karma

Last week we touched on the definition of Karma. Today let’s discuss the law of Karma. It could be summarized in two parts. 1) General characteristics of Karma; and 2) Particular types of action and their effects. There are four general characteristics of Karma. A) The results of actions are definite; B) The results of actions increase; C) If an action is not performed its results cannot be experienced; D) An action is never wasted. So let’s break this down to understand each characteristic of Karma.

We will begin with the first one – the results are actions are definite. What does that mean? It sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbos. In simplest terms, it means that once we create Karma, we will certainly have to bear the consequences of that Karma. For example, if we sow a pea seed in the garden, we will notice that only pea grows and not wheat. It’s worth looking at the main causes of different sufferings human beings experience. If we are experiencing mental disturbances, that is because in the past – not necessarily in this lifetime – we disturbed the minds of others. Similarly, if we are experiencing physical pain, in the past, we injured other living beings. If the main cause is absent it is not possible to experience its result. The main cause of suffering from hunger and thirst is stealing food and drinks from others in the past. However, when we are going through the suffering, we do not see the correlation and feel that life is not fair and there is a big conspiracy against us or that justice is not being served. We think like that because we assume that the negative consequences only are related to our actions in this life. And since we don’t see anything we may have done in this life to deserve this, we just don’t see this as being fair. In reality, most of our experiences in this life are caused by actions we have committed in our past lives.

This reminds me of a story I heard repeatedly growing up. Some of you may have heard this story. There was this assassin who would kill a few people every month. He met a yogi one day and the yogi asked him why he was going down this path of destruction. The assassin said that he was doing it for the welfare of his family so his wife would have nice things and his kids will grow up in affluence. So the Yogi asked him if he had asked his family if they would be willing to bear the results of his negative Karma. The assassin thought it was a fair question to ask so he went and asked his family, and no one was willing to accept the consequences of his negative Karma. This is when he realized it was not worth it for him to continue doing what he was doing.

So we must realize that the quality of our present actions creates the quality of our future experiences. Since we put very little focus on this, we tend to create negative Karma for short-term happiness resulting in future suffering.

Let’s look at the second characteristic. The results of actions increase. What this means is that even a small negative Karma can bring a lot of suffering and a small positive Karma can bring a lot of happiness. The power to produce results of Karma grows by the day just like an acorn grows slowly into a large Oak tree. This is why it is important to purify our negative Karma as we discussed at the end of our last session.

The next characteristic of Karma is that if an action is not performed its results cannot be experienced. We read in the news that sometimes there is a plane crash or something huge and there is a lone survivor whose life was spared against all odds. That is because the survivor did not create Karma to die at that time.

The last characteristic of Karma is that an action is never wasted. This is very important to understand. The karma we create by our actions cannot simply go away or we cannot give them away to someone else to avoid its results. I am sure we all had been in situations where we say, I wish I could take their pain. But that is simply not possible. Although the mental intention that started the action in the past has ceased, the potentialities that create do not cease until it ripens. What does that mean? For example, let’s say we kill a mosquito with a vengeance. If all the causes for us to experience the effect of that action do not come together, those potentialities remain in our mind until it ripens. Sometimes it could take a number of lifetimes before these negative Karma ripens. If you look at the example of our gardening, if we sow a pea seed, it still needs the right environment such as good soil, fertilizer, water, and sunshine before it can grow. So pea we sow is not wasted it is just waiting for appropriate conditions to arise.

So the best way to avoid future suffering is to maintain moral discipline. Now just because we understand the consequences of our negative Karma, does not mean that we are able to avoid them immediately. Because of our mental habits, some negative Karma we are not able to avoid instantly but there are others, that we should be able to avoid now that we understand their consequences. If we try to remove all of these at once, we may get really tensed which is not a good thing. So it is important to remove these layers of negative Karma one at a time.

I know there is a lot to digest but these are important lessons of Karma and hopefully, we can keep digging deeper in the next few sessions.

In today’s mediation, we will begin with settling down at our hearts as always. Once we are settled, let’s contemplate the effects of Karma. How negative Karma will bring future suffering and how positive Karma will bring future happiness. Once we contemplate this, we make a determination that we will abandon negative Karma and engage in positive Karma. We then hold to that determination single-pointedly as long as we can. If we lose our determination, we go back to contemplation and bring the determination back.

