Venerable Bhikkhu Pandita,

Thank you for the file. I am with you that kusala is kusala and
akusala is akusala and that these are absolute values. One cannot
change kusala into akusala and they arise at different moments. They
each have their own characteristic and even if we change their names,
their characteristics are unalterable.
It would help Collins to realize that there are so many different
cittas each arising because of their own conditions. Abhidhamma can
help us to have a deeper understanding of realities, including kamma
and vipaaka. It is not theory but pertains to our life now. Then one
can begin to know that what seems one moment of kusala that lasts is
in fact many different moments, arising and falling away extremely
rapidly. For instance what seems a lasting moment of metta may be
moments of metta and selfish affection alternating so fast.

I agree with you: < My answer is thus. A good intention behind a
certain act is what counts in the path
to nibbāna, as Gombrich correctly notes:
... since acting is really mental [i.e., because intention is karma],
doing a good act is
actually purifying one’s mind. (What 14). >
Kamma is cetanaa cetasika, and it is kusala citta with kusala cetanaa
that counts. Not the outward appearance of deeds.

With respect,
Nina.
Op 5-okt-2011, om 8:11 heeft ashinpan het volgende geschreven:

> This paper is a critique of the "Two Modes of Dhamma" concept by
> Steven Collins in his book titled "Nirvana and Other Buddhist
> Felicities: Utopias of the Pali Imaginaire". Using the concept of
> intention as karma, I have argued that there is only one mode of
> Dhamma in the Early Buddhism, that is, that of absolute values
> which are context-independent and non-negotiable.

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