Buddhist Belief – Karma — How Does It Work?
“No matter what one does, whether one’s deeds serve virtue or vice, nothing lacks importance. All actions bear a kind of fruit.”~~~ Buddha
Since we have now covered the basics of Buddhist Belief, let’s move on to another of Buddha’s teachings — one which I can frankly say that I don’t truly understand. It’s Karma. As the quote above by Buddha states, “No matter what one does, whether one’s deeds serve virtue or vice, nothing lacks importance. All actions bear a kind of fruit.”
Even though I don’t understand it, I do enjoy digging into it and studying it and continuing to meditate about it knowing the knowledge will creep in and be revealed one of these days.
(The photo, by photongo, I’ve included with this article, shows a Buddhist worshiper in Vietnam releasing caged birds to improve her Karma.)
Whenever I begin to think about Karma, I also think of this quote of Wayne Dyer’s, “How people treat you is their Karma;how you react is yours.”
According to the Buddha’s wisdom relating to the law of karma, which in turn, relates to how things are, everything happens for a reason. Sometimes if you look at something it appears to be random, but if you increase your frame of vision, you can often see that it’s connected in some way to something else. According to the law of karma, everything is said to have a cause. The often misunderstood belief about this is that there is always a “good” or “bad” reason for anything happening. I don’t believe such a belief is true. It isn’t about “good” or “bad” — it’s merely cause and effect. The physicists say there is no action without a reaction.
Everything has a cause. It doesn’t mean that you alone created the cause. There could be billions of interacting causes. But, according to the understanding of what Buddha taught about how things are, everything happens for some karmic reason. When you begin to “push” your thought process a bit, and ask, “Suppose someone trips and falls down the stairs” — is that a random happening? Does that happen more to some people than it does to others? Does the fact that some people trip and fall have some connection to the way they live their lives? Is there something going on here other than pure randomness in these “accidents”?
Fascinating stuff to think about, isn’t it? Dig into this thinking a bit further and ask, “How can I work with the concept of karma? Is there an operating manual somewhere? How can I learn to navigate a little better in this life? Is there a better way to sail these waters of life? Perhaps we’re not at the mercy of the wind and the waves. After all, the waves are on the surface and we might be able to surf on them or dive under them, right?
Think for a moment about how you perceive things. It’s not rocket science to understand how our life experience is defined by how we perceive things. How we relate to things generates our experience.
For example, if an Eskimo were to be sitting here with me in my office in Ohio, USA, he or she would probably think I should open a window or turn on the air conditioning. That poor Eskimo would be roasting even without all the fur clothing. However, another person from Ecuador sitting here with me in my office would be freezing to death.
You see, our perception defines our reality. It isn’t absolutely, objectively cold or hot here in my office. It’s just relative to what we’re used to — to how we perceive things. This office where I’m writing this is, to me, quite comfortable and functional. However, if someone who was accustomed to more luxury — bigger computer desk, larger room, better lighting, carpets, etc., they might see it as anything but comfortable and functional. Their perception would be different from mine. The street outside my home is, to my perception, a quiet and beautiful street with lots of trees full of singing birds and homes where peaceful people are living. Others might see it as sort of scary because there aren’t a lot of street lights or pedestrians.
Can you see how our biases and perceptions define our reality?
Since this article is about karma — the question we are asking now is, “Why do we perceive things this way?
Great question! Glad you asked!
And, we’ll dig into the answer in the next article here on Buddhist Belief.
I’ll be back to write more, and see what sort of answers we can come up with to our question about karma and perception in a few days.
Until then,
Namaste — Be in Peace.
Ron Rink
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Obama to initiate peaceful dialogue on faith with world leaders…
Noting that no religion, be it Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, teaches hatred, President Barack Obama said he will reach out to world leaders to foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith. ”No matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate,” he said during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast.
“There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.”
“We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law that binds all great religions together.
Jesus told us to ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’.
The Torah commands, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.”
“In Islam, there is a hadith that reads ‘None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself’.
“And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists,” Obama said.
“It is, of course, the Golden Rule – the call to love one another; to understand one another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this earth.”
Obama said Washington “will also reach out to leaders and scholars around the world to foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith. I don’t expect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish.”
“But I do believe that if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge.”
“In a world that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out the destructive forces of zealotry and make room for the healing power of understanding,” he said.
Besides Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, a tradition started by President Dwight Eisenhower, was attended by national and foreign dignitaries, including former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Later, Obama was expected to sign an executive order aimed at ensuring religious groups receiving government money don’t discriminate in hiring.
Critics of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships say the Bush administration allowed groups to consider an applicant’s religion when hiring.
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For those who wanted me to repeat the links for the books I’ve mentioned in the last few articles, here they are again — I highly recommend all these books to you:
Sharon Salzberg — The Kindness Handbook
“It takes boldness, even audacity, to step out of our habitual patterns and experiment with a quality like kindness–to work with it and see just how it might shift and open up our lives. This book is an invitation to do just that.” – From The Kindness Handbook — “The Kindness Handbook
Eckhart Tolle’s amazing best seller, “A New Earth”
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s wonderful book, “My Stroke of Insight” — “Nirvana is just a breath away!”
And this one by Sharon Salzberg and is entitled: “A Heart as Wide as the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom and Compassion“.
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Always remember this wonderful quote from Buddha ….
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
Shanti everyone, … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
Have a peaceful day!! —
Ron Rink
http://www.theleaderinside.comhttp://www.wecould2.comhttp://www.buddhistbelief.com
Tags: attachment, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, detachment, Eightfold Path, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, Fourth Noble Truth, inner peace, karma, loving kindness, Meditation, metta, Nirvana, Peace, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth
March 5th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Hi, I read with interest your post on the 26th regarding Karma and I just wanted to say that I agree with your views and can relate completely. It was a very well written article and I look forward to reading more of your analysis on Karma and Perception.
Regards,
Ishara
March 5th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Thanks for your comment, Ishara. Karma is such an interesting topic — and one where I feel I may have bit off more than I can chew. It will be interesting to see whether today’s attempts (3/5/09) will make sense.
Peace …