Karma

We are going to start a series on Karma today. This is a very deep subject so I want to make sure we give enough attention to make sure we have a chance to really understand the subject matter. I am sure you have heard the phrase what goes around comes around. Or you reap what you sow. These are just reminders of how Karma works. Actually, Karma works in much more mysterious ways. But in general, virtuous Karma creates pleasant experiences and non-virtuous Karma creates unpleasant experiences. Let’s look at what is Karma. Karma is a body or speech action initiated by mental action. One cannot create Karma with just bodily action without a mental intention. For example, if I accidentally slap you when trying to get a bee out of your face, I do not create negative Karma since I did not have the intention to slap you. So every time we create a mental action, it leaves what is known as a Karmic imprint on our mind. Essentially, it leaves a potentiality in our minds. This potentiality ripens when the conditions are just right and we feel the effect of those Karma—negative or positive. How come we don’t see the effects of our Karma immediately you might ask? It is very simple. Let’s say you saw a seed in the soil. Now until there is rain, there are no conditions for that seed to ripen and become a plant. Just like that the conditions have to be right for the potentiality of our Karma to ripen.

Another thing to understand is that no two living beings have the exact same set of Karma. Each one of us has a different individual Karma that explains why each one of us has a unique set of experiences. The laws of Karma are why every individual has a unique mental disposition, unique physical appearance, and unique experience. You may notice that some people are prone to accidents or illness while others enjoy pleasant experiences. Some people are difficult to please and others are happy no matter the circumstances. Our acquaintances and relationships are also based on Karma. You may have noticed that you have a very close relationship with someone and after some time they almost disappear from your life. Your friendships end sometimes abruptly and you never talk again to that person. This is because of your karmic relationship with that person and once Karma is used up, there is no more bond. One of my relatives said it very matter of factly once. He used to have this friend with whom they will hang out twice a week. Over time, they drifted apart and stopped seeing each other. Once I was visiting with him and said I don’t see your friend anymore. He said, Raju, our Karmic bond must be over.

An important point to note is that Karma can ripen anytime. It is not necessary for one lifetime’s Karma to ripen in the same lifetime. In fact, often they don’t. This means Karma we have created may ripen if the appropriate circumstances and potentialities arise. That may explain why seemingly nice people sometimes end up suffering immense pain. There is also something called collective Karma. A group of people and their collective Karma ripen that creates external circumstances. For example, some places are always going through wars and atrocities that go along with them. Some places are prone to natural disasters and so on. This is why we need to make sure that we avoid negative or non-virtuous actions. If we understand the law of Karma, we will understand how we can control our future experiences. If we abandon negative Karma, we will eliminate miserable experiences and by practicing virtuous Karma, we will increase our potential for happiness. We must be mindful throughout the day to make sure that we are not creating negative Karma.

Luck of the Draw

Last week we discussed victim mindset and how we should avoid blaming others for things that may be happening in our lives. Today, I want to take this one step further and examine, why things happen in our lives the way they do. We all have certain tendencies that keep us in this loop of a specific pattern. Two people trying the same thing and coming out with a different result. I call this Luck of the Draw. Let’s dig deeper.

Although our tendencies are what keeps us in a pattern, have you ever thought about what creates those tendencies within us? We are all predisposed to certain thought patterns, actions, and behavior. It all comes down to our Karma. Our karma influences our thoughts and creates tendencies that put us in these patterns whether positive or negative.

Let me give you an example. There was this famous Indian Buddhist monk named Atisha. He was one of the most recognized scholars of his time. The king of Tibet at the time decided to invite him to teach his people. Atisha happily accepted and went to Tibet. He brought a cook with him. Now Atisha’s cook was known for his bad temper. He was impolite and otherwise rude to Atisha. He would cook the food and then would ask Atisha to eat if he wanted to and would not care if the food was tasty or not. The Tibetan people were watching this drama for a few weeks. Finally, one of them could not resist. He went to Atisha and said, you know, we have good cooks here in Tibet and we are happy to lend you a couple of cooks. Why are putting up with this nonsense from your cook? Atisha had a brilliant answer. He told them he create certain karma that put him in this position and that reminds him that he needed to learn patience. His cook was both allowing him to work out his karma and teaching him how to be tolerant!

