Sadhu! Thank you! That was a big help with the clarification of what cetana means.
I’d like to follow up with a speculation on the weight of kamma of this situation and ask for your comments on my thinking. Assessing this based on the 2 key factors, we have:
1) You pointed out that the dasa akusala involved is micca ditthi. In this case, the “teacher” harms himself because he’s staying in samsara longer until he has correct ditthi.
2) He teaches this to the general public. In his mind, he teaches Buddha Dhamma, or specifically bhavana; but he just calls it “mindfulness meditation” to make it sound neutral, i.e. not connected to a religion, which gives it a wider appeal. Most “students” may not even know the pali terms anapanasati or Kāyānupassanā (mindulness of bodily positions and movements as taught here).
The average student of this person gets a temporary calm from practicing this. So, using factor number 2, can we say that the kamma vipaka of his action, even with micca ditthi in it, is minimal or negligible? There’s no real harm to the student; in fact, some find this calm beneficial.
Respectfully,
Lang