Karma: Do people have it coming?

Question: “Hi there, big fan of your blog. I’m a life long Hindu, and lately I’ve been struggling with rationally arriving at the conclusion that all actions and reactions are a part of an overarching karmic system, specifically because of the seemingly meaningless deaths and illnesses of innocent people, specifically young children that are the victims of violence and/or fatal diseases. Does a karmic system imply that these individuals somehow had it coming in the grand scheme of the universe?”

Thanks for being a fan! Glad you enjoy it 🙂

Yes and no. It might sound like a horrible and cruel thing to agree to or believe in, but the saying “everything happens for a reason” is true in the case of Karma. Death and disease doesn’t just happen to individuals, but whole countries too. Tibet is a great example. As a Buddhist country you would think all it does is gain good karmic merit and deeds, but even the His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that it was Tibetan karma accumulated over the centuries that caused such a huge karmic effect, because there is individual karma and group karma; so it would of been group karma for the deaths during the Chinese invasion, but individual karma for people’s own deaths or suffering.

There’s a story of a monk, whom long ago knew he was born at the time he was because someone was going to kill him, because he had killed that person in a past life. He was an honorary monk of a king; being at the king’s side and preaching the Law to him. One day, the man whom would kill the monk charged at him, but the king had his guards stop the man before he could attack. The monk told the king to let him be because he already knew his fate and he knew he had to “pay back.”

So even when people are innocent, guilty, young, old, rich, poor – if you believe in karma and past lives, then it’s easier to understand that the person whom would harm/kill us could of been someone we’ve previously harmed or killed and we’re just paying back for our negative karmic actions. Every cause has an effect; and when it comes to karmic effect, it doesn’t always happen in this lifetime – it could come back to us in any of our future lives.

Karma works in different ways though. I heard a story from a monk that when he was in college, him and his friend rented the basement from this old married couple. The husband was a hunter and their home was full of animal heads hanging on the walls, and furs made blankets and covers. They had one child whom had died. The monk later realized that their child was taken away because the husband was taking away (killing) dozens of children away from their families.

Our karma reborns us in specific places for specific reasons. Bad past karma will have you ended up in a poor, third-world country, or with some kind of misfortunate disease or illness. Good past karma will reborn you in a nice place, to a nice family, living a nice life. So whether we have a good or bad life depends on our past karma, however, we must take the opportunity in our present life to better ourselves and accumulate good merit so that our next life will be a much better one.

 

Smile and be well!

Buddhism and Believing in God

Question: “I have a strong urge to change my spiritual beliefs. I grew up in Catholic Church and then converted into Lutheran. I can’t seem to follow thru with these religions. However, I do believe in a God. I struggle with believing in something that makes sense and so far I find myself leaving to the Buddha life. How can I begin to do this? What should I do to remain in t right path to do so?”

As with any path, religion, or spirituality, it’s a very personal one. Modern religion (for the most part) has strayed away from strict, we’re going to follow the same rules that were put down thousands of years ago, ordeal and make up our own rules. For Christians, Catholics, Muslims, etc. they break their own rules on a daily basis because ancient rules don’t apply to today’s age.

With Buddhism on the other hand, it’s the kind of religion that needs to change according to the societal and local customs. That’s why Buddhism is different in almost every country. It’s still all Buddhism, believing, practicing, and reading the same Dharma, but Buddhism in India is much different than Buddhism in China. With that said, you can still be a Christian and practice a Buddhist way. Being a Christian and practicing Buddhist philosophy of non-violence, loving-compassion, and loving-kindness simply makes you a better Christian.

To be a Buddhist, a true, devote Buddhist is an effort to learning and practicing its profound philosophy, sutras, and Dharma. But by taking certain concepts of Buddhism like non-violence, love, compassion, and loving-kindness and applying it to your own life and religion, that just makes you a better person and a better follower of your own religion.

Buddhism doesn’t have a concept of a God, or a need for it. It’s a mind-centered religion where you are your own judge and responsible for your own suffering and happiness. So without having to “convert” to Buddhism, use Buddhist practices of loving-kindness and compassion. Grab an intro book of Buddhism like the The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh, for a little more in-depth knowledge. Practice what you read and know and apply it to your own beliefs.

Your life isn’t about bettering it or making it satisfactory for a god or some deity – it’s about bettering it and satisfying your own Self, finding the causes of suffering and being happy. You can’t help others without helping yourself first!

 

Smile and be well!

Past and Present Karma

Question: “If i don’t know what wrong karma i did in my previous lives then how can i correct my karma in present lives. Is there a way to understand past karmas in present lives.”

 

Not really. Until you’ve reached Enlightenment, you can’t “see” your past lives. Past Karma isn’t really as important as your present Karma. You should be more worried about your present and future Karma/life than your past, because there’s nothing you can do about it.