You see, all of us are put in certain situations based on our karma and we must accept that and make the best out of our situations. Warren Buffet calls this the Ovarian Lottery. Your fate in this world is decided by where you are born. If you happen to be born in a first-world country, your life will turn out one way versus if you are born in a poor country. This is karma.

So how do we get out of the karmic tendencies we have? The answer is really simple. By being mindful of every decision and every thought, you are breaking that cycle of tendency. So how do we become mindful? The first thing to do is to recognize what type of tendencies we have developed over the years. For example, some of us may tend to get into a negative thought process about someone or something, someone else may tend to make nonbeneficial decisions such as gambling, etc. Once we recognize the type of negative tendency that always ends up hurting us in the end, we can then begin to address this. One thing to be careful of here is not to take on all of our negative tendencies at once. That can get overwhelming. So let’s just focus on one tendency that we can begin to break.

Once we have identified this tendency, mindfulness will help us break the trend. We need to be mindful about when the thought or action related to that tendency begins to creep in. If we are mindfully watching when it does, we will begin to remind ourselves why we want to break that tendency. Initially, it may be difficult to break the habit and you may snap right back into it. That is perfectly OK. In my experience every three or five times you are successful at breaking that tendency, you will fall right back in once. So we start again. After a few cycles, the gap between relapse increases. Now you are not snapping back into your tendency for longer and before you know it, you have overcome this tendency.

So you see, we all have these karmic tendencies or habits. I call it luck of the draw. Our challenge is to not accept those as they are or to blame others for it but to learn to snap out of those karmic cycles. I encourage you to dig deep and identify one tendency you would like to break. It is not easy to identify but with enough introspection, you will be able to do it.

Hatred

If you look at all the problems we are having as well as all the problems in the world, there are typically three causes. Greed, Hatred, and Ignorance. Today we will discuss hatred and how it can destroy our lives as well as civilization.

Before we talk about hatred from a personal perspective, I want to talk about hatred in society. If you look at every war in the history of mankind, it has its root in hatred. Every terrorist attack is a result of hatred. That hatred that was towards other people or the people we did not understand has now become against each other. A lot of civil societies are on the verge of being torn apart. Politicians are pitting people against each other creating divisions. Look at Great Britain or Brazil or Argentina or India or right here at home, good old US of A. We are fighting amongst ourselves because the politicians are creating a divide that works for their short-term benefits. We have broken down society in so many little slices that no one thinks about the big picture anymore. It used to be that what’s good for the goose was good for the gander. Now every goose, every gander, every duckling needs their own island and no one wants to share.

Media is largely to blame because without media being complicit, the politicians would not have a way to distribute this hatred. I especially, remember during Tump’s presidency here in the US—no matter your politics, there was this daily hatred spilled out by major cable networks. If he sneezed, he was spreading germs and if he did not, he was holding something up! It was insanity. But that is what gave fuel to the fire. The same story is playing out everywhere it seems.

Now that we understand societal hatred hopefully we can all think rationally without regard to what the media is spouting out. Hopefully, you recall from our Karma series that there is such as thing as collective karma. You might revisit our Karma videos as a refresher.

Now let’s look at hatred at an individual level. Where does the hatred come from? The root cause of hatred tends to be our belief that our I is inherently existent. We grasp on that I that self so more important than everything else around us. Hatred is also aversion meaning a strong dislike. We tend to dislike things that we consider different from us. We don’t think that is part of us or that we are all interconnected. So we develop aversion towards those beings. Once we separate ourselves from others, judgment comes. This is what breeds hatred. Without judgment, there is no hatred.

So how do we get rid of hatred? Just wishing or determination would not help. The antidote to hatred is loving-kindness. We covered this at length as well in one of our previous episodes. I recommend you might want to check that out. But the gist of this is that we need to develop a loving relationship with all living beings. A wish that says “I want everything for you and nothing from you.” It is that simple. If we begin to develop that wish slowly but surely hatred will disappear from our lives. Now that may not be completely possible. If that is the case, try practicing loving-kindness towards the feeling of hatred you are experiencing. In other words, accept the feeling, be comfortable with it and the hatred will disappear.

