⭐Join our seekers community (exclusive content & events): https://www.patreon.com/seeker2seeker
💰PayPal Donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=28CCPBHAFUUX8
📨Read my video scripts and newsletter: https://simeonbmihaylov.substack.com/

Many thanks to the S2S patrons on Patreon: Tsvetina Ivanova, RMSounds, Violeta Nedialkova, Shankar Arul,, Isaac Ng, Jonathan Allen, Mark Schwartzberg, Christopher Mailander, Albert cipriani, Pachier Virasami, Brian G, Richard Metafora, Charly H, Lydia Richards, Yipeng, Colin K, Douglas Hills, J. R. Bob Dobbs, Grey, Ivo Mihov, Hans Krueger, Vladimír Šindler, Neil Toyota, Paweł Rozumek, Scott Myers, jimsturling,  Nate Reeve, Yvone Beisert, Ben Petty, The Analytical Btch, Mary J Riddle-Bevan, Jamie Bell, Leo Sebastian, Sol Diaz, Isabel, Aayush Khanna, Christopher Devlin, Krozal, Thomas Pettitt, asdas, Roxar96, Hans Krueger, Patrick White, Joshua Plummer, max, Umesh, Joel & Beth, Christopher Kempton, marie möller, Gerardo Lopez, Joanne Yoon, Erik Drewniak, Thomas Crisp, William Ward, Konstantin Petkov (Kosio), Luna,  M Skellyman, Mladen R., Andrew Brown, All Nazis Are Nonces, kit cheah, marquisfleur, Matt Geise, Sylvia, Nancy Fleming, Paula Lin, JKomondy, Blaze Williams, Chris Selnes, Registar, Greg h, Ang Kaji, David Cross, Armando Hernandez, Stephen D Higgins, Annette, Armando Hernandez, Victoria Pecherska, Jörg Malzahn, Evelyn Tan, giman97, Amarnath, N, Brett Ammend, Kate Radcliffe, Jack Secker, Anil, XvGt, helen reyes, Jerald Pinson! Your generous support really makes a difference!

I would also like to thank all the channel members who support my work through YouTube! You will know them by their orange badges in the comments :)

I owe this video, like everything else I do, to the gentle and constant support of my partner. Thank you, Elly!

"Enlightenment is when the emptiness wakes up from the dreams that's you"
This is one of most powerful and yet easiest explanation about nirvana that I have ever see

i can't believe this is one of the very few times I've seen this problematic subject discussed. Spiritual teachers just seem to shy away from it because it's hard to say anything intelligible about the 2 together. I admire your courage attempting it.

I’ve been studying Buddhism over half of my life now, and this is one of the clearest explanations I have heard or read of an extremely tricky topic.  I’ve watched and enjoyed all of your videos, and this one is my favorite so far for sure.  Excellent work!

This is the one that finally made me be a “Patron of the Arts” as well

Man I just had a panic attack due to death anxiety, your explanation really helped me, I feel so at peace now

Buddhism's law of karma teaches that every action has consequences, shaping our present and future experiences. It's a powerful reminder to act with mindfulness and compassion.
Thank you!

This blew "my" mind

Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!

This is the only YouTube channel where I immediately watch every newly released video. ❤

Understanding enlightenment is easy but implementing is extremely difficult

I could listen to your voice all day.  Very calming 😊

Great video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. 🙏 I was actually just reflecting on the concepts of karma and dependent origination over the weekend.

From my readings of some suttas (and thus my limited understanding of the Buddha’s teachings), this is what I understand about faith and karma:

In Buddhism, faith (saddha) is not blind allegiance to a figure or doctrine but a reasoned trust in the Dhamma (Dharma), the Buddha’s teaching, which emphasizes an investigative process akin to the scientific method. This process is grounded in direct observation, analysis, and verification, leading to insight and wisdom. Key Buddhist texts, such as the similes of the rhinoceros and the elephant’s footprint in the Pali Canon, illustrate this approach, emphasizing the importance of a methodical and intentional inquiry over mere dogma or tradition.

This investigative spirit is mirrored in the scientific method, where faith lies in the rigor and integrity of the process rather than in the personalities or institutions behind it. Both approaches value the collection of facts and the systematic analysis of variables to arrive at truths. This parallels the complex understanding of karma and dependent origination in Buddhism, which involves untangling the web of causes and conditions that shape existence.