However, we can create a fairly general idea of any good/bad karma from our past lives in our present. Are you poor, comfortable, rich? Good looking, average, not good looking? Do you do well in academics, hobbies, or extracurricular activities? Are you better at something than something else? An odd talent or no talent? You can judge your present life and give a general assumption if past lives have done good or bad to create your good or bad present life. So even though (unless you’ve become liberated) you might not know your next life, it’s important to better it in this life. All our good and bad deeds/karma will affect us – either is this life, the next, or any future lives. So if you’re practicing Buddhism, or just practice a virtuous, good life, be happy to know that your next life will be much better, happier, healthier, and longer.

 

Smile and be well!

The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The Twelve Links (Nidãnas) is one of the most important teachings in Buddhism; it teaches the origin of suffering (dukkha) to be ignorance (avidya). In Buddhism, Dependent Origination is the teaching of how things come to be, are, and cease to be. The Twelve Links show how Dependent Origination ‘works,’ that no beings or phenomena exists independently of other beings or phenomena.

Question about Karma

Question: “I am really stuck on the concept of Karma? Could you please help me figure out what the actual texts say about Karma and your thoughts on it. Whenever I do light research it seems to come back to past life deeds and I think that is a more sophisticated way of victim blaming.”

In the Samyutta Nikaya text it says:

“According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit you reap there from,
Doer of good will gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps,
Down is the seed and thou shalt taste
The fruit thereof.”

Our present life has everything to do with our past Karma. Where we are, who we are, our failures and successes, our special skills or lack of can all be blamed on our past lives and their Karma. However, though our past lives’ karma has influence on our present life, our present karma can also have influence on our present and future lives.

In my post about Karma I mentioned that you can’t “erase” bad Karma, but you can outweigh it with good karma by accumulating good deeds and merits by practicing the Eightfold Path. By accumulating enough merits, you can be reborn in the heavenly realm and reach Enlightenment much quicker. But being reborn in the heavenly realm doesn’t mean you stay there. In all six realms of rebirth you still die and reborn, but you live longer in the heavenly realms and stay there until your good karma points are used up.

Karma follows the law of causality; where there’s a cause, there’s an effect. So if you create a good cause, you’ll get a good effect; a bad cause, a bad effect. However, keep in mind just because you do so many good deeds in this life doesn’t mean you’ll receive the good effects in the same life – the effects happen when the time is right. So it could be in this life, the very next life, or any other life after that. So, when doing good deeds and accumulating merit, don’t just think of the benefits for this life, but also know that your next life will be a much better one, and one day when you reach Enlightenment you’ll be able to see your past lives and thank yourself that you did so much good to help you find liberation.

 

Smile and be well!

What to concentrate on during meditation

An essential part of Buddhist practice is meditation. It’s they key to a better life, practice, and eventually Enlightenment. There are several ways and practices of different meditations, some simply, other very difficult, but one thing that almost all types of meditations have in common is an object of concentration.

Living the path to Enlightenment

Question: “hi there! I’ve been looking into fully practicing Buddhism for quite awhile, but I feel as though there is so much information to take on that I don’t really know where to start! I have read several of the traditional texts, but the actual dynamics of the religion/spirituality seem complex. do you have an advice or sources I could check out to do my research and really begin living the path to enlightenment? thank you so much!”

The road to Enlightenment is a difficult one, especially going at it solo (if you don’t go to temple services). So my first suggestion would be to go to a temple! Attending temple services (try different temples out to see which one best suites you) can help you tremendously with learning new things, help you understand things you already know, and ask questions.

If you don’t have any temples in your area or surrounding areas, see if there are any Buddhist groups (meetup.com is a great resource). People helping each other out is the best way to learn.

In my over six years of studying Buddhism, I’ve only barely scratched the surface of it. What I post on my blog is what I know (or at least know how to explain in words). And that doesn’t even cover some mid-level topics in Buddhism. So Buddhism is definitely not something you can learn in a week. It’s a lifetime learning experience. You will never stop learning and discovering new things, no matter how much you read.

However, reading is good. Find a sutra you can connect to (if you’re studying Mahayana, I suggest the Lotus or Diamond sutra). But for sure you’ll need to cover and fully understand the basics (four noble truths, eightfold path, Karma, etc.). Visit your local bookstore of shop online for any books that catch your eye. I suggest anything by Thich Nhat Hanh (The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching is one of my favorite’s!) And of course, practice daily meditation. You can gain so much wisdom through meditation. You can’t reach enlightenment without meditation!

Basically, don’t try to rush. Chances are we won’t reach enlightenment in this lifetime. It could take many, dozens, or hundreds of more lives to be fully awaken, so just take it slow and go with the flow. Read what you can. Practice routinely. Meditate daily. With every step, you take a step closer to Nirvana.

 

Smile and be well!

Attachment

Attachment is one of the main causes of suffering. Buddhism makes it pretty obvious that over-attachment to worldly things can cause us to suffer. In a modern world and society, it’s almost impossible to not attach to things, whether it be material objects like our car, gadgets, TV (shows), etc., or people (family, friends, celebrities, etc.). What causes us to suffer is their impermanence.

Faith

I’m sure growing up as Christians, Catholics, or Muslims, the word “faith” pops up a lot. “Have faith in God,” “Have faith in Jesus,” etc. Those religions rely on these outside sources to somehow fuel your “faith-o-meter” in something, whether you’re waiting on results for a test, a decision on a home mortgage loan, or maybe because things in your life just aren’t happening. People always seem to put their faith in someone (something) else’s hands.