There is one other type of hatred that we all have experienced and that is self-hatred. This is one of the worst kinds of hatred if you will. It will destroy you internally. It smashes our self-confidence, brings self-doubt, frustration and we become hopeless. All we are doing is telling ourselves that we are not worthy and that we are not qualified and so on. We are exaggerating our bad qualities. But in reality, it is just a mental image or perception we have of our specific quality. There is nothing behind that mental image to support it. It is something our mind made it up. It is just a hallucination or mental projection.

So how do we solve self-hatred? The first thing we need to do is acknowledge it and realize how harmful that is to us. The next thing to realize is the fact that we are not our thoughts. Our thoughts are just passing clouds in a big blue sky. If we start examining our mind during meditation, the peacefulness that brings will tremendously help in eliminating a lot of negative thoughts. This is not a one-day exercise. It happens over time and requires consistent meditation practice to get in touch with our inner peace. Once we turn our attention inwards, we will see how wonderful it can be. This also allows us to identify with our shortcomings without identifying with ourselves. In other words, realizing that we are not our faults and our faults or shortcomings are passing and we can change those habits that we may have developed.

Hopefully, this is helpful and you can put this into practice in your daily lives.

Renunciation

When someone says renunciation, people have all kinds of ideas. They think it is about leaving your family or getting away from it all and going to some cave to meditate. That cannot be further from the truth. So let’s demystify renunciation today.

Renunciation means a spontaneous wish to attain liberation (Mukti, Mox) from Samsara. This requires a careful look at the definition of Samsara. For a lot of people who are of Indian origin, Samsara typically means day-to-day life. That is not Samsara at all. Samsara is this endless cycle of birth and death. If you think about it, we have been going through this cyclical process of birth, death, birth for eons. Idea is to get out of that wheel.

Why would we want to get out of this circle you may ask? If you look at it, Samsara is full of suffering. We go through the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, delusions, death, and then rinse and repeat! Let’s look at each of these individually.

Any woman who has given birth will tell you it is no joke. If the full-grown adult is having so much pain, can you imagine what a baby goes through during the birthing process? Even before the birth, in the mother’s womb, the baby goes through suffering. When a mom drinks something cold, the baby feels like she is taking a cold shower, and exactly the opposite when mom drinks something hot.

Once we are born, for initial weeks and months, we don’t know how to convey our wants and needs. The only thing we know is to cry and to move our limbs around to get attention. That has to be a frustrating experience. Not being able to communicate you are hungry or you are in pain.

As we grow, the suffering of sickness is one of those things that can sneak up on you at any time. When sickness strikes even the most healthy amongst us can get knocked out. It can take away our daily joys and make us feel unpleasant. When we feel ill, it is like a soaring bird that gets shot and comes straight down to the earth. We have no strength. We get frustrated and sometimes are dependent on others for our day-to-day activities. Our medical team may or may not be able to help us. If our sickness is incurable and if we are not exposed to spirituality, we may feel anxious, fear and regret.

No one can escape from this next suffering called aging. All of us age and with age comes age-related issues. The simple task of getting up and down becomes a chore and is painful. When we are young, we can travel around the world, however in old age, just getting out of the house is very difficult sometimes. We lose our eyesight and ability to hear as we age. Our memory fades and we tend to repeat ourselves – I feel like I am already experiencing this one😊Things we used to enjoy when we were young, no longer appeals to us and we are not able to enjoy those same things anymore.

At the time of our death, we don’t want to let go of the possessions we have accumulated throughout this lifetime We feel sorry about leaving our loved ones behind. We have to leave everything and everyone we are attached to and that creates sadness for many people.

There are other sufferings beyond the four basic sufferings of birth, sickness, aging, and death that we discussed here. We all suffer from our delusions. These delusions bring us anger, attachment, hatred, confusion, jealousy, and so on. When we get angry for example, sometimes, we can feel physical pain. It also creates tremendous mental suffering. It affects our health. These sufferings prevent us from enjoying life. We suffer from environmental factors such as recent weather extremities in Texas. That causes people to lose their shelter, temporary displacements, and so on. We suffer from not having our desires fulfilled. Even when our desires are fulfilled, they may not get fulfilled in the way we want them to be fulfilled. With wealth comes its issues and that could be temporary as well.

So as you can see the cycle of birth and death tends to bring suffering. The only way out of this is to strive for liberation. We should make a spontaneous wish to get out of this endless cycle and make a determination to attain supreme inner peace of liberation.