mom was just baffled but she looked downright unsettled to me. And calling my cousin when I got home days later he said Mom had gone on another one of her drinking binges right after I left, though that doesn't mean it was because of what I said to her.

posted January 10, 2015 10:23 AM            

I need to finish watching mirage's video (thanks mirage! ) and check your link, Vajra....'will respond in a bit.

For now, it strikes me that the most important step one can take to lessening their karmic burden is to be aware of it. Sort of runs parallel to the Judeo-Christian first commandment of "having no other gods before me"...that is, if you aren't aware of God, nothing you do can atone for that failed first step...and if you are not aware of your karma, and what your karma is asking of you, you cannot obey it.

So-- praying to God is critical to spiritual advancement in many religions. Meditation to reach one's inner guidance is the Buddhist corollary. In both cases you have the conscious mind delving into the Mystery, perhaps sampling heaven or Nirvana in the meanwhile. (?)

posted January 10, 2015 11:20 AM            

One difficulty I have, not mentioned there, but applicable here, is in looking at the moralities entrenched in romance, from a Buddhist perspective. Yesterday I was reading The Buddhist View of Romantic Love and, though it was eloquent and illuminating in some respects, I came away dissatisfied.

The article doesn't cite Neptune as a culprit in so many love dramas but that's the bottom line I see, astrologically. And while I can understand Saturn's role in karma easily enough, and speculate that my Venus trine Saturn hints at love karma I'm still working off, what about my Venus conjunct Neptune?

Is the practice of harboring illusions itself a negative act? If I get into personal entanglements because of Venus-Neptune, and cause others pain, is it my fault and my karma that accumulates, or their own fault?

Basically, all that PJ said about her pirate life reminds me of the dubious nature of romantic love and the worldly commitments we make on the basis of it. It all seems like something warped and distorted...you take an unstable emotion (passion) and try to package it for processing via human institution (and these institutions change...marriage licenses are a relatively new invention, for example) and yet, how one behaves in the midst of these illusions is a concrete matter, subject to karma?

To me it almost seems like being held responsible for a nightmare one has. Because so much of it is involuntary (passion arises spontaneously in so many cases) and set in circumstances that look normal in one lifetime but would seem abnormal in another. With marriage, there isn't a real continuum of morality, so what you did in one lifetime, which was perfectly acceptable (ie marrying your first cousin...or several first cousins at once) is considered a moral outrage in the next. How is karma that's created within one context burned off in an entirely different context?

Buddhism is against adultery, but I'm not sure if that stems from collectively-experienced revelations about moral absolutes, or is more like a bureaucratic answer, ie "be good citizens and stick to the moral norms of your respective cultures."

posted January 10, 2015 12:18 PM            

ETA:

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Regarding proper conduct in romantic relationships, Buddhist ethics would recommend (not command! because according to that view, it's only in everyone's own interest to follow the guidelines, not an external requirement) not to cause unnecessary emotional and bodily pain to others. That means: Do only things you would like to receive yourself, and do not deal out what you would dislike to have been done to you.

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It's just sticky when I know my preferences are dissimilar from others'. In love, I would rather be let go and treated kindly if the other person was unhappy with me, but letting others go...usually makes them mad.

posted January 10, 2015 04:36 PM            

Thank you for shedding light on all these issues in a knowledgeable, understandable way.

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Meditating on the meaning of the birth chart could be a very useful exercise. To me, the chart contains hints regarding the lessons of this incarnation, and also holds ideas for their best solution.

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I've always wondered how to meditate on a particular topic ...I thought meditation cleared away all topics.

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I've also noticed, by the way, how we seem to draw the same people towards us over many lives - we do indeed seem to travel in groups, changing roles (and genders) all the time.

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Makes me wonder again about the deeper meaning of interpersonal relationships. Because I get the impression that the Buddhist ideal of affection is sort of impersonal and non-discerning: when one is enlightened they exude universal love (yes?) so, whoever the recipient of that love is, it doesn't matter.