Buddhist Glossary

Nine Levels of Meditation

This is a very practical and simplified outline of an ancient and essential teaching on the development of meditative concentration, also called Shamatha.

This teaching outlines nine basic states of consciousness which equate to nine qualities of concentrated attention. Anyone can learn how to improve their own meditation practice by comparing their own experience with the states described here.

Moving from one state to a superior one is achieved by overcoming the obstacles present at each stage.  This is precisely the value of this teaching: it allows us to immediately discover how our practice is developing and what we need to do to advance it.

Concentration practice (shamatha) is the basis from which we can retrieve information (insight). Therefore, concentration practice is the ground from which the flower of meditation emerges.  However, concentration practice itself is not meditation.  Meditation begins once concentration has been established. Actual meditation is defined as a state of consciousness within which we can retrieve information.

Keeping concentration during meditation

Even experienced meditators sometimes have a hard time keeping concentration during meditation sessions. To be able to tame and calm your mind is incredibly difficult. Our minds are never empty of thoughts or feelings; it’s always thinking about something or engaging with an emotion. So to be able to calm it for more than a few seconds takes immense amounts of practice and discipline.

Loving Yourself

Question: “Hello there! In order to find inner peace, to feel calm, I have been looking inside of myself. The problem is that when I do so I do not like what I find. I have come to dislike myself quite deeply. I wish to understand how I can come to love myself once more when I hate who I am.”

Ask yourself, “Who am I?” We usually describe ourselves by our name, gender, preferences, education, etc., that’s what we think makes us us. But that’s not true. Our true self is not of this body-mind phenomenon. Our body is simply a vessel, a hotel that we’re checked in at during this life. In many people’s lives there are horrors, regrets, pain, hate, anger, etc. In mine especially – you wouldn’t recognize me today compared to a few years ago; I was a horrible, mean, selfish person. I thought, said, and did things I can’t take back and has probably made a huge impact on my Karma.

So what do we do in order to love ourselves again? To help others, we must first help ourselves. To love others, we must first love ourselves. Know and understand that our past is simply that; history. You can’t go back, you can’t change it, you can’t do anything about it, so instead of lingering over it and hating yourself, just accept it and move on. What’s benefiting you by hating yourself? By hating your past? You’re doing a disservice to yourself and others. It’s important to meditate and reflect on the core issues of why you dislike yourself. Maybe it’s because you did or said bad things, but then go deeper and find out why you did or said those things, and why you would even have the thought to do or say them in the first place.

To find inner peace, you have to practice loving-kindness and loving-compassion on yourself. Peace comes when you’ve let go of attachments, desire, greed, and ignorance. You may have become attached to your past faults, so that’s blocking your path to peace, but you can break through that blockage by accepting those faults and penetrating them with love. In Buddhism we don’t have enemies, the only enemy is ourself, so without conquering and freeing ourselves, there’s no winning, no peace, no happiness, and no liberation. Don’t define who you are by your past, there’s nothing you can do about it. Define yourself by your awareness of the present moment, the ability of knowing you are the master of the moment and can change your future (and your future lives).

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha.

And when you truly love yourself, you won’t be able to hurt others. So meditate on yourself. Accept the past and let it go, don’t attach to it. Then, live in the present moment. By being aware and mindful of your thoughts, speech, and actions, you can stop every ill intention.

 

Smile and be well!

Reincarnation

Reincarnation, or Rebirth, is one of the central parts and beliefs in Buddhism, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood topics, often confused with ideas like transmigration. Reincarnation, in fact, generally is a fairly easy concept to understand and accept. Buddhism is one (other than Hinduism) of the only major religions that have a belief in an after life and being able to be reborn again.

Om Mani Padme Hum – UPDATE

I’d like to add to the explanation of the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra. It’s one of the most popular and important mantras in Buddhism. The mantra covers all the sutras, shastras (commentary of scriptures), and vinaya in Buddhism – basically covering all the literature of Buddhist teaching.

Here I just want to expand on Mani and Padme. Mani is the essence, the reality, the core of everything. It’s the Buddha Nature in yourself.

Padme is the functionality and merits – purification, pacification, understanding the mind through meditation, through chanting, repentance, through all the good deeds you’ve done, good behavior, your speech; you’re carrying out Padme.

Padme is in every aspect of life: what you’ve done, what you’re doing, what you’ve spoken, what you’re about to speak. It’s a method and approach to Enlightenment. It’s the three elements in everything: the essence, the form, and the function.

In some traditions, Om Mani Padme Hum covers and is equal to all other mantras because it would be equal the same kind of meaning and merit as those mantras. So if you want to pay homage to the Buddha, Dharma, to the Bodhisattvas, to repent, to say a daily prayer or chant – Om Mani Padme Hum is for all that and more. It should be a part of everyone’s daily practice or just a mantra to recite during practice, meditation, or anytime throughout the day. The more you can understand it and chant it, the more you can penetrate its meaning and gain insight and wisdom.