Beings Bound by Action

One is not a Brāhmin by birth,

Nor by birth a non-Brāhmin.

By action is one a Brāhmin,

By action is one a non-Brāhmin.

For men are farmers by their acts,

And by their acts are craftsmen too;

And men are merchants by their acts,

And by their acts are servants too.

And men are robbers by their acts,

And by their acts are soldiers too;

And men are chaplains by their acts,

And by their acts are rulers too.

So that is how the truly wise

See action as it really is,

See dependent origination,

Skilled in action and its results.

Action makes the world go round,

Action makes this generation turn.

Living beings are bound by action

Like the chariot wheel by the linchpin.

(Reference: SNP 3.9)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how it is one’s actions that determine everything about an individual.

During the lifetime of The Buddha, it was believed that based on what type of family you were born into determined what type of life you would live. For example, if you were born into a highly wealthy and influential family, an individual would expect to have a certain type of life versus an individual born into a family of little wealth or influence.

People who were born into Brāhmin families were considered to be holy and able to communicate with the Gods while people of lower castes (i.e. status) were unable to have a spiritual life being dependent on the Brāhmin to do the spiritual work for others. Common people would pay Brāhmin a fee to pray on their behalf. This created an environment where corruption was able to be easily introduced as fees could easily be changed and the common person had no recourse to improve their life because it was the Brāhmin who controlled access to the Gods that were believed in during that lifetime. Brāhmins were considered to be holy and sacred, all determined by what family an individual was born into not by their deeds or actions.

This Teaching, and others, from The Buddha helped individuals understand that one is not a holy person by birth but by their actions. It is our actions that is the “cause” or “action” that creates certain “effects” or “results” in our life.

If one were to think just because they were born into a certain family, life should be good or bad, then they are not yet understanding The Natural Law of Kamma. The results we experience in this life is not purely based on what family we are born into but is determined by our actions.

As we make wholesome or unwholesome decisions, we experience the corresponding results in our life. As The Buddha shares, “that is how the truly wise see action as it really is”. A wise Practitioner will need to see this cause and effect relationship within all aspects of life. There is nothing that occurs in this world without a “cause” or “action” then there is an “effect” or “result”.

All individuals are able to attain Enlightenment leading a spiritual life, this is not dependent on what family one is born into as part of this life.

The Buddha explains the complete series of events as it relates to The Cycle of Rebirth and the experiencing of discontentedness in his Teaching on Dependent Origination. He points to that in this Teaching when he said, “see dependent origination skilled in action and its results”. Dependent Origination is the ultimate truth that explains the causality or causal relationship between ignorance (unknowing of true reality) and discontentedness along with The Cycle of Rebirth and beings continued wandering in The Cycle of Rebirth.

It is action that determines everything in the world explained by The Buddha as “action makes the world go round, action makes this generation turn. Living beings are bound by action like the chariot wheel by the linchpin”.

It is our actions that determine what we do or do not experience in this life. A chariot or cart is pulled by horses with a primary “linchpin” that connects the cart and horses. Without the “linchpin”, the chariot would not function or move. So too, it is one’s actions that determines what does and does not happen in one’s life. One’s actions are the “linchpin” or primary aspect of one’s life that determines all outcomes.

Purifying one’s bodily, verbal, and mental actions will result in an improved condition of mind and life.

Detailed explanation of Dependent Origination is available in this same book series found in Chapter 14 of the book “The First Stage of Enlightenment (Stream-Enterer)” (Volume 5).