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This answer stated that:

Even if you sit in the dark and do nothing, you can still be creating bad Kamma. It depends on whether you have Samma Sati or not. Whatever you do can create bad Karma as long as your thoughts are defiled with craving, aversion and ignorance.

So ALL thoughts that are defiled with craving, aversion and ignorance (lobha, dosa, moha) create bad karma? So does it mean when we want something (for example, I want to go to X country for my next vacation), does that thought creates bad karma because such thought is rooted in lobha (craving)?

4 Answers 4

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Starting from having thoughts imbued with the three poisons, one would have intentions and intentions lead to kamma by way of actions, speech and thoughts.

All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; they have mind as their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with an evil mind, 'dukkha' follows him just as the wheel follows the hoofprint of the ox that draws the cart.
Dhp 1

"Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect.
AN 6.63

“Mendicants, there are these three unskillful roots. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion.

Greed is a root of the unskillful. When a greedy person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a greedy person, overcome by greed, causes another to suffer under a false pretext—by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment—thinking ‘I’m powerful, I want power’, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by greed.

Hate is a root of the unskillful. When a hateful person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a hateful person, overcome by hate, causes another to suffer under a false pretext—by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment—thinking ‘I’m powerful, I want power’, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by hate.

Delusion is a root of the unskillful. When a deluded person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a deluded person, overcome by delusion, causes another to suffer under a false pretext—by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment—thinking ‘I’m powerful, I want power’, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by delusion. Such a person is said to have speech that’s ill-timed, false, meaningless, not in line with the teaching and training.
AN 3.69

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  • i want to upvote if you can mention a little about the AN 6.63 controversy of Sujato's translation or include an alternative because that is a very pivotal piece of expression designating kamma & cetana, the english 'choice' is something a monk suggested in 21st century, it has classically & traditionally been translated 'intending one acts'
    – user8527
    Jul 3, 2021 at 18:38
  • Sujato pins in; It is intention that I call deeds. Cetanāhaṁ, bhikkhave, kammaṁ vadāmi. For after making a choice one acts Cetayitvā kammaṁ karoti
    – user8527
    Jul 3, 2021 at 18:41
  • Ceta is root in both cases, Cetanāhaṁ & Cetayitvā, Sujato is being interetative. The literal translation is closer to 'intending one acts'
    – user8527
    Jul 3, 2021 at 18:43
  • @Letsbuddhism I have switched to the Thanissaro translation for AN 6.63. Thanks.
    – ruben2020
    Jul 3, 2021 at 20:04
  • @Letsbuddhism What exactly is the controversy regarding Sujato? I'm curious. Could you point me to sources?
    – A.Ellett
    Jul 3, 2021 at 20:34
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creates karma and samsaric existence ie. the truth of suffering but not necessarily bad karma

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You want to go to X country for your next vacation, then you might lie to your boss because you want to stay longer vacation.

But lie is impossible for the noble one.

In Abhi.Patthana, the great explanation of the dependent origination, there are "PakatUpanissayaPaccaya- strong birthplace for daily, habitually performed or accumulated realities".

Every vanished things, nibbana, and imagination can causes the next arising realities, counting from the 3rd arising moment (after the past reality vanished) and go on until Parinibbana (the death of Arahanta).

Every bad karma accumulate their habit for the next time and next level arising, until the end of the roots.

And it is arising very fast, trillion times per second, so if the practitioner has no stronger enough concentration meditation, the practitioner will lack of seeing some 5 hindrances. And even the practitioner who has stronger enough concentration meditation (Jhanalabhi,Vasipatto) will lack of seeing a tanha, mana, ditthi arising moment if they never listen the Buddha's teaching because it means they has strong enough past Parami to analysis life as the dependent origination as the fastest and smallest arising&vanishing moment to get the reality's 3 characteristics for destroy the root forever and enlighten 4 AriyaSacca.

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If it is connected with delusion then it will more or less be detrimental and these thoughts should be obliterated.

The Blessed One said, "Monks, before my self-awakening, when I was still just an unawakened Bodhisatta, the thought occurred to me: 'Why don't I keep dividing my thinking into two sorts?' So I made thinking imbued with sensuality, thinking imbued with ill will, & thinking imbued with harmfulness one sort, and thinking imbued with renunciation, thinking imbued with non-ill will, & thinking imbued with harmlessness another sort.

“And what, Ānanda, is the perception of abandoning? Here, a bhikkhu does not tolerate an arisen sensual thought; he abandons it, dispels it, terminates it, and obliterates it. He does not tolerate an arisen thought of ill will … an arisen thought of harming … bad unwholesome states whenever they arise; he abandons them, dispels them, terminates them, and obliterates them. This is called the perception of abandoning.

When, indeed, bhikkhus, evil unskillful thoughts due to reflection on an adventitious object are eliminated, when they disappear, and the mind stands firm, settles down, becomes unified and concentrated just within (his subject of meditation), through his reflection on an object connected with skill, through his pondering on the disadvantages of unskillful thoughts, his endeavoring to be without attentiveness and reflection as regards those thoughts or through his restraining, subduing, and beating down of the evil mind by the good mind with clenched teeth and tongue pressing on the palate, that bhikkhu is called a master of the paths along which thoughts travel. The thought he wants to think, that, he thinks; the thought he does not want to think, that, he does not think. He has cut down craving, removed the fetter, rightly mastered pride, and made an end of suffering."

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