Karma
(Disclaimer:
This is entirely based on my understanding of Karma. There may contain wrong
views, due to my own misinterpretation. I would advise you to read this with a
pinch of salt and seek truth on your own by reading Buddhist materials, if truth
is what you are looking for)
Buddhism,
contrary to most peoples’ misconception, is very progressive, “avant garde” and
relevant in today’s society as it was more than 2600 years ago in India and
probably many thousand years from now.
Many have
this idea that Buddhism is outdated, archaic and for the old uneducated aunties
and uncles. They associate Buddhism to incense burning, idol worshipping, and
superstitions. Well, let the truth be told, Buddhism IS for old uneducated
aunties and uncles. It IS also for intellectuals and the highly educated. It
caters to people of all levels of consciousness. This is the beauty of
Buddhism. It can be very simple and very abstract.
Buddha is
an advocate for investigative enquiry and He eschews blind faith, superstitions
and dogma. Only through intense scrutiny and rational critique can a concept be
established as truth. Truth is to be understood and deeply examined and nothing
is too ‘sacred’ to be criticized and debated on. This was and is one of the
biggest breakthrough in human thought during that time. How progressive and
relevant is this idea even till today! Investigative enquiry! CSI in 2,600
years ago!
Karma is
one of the central teachings of Buddha. There are a few layman ways to describe
what Karma is:
- What goes around comes around
- You reap what you sow
- What you do unto others, you do unto yourself
Karma is
simply a law of cause and effect. Like the law of gravity, it is a law that
governs the moral aspect of our inner world. Like a fire that can be extinguished
with water and burn brighter and fiercer with petrol, it does not have any
emotion, nor is it a law arbiter.
When an
ignorant young boy places his hand in fire, he will get burnt. It does not
matter if the boy is kind hearted or evil because the fire does not know the
boy, it only knows that it will burn any thing that comes in contact with it.
Similarly, it does not matter if a person does not know or believe in gravity,
because living on planet earth, he cannot escape from it.
Inequalities
exist in every facet of our world. The wealthy minority, the starving majority,
the infirmed and the healthy, and the list goes on. Some people are born with a
silver spoon, some people are born in war torn countries. How is it that some
are ‘luckier’ than others? Karma is it.
Karma is
NOT fatalistic or deterministic. It is not ETERNAL DAMNATION. No one faces
eternal hell. Even the most brutal killer can change and start to do good deeds
to accumulate good Karma. Those who committed too many evil deeds will suffer
their own bad karma. However, their ‘punishment’ is not eternal. Once their bad
karma expires and their good karma takes precedence again, they will be able to
‘start afresh’. Similarly, if a person accumulates a lot of good karma, he will
have pleasant experiences and conditions in his life or next lives, for
example, always meeting good people to guide his spiritual path, understanding
Buddhism, born in a safe and stable country that allows him to seek spiritual
progression, etc. However, good karma can be depleted too, like a bank account,
if it’s not ‘top-up’. Hence, it’s all up to the individual’s efforts to create
his own experience here in this realm or in other realms.
Karma
determines the conditions/ environment that a person will experience in his
current life or his next lives. This is very relevant in today’s context
because a lot of destruction and misguided greed occur because people believe
that they have 1 and only life to live. With this mindset, there is no need to
‘think too much’. One only has to satisfy one’s sensual pleasures as much as
possible and ‘heck-care’ about the future. This attitude will create more
suffering, hence as what we have continuously witnessed in our current dire
world conditions and throughout our short known and written history.
Nobody can
change anybody’s karma. Not even Buddha. When Buddha became enlightened, one of
the first things he emphasized was that he wasn’t a GOD and that everybody has
a Buddha nature in them that they can realize. Buddha is omniscient but not
omnipotent. He is enlightened and He knows what Karma is. He can only show the
path, explain the mechanism of Karma, so that people can understand and
alleviate their suffering. This means that there’s no ‘cheater code’ available,
no easy way out, no Chosen People, no special ones. One has to depend on one’s
own efforts to create one’s salvation. This is excellent. This is fair. This is
egalitarian. This is justice and accountability.
How can
anyone get ‘good’ karma? What deeds are considered ‘good’? This is how Buddha
puts it:
“When you
yourselves know:
‘These
things are bad, blameable, censured by the wise: undertaken and observed, these
things lead to harm and ill’
Abandon
them…
“When you
yourselves know:
‘These
things are good, blameless, praised by the wise: undertaken and observed, these
things lead to benefit and happiness.’
Enter on
and abide in them.”
In short,
the definition of a good or bad deed is through knowing it ourselves. No matter
how much we try to rationalize something sometimes, we KNOW we are
rationalizing. Deep down, we can hear a voice inside us that tells us when we
are doing something that is wrong. Rationalization is an attempt to drown that
voice. It’s a futile attempt. The unease and discomfort remain even when we try
and rationalize a ‘wrong’ deed.
I wonder:
If karma is to be taught as a school philosophical/moral education subject,
will it be able to stand on the ground of validity? Will it benefit society? If
everybody knows that his rationalized actions will haunt him one day, will he
be deterred? Will he adopt a course of action that will genuinely benefit most
people, to the best of his intent? If the tenets of power are sprouted from the seeds of Buddhist thought, will the world be a better place?
