Karma

Master and Student

On the Subject of Karma

A disciple and Master are walking along a narrow path in the 
shady hills.

 
Student: 
Master, in the Dharma, how is Karma manifested? 
Master:  
What do you mean little one? Karma is everywhere. 
Student: 
Well, I mean, what happens if you do something that affects 
the Karma of someone. For example, you stop someone from 
killing, or you teach something that benefits a lot of people. 
Master: 
This is a very difficult subject. Karma is a basic law of action 
and re-action. When a ball strikes a wall, it bounces back 
and leaves some energy where it struck. And in the same 
sense, doing good and doing bad leaves you with Karma 
that will come back to you. 
Student: 
What do you mean come back? 
Master: 
Well, when you throw a ball out, you exerted energy to give 
the ball momentum to leave your hands. That energy came 
from you. So something has to replenish the energy that 
you lost. In this simple sense, you would eat to get back 
energy to the muscles that were used to fling the ball. But 
the law of Karma deals with actions that affect others. If 
you send out Karma, a replacement Karma must come 
back to fulfill the energy you gave out. 
Student:  
I see. But how does it come back exactly anyways? If for 
example I stop someone from arguing or killing each other. 
How does it affect me? 
Master:  
This is very complicated. But be assured, everything is 
resolved in the end. As a simple example. Suppose you 
send out Karma that prevented a conflict (killing, arguing, 
etc). If you had never sent out that Karma, the killing and 
arguing would have happened as it should. But because 
you intervened, the  karma that was supposed to be the 
driving force of the killing and arguing got dispersed, and 
will come back to you (the person that originated the 
Karma that stopped it). 
Student: 
That is scary. Does that mean I will end up killing and 
arguing with other people? 
Master: 
Not really. But you may be placed in a situation that offers
 you the opportunity to see in their eyes the reasoning 
behind the conflict. And you will be offered the opportunity 
to proceed with the killing and arguing (to fullfill the original 
Karma), or take your own advice (the advice you gave that 
stopped the conflict in the first place). If you took your own 
advice, then good Karma will come to replace that you took on 
from them. Similar to how you stopped them from having the 
conflict in the first place. If you DO kill or argue (in this simple 
case), then the original Karma is fullfilled, as the original 
conflict gets passed on, but in this case from your end. 
Student:  
Wow, so you should take your own advice when you give 
them out. 
Master:  
Yes, that is why they say "Do not judge, lest ye shall be judged". 
If you totally understand a situation and can really help out, 
then do so. But if you condemn a person for doing something in 
a certain situation, then you better be sure that what he did was 
wrong, because you may be put in a similar situation to be judged. 
Student: 
I see. But what about good Karma? In the original example, what 
happened to the good Karma that was gaven to the people who 
were in conflict? 
Master:  
This is why it is so complicated, and you should not worry about 
Karma in your  daily lives. Just do good, and everything will take 
care of itself. In the original example, the Karma that they receive 
will be passed on, as they have this extra good Karma they have 
to give out. In the example, the person who gave out the Karma 
(if he or she didn't pass on the conflict), will end up receiving 
good Karma in return in another form. This is why they say,
 "what goes around, comes around" (good or bad). 
Student: 
Isn't it possible to hold in Karma all the time? 
Master:  
Yes, you can. But because you do, Karma will come to you to 
replace those that you hold. It is important that the person 
who decides to do the work of Buddha must be able to judge 
wisely and have good self discipline, because if he decides to 
spread good Karma, he must be able to withstand the Karma 
coming back to him. (Hold in the bad to replace it with the good). 
Student:  
But why do some masters shun any activity in the world? 
Master:  
Precisely the point. Some masters are reluctant to participate in 
the world because they know their actions can cause great 
Karma. Some masters become like a mirror to light. Karma (good 
and bad) passes through him (or gets reflected) to others around 
him. They are not affected by people's actions, thus are not 
affected by Karma directly. They go through the world like 
whispers of the wind, but you will notice them because of their 
mirror like qualities. Some masters take on the world's suffering, 
and this takes great self-control and discipline. This is why most 
masters have said they experienced hell and back before reaching 
their current state. Their values had to withstand the test 
of time and the Karma of others. Someone with a wrong set of 
values will end up creating more bad Karma for others and himself. 
Some masters exist simply to try to spread good when appropriate, 
as Karma is a very difficult thing to judge. 
Student:  
So what kind of master are you? 

The Master smiles.


Source: Buddhism Depot Magazine




Unfinished Business
Midnightflyer's Zen Home
MidnightFlyer's Homepage
US President's Web Ring Home Page
Presidential Trivia
Howie's Great Democratic Quote Page
Howie's Stupid GOP Quote Page
GOP Funny Paper

Mail James Howington

44 36 39 - 40 38 36 - 38 38 42 38






View My Guestbook

Sign My Guestbook








Web Counters   



Powered by WebRing.