Which makes the whole idea of synastry kind of tricky. Perhaps an enlightened person is no longer subject to the forces of attraction? Perhaps those forces cannot be trusted, no matter how "right" they feel? That reminds me a bit of this hard-to-swallow clip from the Bible: "The heart is deceitful above all things." (Jeremiah 17:9)

Still, I can well imagine how spiritual interpenetration would be such an experience that it puts sexual merging to shame. Even with my 8H moon, I kinda see that.

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However, Buddhists would say there's a gradual difference in the quality of the fetters.

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I love your detailed exposition here.

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Everything about Buddhist ethics is about reducing pain in the world.

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Any kind of illusion, therefore, would basically be seen as harmful to oneself, including illusions about one's own nature and one's own motives. And any kind of action based on such illusions could be seen as a crime against others as well as harming oneself if it causes pain.

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^^ Will be writing that down in my journal.

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Family life keeps one entangled quite effectively, which is actually what serious Buddhist practitioners often seem to conclude at some point; leading a householder life, having children, etc. is seen as much more difficult than leaving the home and leading a spiritual life without all these difficult forces to deal with.

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I figured that....

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In any case, procreation, upholding the social order by concluding marriages and continuing the lineage, etc., have no real intrinsic value according to Buddhism from a spiritual perspective...

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Interesting how that would affect the human population...and have a positive effect on the global environment.

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Nope, it's because adultery (which would normally include lying etc.) is often done in terms of wanting short-term instant gratification regarding certain animal urges (=greed), and at the expense of the legitimate interests of another party (=causing injury), and can lead to dramatic consequences (murder, suicide, illegitimately born children, etc.) and is thus a path that leads to pain, not away from the pain.

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You sound so anti-Hollywood.

*winks*

Thinking of cases where two people who are already married meet and find a connection they feel compelled to pursue...I'm still completely at a loss to figure out how a moral compass works in situations where one family's been torn apart so another more emotionally healthy (though "dysfunctional") family can take its place. It's pretty much the norm here. I have no interest in judging people, just understanding whether or not there is any religion anywhere that encourages people to be true to their romantic impulses, if they run deep enough.

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Haha, yes, but if they've been treated fairly and squarely and still get mad at you, that would then be their problem…

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True...

posted January 10, 2015 06:48 PM            

Necessary caveat: I don't let her use & abuse me, and it wouldn't help if I did, that would only perpetuate the cycle. And her karma is the part buried beneath that pain that when she "wakes up" her last dying thoughts will, I believe, shape our next meeting (mixed in with the stars and also the collective karma that is bigger than all of us and has little to nothing to do with our actions). I don't keep her bound, and neither does any other entity, she does that to herself. She has to forgive herself as much as anyone else, that's the only way she and I will be free of the pain that binds us together in a dance of angst. I believe I could leave her behind now and any karmic claim she has on me if I wished, save I love her too much...not the person she is in this life but the soul buried beneath her. (English sucks for trying to explain this.)

And as for the pirate's life, what really upset her is that she (like my other wife) tried to get me to give up piracy because I was already wealthy, and had given both plenty of plunder (but they still needed a man or a vile man would take from them what they could not hold for themselves if the vile believed no consequences would come of it, and even so my wives knew to keep it secret but when they kept having money after no man showed up then people will talk and get curious, and the children can talk...). I refuse to choose her and so did the other, we instead chose a life at sea, but what she was really bitter about is that because of my choices (and lack thereof) she was a widow with children without the means to keep her fortune in a cold, cruel, callous world--a world that I of all people knew how bad it was, and at least knew that risk, perhaps even found relief in it because that way I would never have to choose and thus in my selfishness condemn both women and the kids we had to misery rather than just one.

posted January 10, 2015 07:03 PM            

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Jesus & Gautama Buddha were sitting in paradise/nirvana (under a tree apparently) discussing the Meaning of Death. Both felt that if they could just understand it they would become enlightened.

