Karma
by Roedy Green ©1996-2008 Canadian Mind Products
Karma is a word that
comes from Buddhist and Hindu traditions. It can be defined many ways:
- The law of cause and effect.
- What goes around comes around.
- You reap what you sow.
- Totally innocent victims are rare.
- No good deed goes unpunished.
- Your actions create ripples that spread out, echo and constructively/destructively
interfere with the ripples from the actions of others.
If you want a definition to boggle your mind try these two:
- For every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was
caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant
according as its cause was skillful or unskillful. A skillful event is one that
is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is
one that is accompanied by any one of those things.
- The Law of Causal Condition is the fundamental doctrine of Buddhism. It states
that all phenomena in the universe are produced by causation. Since all
phenomena result from complicated causes and effects, all existing things in the
universe are inter-dependent, i.e., have no self nature or existence on their
own. Existence is defined solely by relationships. Moreover, all phenomena and
things are impermanent and constantly changing. Karma is the Law of Causal
Condition applied to an individual.
Cosmic Karma
Cosmic Consciousness is the point of view that we are all one. From the point of
view of cosmic consciousness, karma is duck simple. If you poke a stick in
someone’s eye, it hurts, because it is your eye. It is not,
strictly speaking, wicked, just stupid. However, it is little consolation when
someone pokes you in the eye that it was you doing it. Similarly, when you give
someone a massage, it feels good because they are you.
Thieves are sleepwalkers who steal from their own pockets.
Resonance
From the point of view of security, sensation and power, karma is more complex.
There is the illusion of delayed reaction or hysteresis.
Think of it this way. Start singing the note G. If other people start singing,
they are more likely to sing G or a harmonic of G than any other note.
If you sing a hate note, other people are more likely to start singing a hate
note. If you start singing a love note, other people are more likely to start
singing a love note. If you start singing a panic note, you start a stampede.
What do you do if you come across a chorus of hate-singing war birds? It is not
necessarily the optimal strategy to burst into a love song. They may perceive
you as other and peck you to death. Sometimes it is wiser to blend with
the flock and gently attempt to lead it to more loving melodies.
“Let us therefore reject all superstition in order to become more human;
but in speaking against fanaticism, let us not imitate the fanatics: they are
sick men in delirium who want to chastise their doctors. Let us assuage their
ills, and never embitter them, and let us pour drop by drop into their souls the
divine balm of toleration, which they would reject with horror if it were
offered to them all at once.”
~ Voltaire [François Marie d’Arouet
Voltaire] (1694—1778)
Birds of a Feather
Saints hang out with saints and thieves hang out with thieves. That is one
reason why thieves have more problems with pickpockets.
Security Karma
If you go to the aid of others in distress, others will be more likely to come
to your aid when you get yourself in hot water. If you let others starve to
death through your inaction, others will let you die in a similar way. If you
let others die of diseases, you can’t very well expect others to minister
to you if you become sick.
Sensation Karma
If you pleasure others, others are more likely to feel like pleasuring you. If
you make others miserable, others will find ways to make your life miserable.
Power Karma
If you are fair in your dealings with others, others will tend to be fair with
you. If you bully people into doing what you want, the first chance they get
they will rebel and bully you back. If you take unfair advantage of others,
others will take unfair advantage of you. If you use excess force to make your
point, others will use excess force to make their point with you.
Love Karma
If you are kind to creatures weaker than yourself, creatures wiser than you will
treat you kindly.
Cornucopia Karma
If you share your abundance, your horn of plenty will never empty.
Conscious Awareness Karma
If you control your emotions with others, others will control their tempers with
you.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Everything you do will offend someone. Even your every inaction
will offend someone. You can’t win. It is impossible to please everyone.
Your best strategy is just, as filmmaker Spike Lee advised, to Do The
Right Thing and forget about karma both good and bad. Get on with your
life. Don’t waste time waiting for the karma to drop into your hand like
jellybeans from a candy machine.
Cosmic Karma Revisited
When a single person does something drastic, good or bad, the effect may be
absorbed and distributed by the universe over many people and many lifetimes.
From the point of view of cosmic consciousness, there is only one actor and only
one being acted upon. Don’t waste you time worrying about reincarnation
and how fat your personal karma account is. Just do the right thing, as
best you know.
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