Approaches to Enhancing the Quality of a Good Life Based on Cūḷakamavibhaṅga Sutta

Abstract

The purposes of this research were 1) study the principle of karma in Cūḷakamavibhaṅgasutta and 2) explore approaches to enhancing a good life based on Cūḷakamavibhaṅgasutta. This qualitative study collected data from documents and purposive in-depth interviews with 17 individuals/monks from three groups involved in enhancing a good life, including Buddhist scholars, Buddhist ecclesiastical official monks (administrative monks), and organizational executives. The collected data were analyzed using content and descriptive analysis techniques.
The research findings revealed that:
1. Cūḷakamavibhaṅgasutta involves karma and its results. It is a discourse in which the Buddha explains the root causes of karma that lead to differences in human births. It describes the nature of karma and the role of the recipient of kamma. In Cūḷakamavibhaṅgasutta, karma refers to "the process of constructing or enhancing life according to karma," which is a matter of distinguishing kamma based on human actions or behaviors performed with intention through body, speech, and mind.
2. Approaches to enhancing a good life based on Cūḷakamavibhaṅgasutta consist of four principles of living including the following conclusions: 1) Enhancing a good physical life by establishing oneself as a moral person, possessing basic moral conscience, and refraining from various forms of misconduct and corruption. This involves using the five precepts as a foundation. 2) Enhancing a good mental and emotional life by sustaining life on a virtuous path while engaging the senses with various objects. 3) Enhancing a good social and environmental life by developing skills for coexisting in society and the environment. This includes training oneself to have generosity and being a good friend to the environment. 4) Enhancing a good intellectual life by practicing appropriate perception and understanding of situations and people around oneself.