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!

The Five Faults

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Five Faults (ādīnava) are factors in Samatha (calmness and stillness of the mind) meditation. The Five Faults identify obstacles in the meditation practice, and the Eight Antitodes are applied to overcome these obstacles. Though mainly a Vajrayana practice, these still apply to everyone’s meditation practice and would be helpful to everyone to know, use, and overcome.

The Awakening Mind

This is a chant mostly chanted in Vajrayana Buddhism, however, for any Mahayana (including Vajrayana) practitioner who aspires to be a Bodhisattva, this is a wonderful chant to recite (three times) before beginning any readings, ceremonies, or practices.  

With the wish to free all beings,
I shall always go for refuge
to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
until I reach the heart of awakening (or, until the attainment of full enlightenment).

Enthused by wisdom and compassion,
today in the Buddha’s presence
I generate the mind for Enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

As long as space remains,
as long as sentient beings remain,
until then, may I too remain
and dispel the miseries of the world.

Smile and be well!

The Bodhisattva Path

Question: “I hope you don’t mind if I ask you about the Bodhisattva path. I want to understand it. Isn’t it scary to think that you might stay in samsara for a really long time, maybe forever? And also, how does a person that is not enlightened help others become enlightened? And what exactly does a Bodhisattva do? Thank you.”

First, what is a Bodhisattva? It is a person who delays their own Enlightenment (depending on the tradition) and entrance into Nirvana in order to help all sentient beings become Enlightenment first. In Vajrayana (TIbetan Buddhism), there are three kinds of Bodhisattvas: King-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened first then help others find Enlightenment; Captain-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened with the sentient beings/people the Bodhisattva has been teaching; and Shepard-like Bodhisattvas, those who become Enlightened after all sentient beings have become Enlightened first.

And yes, at first it might be a scary thought to think about being stuck in Samsara for what could be forever, but eventually when you realize Emptiness, that thought will never occur again. At least think of it this way: Because you’re a practicing Buddhist, an aspiring Bodhisattva, at least your future lives will be much better (depending on your past and present Karma). But from a mundane point-of-view, your body isn’t going to be here forever – it’ll only be alive for as long as that life will be breathing, so there’s not any of that “Oh I’m going to live forever!” thoughts. You, in this body, will not be living forever, nor will you even know of any of your future lives, so there’s really shouldn’t be any worry about living in Samsara forever. Instead of worry about that, know and feel the great realization of all those you can help find Enlightenment. Know that you can end the suffering and cycle of Samsara for so many others! That should be a great feeling, not a scary one!

So for us non-Enlightened beings, we can take the Bodhisattva Vows. The vows are “don’t” rules, but they also tell you how you can help others. By being a Bodhisattva, you’re essentially a teacher of the Dharma. Some live the monkhood life as Bodhisattvas (total dedication). For laypeople, many laypeople that I’ve met or know of teach Dharma sessions as part of their Bodhisattva duties, others teach meditation or are members of a temple or monastery (teaching, learning, or doing other duties and activities). Your overall job duty as a Bodhisattva is to help liberate others and lead them to Nirvana. This happens over the course of many, many lifetimes obviously. You might not Enlighten anyone in this lifetime or the next, but just by showing them the way to liberation might bring them to Enlightenment in their next life – and the same goes for you, because whenever you’re teaching others, you’re also teaching yourself! The Bodhisattva path is a beautiful and fulfilling path, and should be everyone’s aspiration if practicing Mahayana.

Smile and be well!

The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs: 1. Respect for self 2. Respect for others 3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Question: Is there a reason why you joined Mahayana as opposed to Theravada or Vajrayana schools?

“Is there a reason why you joined Mahayana as opposed to Theravada or Vajrayana schools?”

Actually, when I first started my study, I was studying Theravada. So much so, that I was getting ready to ordain in Thailand. One day during meditation, I’m not sure if I fell asleep and I was dreaming or it was simply an actual visualization, but a heavenly being appeared to me and told me, “on your path, you shall find Enlightenment in one small Kalpa, but change and you will help many others find Enlightenment in one small Kalpa.”

So I took that as a sign. A sign to the Bodhisattva way.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of three major schools of Buddhism. They all have the same core beliefs and rules. You can’t study Mahayana without studying Theravada; Theravada can be thought of as the core, basic, fundamental teachings of the Buddha – knowledge and wisdom every Buddhist needs to know. Mahayana can then be thought of as an “extension” from that, with all its added sutras and aspiration of the Bodhisattva way.

Mahayana is definitely not for everyone. Vajrayana is very ritualistic/ceremonial. It’s absolutely beautiful and astonishing, there’s nothing wrong with it. Though I haven’t studied much of Vajrayana’s specific ways, I do however, have adopted many of their mantras, the use of Vajra bells and prayer wheels. To be practicing Mahayana, a true aspiration to become a Bodhisattva must be present. An aspiration to learn, teach, and watch others escalate onto the road of Enlightenment. I always tell people, if you feel this immense joy and satisfaction after teaching someone the Dharma, or you’ve selfishly and compassionately helped someone in need, then you’re on the right path of being a Bodhisattva.

Theravada is considered to some the “easy” way to liberation (through many lifetimes (and Vajrayana being liberated in one lifetime)). So, many people don’t want to waste endless lifetimes in Samsara, so they choose Theravada versus Mahayana. There’s nothing wrong with that. We can’t say that some day the world’s suffering will completely end and everyone will finally reach Enlightenment, but we also can’t say it won’t – so it depends on the person if they want to liberate themselves and finally end the cycle of Samsara, or if they truly want to stay behind and help everyone else, because if they do, that could be millions of lifetimes in Samsara with different kinds of life circumstances.

So… Other than the “vision” I got about my path, I also chose Mahayana because it’s more adaptable to and suites the kind of person I am. I’m forever a teacher, a truth speaker, a Dharma preacher, and an aspiring Bodhisattva.

Smile and be well!