The powers of regret and promise

Briefly

• what is karma
• what are the four results of one actions
• what do we purify

How do we purify

The four powers

• The power of regret

  • Clarifying the difference between guilt and regret.

  • In Joyful Path (power of regret) Venerable Geshe-la says:

  • We develop regret by remembering all the dangers of our negativity.

    this is practical but hard so need to approach this gently

  • The stronger our regret, the stronger our restraint.

    This is an insight for the importance of regret

• The power of promise
  • exploring the act of promising - what helps us keep a promise, what may be the reasons we break promises

From the dictionary

guilt (ɡɪlt) n

1. the fact or state of having done wrong or committed an offence
2. (Law) responsibility for a criminal or moral offence deserving punishment or a penalty
3. remorse or self-reproach caused by feeling that one is responsible for a wrong or offence
4. archaic sin or crime

From chatGPT

Regret is about wishing something had been different — an event, a choice, or an outcome.

Guilt is about feeling responsible for harm — it carries a moral or ethical weight.

For example:

• You might regret missing an opportunity to visit a friend before they moved away.
• You might feel guilty if you promised to visit but didn’t, and your absence caused them pain.

Practicle take away

Explore how can these two forces be practiced:

• In meditation
• During our daily activities