Understanding karma within this framework is likened to the delicate task of removing a stone from a pond without disturbing the water—a metaphor for the nuanced and careful examination required to discern the interplay of actions and their effects. Just as scientists use precise instruments and methodologies, Buddhists employ skillful means (upaya) to navigate the path towards enlightenment, employing the Dhamma as a guide for ethical living and spiritual development.

Buddhist faith is a confidence in the path laid out by the Buddha—a path characterized by rigorous inquiry, ethical conduct, and the development of wisdom (the Noble Eightfold Path). It is a journey that requires patience, meticulous attention, and the right tools, both for understanding the complexities of karma and for achieving the ultimate goal of liberation.

Again, my reading has been limited and so my understanding of Buddhism is even more limited. I wanted to share with you my reflections on this topic. Thank you for putting this video together to explore this topic. 🙏

May hearts hatch with radiated wisdom🙏🙏🙏

Great video, keep it up

Thank you for making "sense" of such a complex subject. My late husband was an expert on Zen and now I am realizing the importance of Buddhism and have started studying online. (We need to remember that attaining Nirvana is extremely difficult and will undoubtedly take many lifetimes. Do not be fooled by New Age "mystics" who are only on the journey and are deluded.) This is an excellent presentation!✨🌟✨🌟

We determine our own Karma... Every decision / choice we ever make takes us to the next situation we find ouselves in. Therefore;  by our own FREEWILL we have determined our own Destiny. When in the moment of impending death our life will flash before our eyes in that moment. You will see clearly how every decision has brout us to our fate. WE WILL JUDGE OURSELVES ❤❤❤We determine our own Karma... Every decision / choice we ever make takes us to the next situation we find ouselves in. Therefore;  by our own FREEWILL we have determined our own Destiny. When in the moment of impending death our life will flash before our eyes in that moment. You will see clearly how every decision has brout us to our fate. WE WILL JUDGE OURSELVES ❤❤❤

00:09 Karma is about intentional action.
03:23 Karma is like a fundamental law of nature
09:32 Desire is ignorance of our true nature.
12:44 The self is a conventional label for patterns of excitation of the five aggregates.
18:41 Karma accumulates and leads to rebirth.
21:29 Karma can be understood through the laws of nature
27:02 Karma largely determines your rebirths
29:51 Buddha explains karma leading to end of karma
35:27 Enlightenment is when emptiness becomes a direct experience.
38:24 Roots of all human thinking in faith

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu.

it would be so much easier if there wasnt any moralizing with kharma.  kharma is cause and effect. your actions affect yourself, and they affect others. Sometimes they affect others decades if not centuries after you die. Sometimes you and your dharma are quickly if not immediately discarded to the ash heap of history.

Its not personal, no one "deserves" the circumstances they are born into. Cause and effect. Then what we are responsible for is our own life and the effects of our actions in this life, and our obligation to others. After all, since separation is an illusion, helping others is really helping ourselves and living the principle of no self in likely its purest form. Breaking cycles, lifting each other up. After all, Buddha realized he couldn't reach enlightenment until everyone was liberated along side him...

i believe the moralizing in kharma derives from our fear of having no control over a significant portion of our life, if not all of it. In other words, caste system moralizing kharma is ego. Its Gods with anuses doing everything they can to deny what is right in front of them. What is the the only consistency besides change-the fear of death and the animalistic limitations of our bodies. No matter how empty this perspective may be, it still remains all the same.

the yin and yang of our lives are undeniable connected universality and undeniable isolation and vulnerability. we live as we dream, alone-and yet that dream is ultimately empty. But there is shade on the sunny side, and sun on the shady side. The best indicator of an enlightened person, imho, is being willing to hold two juxtaposed beliefs as true. And to not fetishize the buddha as anything more than a nobody like yourself. I believe that is how he wanted to be perceived. The buddah is an incredible light to the world, but ultimately, is empty.

Zen Buddhism solved this problem taking away rebirth. Your Karma begins and ends in your life. It is not regulated by some superior cosmic will, but literally by yourself. Your present moment is the results of all your past actions, this is your karma, you did it, you are doing it. You are always responsible for what happens to you. Your karma has nothing to do with deserve in the Zen Buddhism tradition, it is just the result of the chain of events coming from your actions. On a side note, the word karma in Indian means literally “action”.