Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Karma and Rebirth in Buddhist Divine Stories of Kotikarna and Svagata

Our most recent readings present the stories of two very different individuals born into their final life. Kotikarna is raised in the lap of ultimate luxury, attended by every pleasure and every good fortune (Divyavadana, 39-42). Svagata is born into a similar setting, but his family, home, and caretakers are destroyed because of the bad karma that he brings with him (Divyavadana, 290-292). How can both men be so filled with virtue that they both become arhats? Both commit evil actions in this life, actions that should bind them more tightly to the wheel of samsara. For example, Kotikarna spends his entire life until (apparently) young adulthood, "[He] would stay on the upper floor of his palatial home, and there he would fool around, enjoy himself, and make love" (Divyavadana, 42). Svagata, "went to a liquor store, and there he drank some alcohol that gets one very drunk" (Divyavadana 298). Yet, the Buddha was pleased with both of them (Divyavadana 69 and 322). It seems to me that they have one major commonality. Both, in a previous life, did good for a monk and had a strong desire to have virtue (Divyavadana 69 and 321). This is a factor that overpowers all other bad karma and results in the eventual understanding of the Truth.

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