Dear Terry,
First, you are most welcome to post your questions from the Discovering Buddhism (DB) online program to our DB forum at this link: https://onlinelearning.fpmt....
Dear Terry,
First, you are most welcome to post your questions from the Discovering Buddhism (DB) online program to our DB forum at this link: https://onlinelearning.fpmt.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=1343. Or you can scroll down the Discovering Buddhism main page and, right at the bottom, you will find the "Discovering Buddhism Student and Elder Forum." On that forum, there are other students and elders who will respond to your questions and you can also view others' questions and discussion.
The current forum you are using is the technical forum that deals with technical issues when assessing the OLC. Students and elders won't be able to see and respond to your posts here.
Having said that, regarding your question of "Intention is karma," this is a very common quote from the Buddha when explaining karma. The quote usually goes: "Intention, I tell you, is karma. Intending, one does karma by way of body, speech, & intellect." Karma is better translated as action. Among the different aspects of our actions, the Buddha points to the intentions behind our actions as the most important aspect, since it is the quality of our intention that determines the quality of our action as virtuous or non-virtuous. For example, the intention to kill motivated by hatred toward someone is a non-virtuous intention and, therefore, the physical act of killing that follows this intention becomes a non-virtuous action that brings suffering. Conversely, the intention to help another in distress motivated by compassion is a virtuous intention and, therefore, the verbal act of kind speech to console someone that follows this intention becomes a virtuous action that brings happiness.
Maybe, by putting the idea across so succinctly, it can be a bit confusing unless we understand that it is more a matter of emphasis, drawing our attention to the intentions of our various choices and actions. It is the intentions along with the acts of body, speech, and mind (as in the thoughts we dwell in) together that constitute the creation of actions or karma in Buddhism.
I hope this is helpful.
With best wishes,
Wai Cheong (Foundational Program Coordinator)