An age went past... and still the two men remained wholly incapable of making sense of their dilemma.

Just then, as if by magic a figure approached them! It was Yashodara (The Buddha's former wife on Earth who had become enlightened after many more incarnations).

Recognizing who she was, Buddha became terrified. Yashodara then stopped infront of the two men and looked at Buddha and said: You were an as.shole then and you are an as.shole now, and what's worse is that I cant believe you have been sitting here this whole time talking to THAT clown...

(The Buddha locked in a state of fear could not utter any kind of a response... )

Sensing his distress, Yashodara bent down and kissed his forehead and said: Im going back down there (To Earth), the question is, what are you going to DO about it!?

And with that she turned, exited nirvana, and incarnated once again as a human being.

Buddha then rose to his feet and said: Oh Bollocks... I am Death! But now I want to live, live with her <3

And with that he turned, exited nirvana, and incarnated once again as a human being.

Jesus having watched these events unfold began stroking his beard and said: Fu.ck it...! Why didn't I get married!?

~ Malaclypse the Wiser - Circa 1976

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posted January 11, 2015 04:45 PM            

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There is however a common misconception regarding Buddhist ideas of love that I'd like to address. Many people think that love and joy become bland if one follows the Buddhist way, and say they would prefer to stay as they are because they would not like to give up having these intense experiences (basically as in the story that Lei_Kuei posted above, which would be a very good example of such a misunderstanding).

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Au contraire mon cheri...

As it appears to me, it is you who has somewhat missed the point of the anecdote...

It is NOT about Buddha's now forgotten/bland view of love that was rekindled by seeing Yashodara. It is already implied that Buddha is in a state of Nirvana and thus has a sort of all encompassing Universal Love beyond measure...

Or as you explained:

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When love becomes purified, fears of abandonment cease, pain and jealousy are subdued, even the fear of losing the loved one through death would begin to weaken, and love would flow forth in abundance - and can, with time, be gradually extended to other people as well

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Yet in the story what has he chosen to do with such Love...!? Essentially “Nothing”, because he is in Nirvana...! (which you are choosing to not mention in your explanation which is in general terms the ultimate destination of a Buddhists spiritual awareness that can only truly be found when one leaves the cycle of reincarnation according to its core teachings, and therefore how can they extend that to anyone once they have exited the building!?) Its interesting how letting go of ones ego/desires has the combined effect of turning a person into the most selfish pr.ick imaginable... (Buddha in the story).

But then.... Yashodara! Having also now achieved the same state of Nirvana instantly realized the solution to this very problem which Buddha has failed to understand..!

Yashodara message to him was not of “Love”, but of ACTION! A Call to Action!

Buddha's then action of rising to his feet and off his knees and exclaiming “Oh Bollocks.. I am Death” was the realization that for all his Universal Love he had denied himself that which could truly make him a living manifestation of a God!

Expressed, ACTED upon Universal Love!

Yashodara's choice to use her enlightenment to not only heal Buddha via the simple action of appearing and declaring to him her intent shows an awareness of love FAR greater than that of even Buddha or the Jesus Character (But Jesus could be replaced with anyone of the other so called religious figure heads who share in external heavenly/paradisal belief structure).

Yashodara in actuality IS a GOD in the anecdote, one who heals with Absolute Truth, and Absolute Wisdom.

Her action of bending down to tenderly kiss his forehead is the symbolic action of wisely “expressed” love for her husband that is recognised/felt by those two for one another (singular expression)!

Followed then by the symbolic ACTION of returning to earth with her new found awareness, which is the (universal expression) Godly mode of operating in that she has now evolved too, and that which Buddha now seeks to emulate by following her back to the land of the Living!

Yashodara was capable of “expressing” all forms of Love, Buddha was not... for he had temporally lost his awareness of how to do so. (One of the Dangers of Buddhism...)

Subtle difference, but a KEY one in your misinterpreting of that anecdote

Sorry for being an ass, but sometimes one must...