Law of karma

SUPPLEMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Jhunie B. Wahayna

Will honest repentance about an evil act done in the past decreases the bad consequence of karma?

Honest repentance does seem to have a sobering effect on its specific consequence of punishment for the evil act. But canceling out of a bad karma by an independent good karma doesn't seem to be a practical proposition, though it may have a definite bearing in lessening the burden of the bad karma.

Doing "prayaschitta" is generally recommended by saints to lessen the bad impact of “prarabhdha”. Karma means work or action. When you perform a work or action, it is bound to produce an effect, a reaction or a result. If you are the doer of karma with a desire, you are to own up the result or the fruit it produces. Good karma will get you good effects and bad karma will get you bad consequences.

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” - says science. “Thou shall reap what thy sow” - according to English proverb. “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny”- unknown author. This is a simplified explanation of the law of karma.

The doctrine of karma has many implications as to how we may lead our lives. It means that all our actions will lead to its natural consequence. We may not know what the consequence will be and in fact it may be delayed for many lengths of time but the consequence will follow inevitably. In Tibetan Buddhism the inevitable retribution is compared to the shadow of a kite or an eagle as it searches for its prey.

When the eagle is high in the sky its shadow is not to be seen. However when the eagle swoops to the ground to catch hold of its prey the menacing shadow appears. Similarly we are not aware of the consequences of our actions for most part but they will appear just as the shadow of the eagle suddenly appears.

The application of the law of karma is applied to chain smokers. Let say a person who starts smoking at the age of 16 till his 50’s will definitely have lung cancer and eventually will die. The action here is smoking and the reaction due to smoking is having a lung cancer and the destiny is death. The consequence here of the bad karma is delayed for many lengths of time but the consequence will follow inevitably, there is no escape.

What are the consequences of a bad karma to a government official or a public servant who always engage in graft and corruption? A priest or a pastor who do the reverse of what he is preaching. A contractor who always constructs his projects in a sub-standard manner. A lawyer or a practicing professional who always cheats his clients. A doctor who charges his patients exorbitantly. A journalist using his profession to extort money, and among others. I will leave these questions for you to think about on the negative effect and impact of the bad karma. To be safe from the consequences, always do good things and deeds, even if others don’t. Life is short. We must make our life the best of it while we are still living.

The law of karma is not confined to individuals - there is family karma, national karma, international karma, the karma of a city. All these are mixed with the karma of the individual, and thus it happens that people lives are influenced by events completely beyond their control. All these karma's are inter-related and can be understood in its full complexity only by an enlightened being.

The law of karma gives us guidance as to how we may lead our lives. When misfortune strikes we know that it will not last forever but will pass in time. We know through the law of karma that these are consequences, which have inevitably followed from our past actions. The attitude when difficulties befall us should be - This is the coming to fruition of our past karma.
We should not see suffering as a punishment nor do we blame ourselves and indulge in self-hatred. Tibetans say that suffering is the broom, which sweeps away our negative karma. We can even be grateful that one karma is coming to an end.

Eastern philosophy is full of stories of how bandits and murderers have overcome their bad karma and gone on to become monks and even saints. Angulimala is an example. He had killed 999 people in his previous life as a bandit. But he was won over by the Buddha and went on to become a monk and a sage.

Similarly in Tibetan Buddhism the story is told of Milarepa. He was a sorcerer who killed many people with his black magic for revenge or profit. Yet through his remorse and hardships and penances that he underwent, he went on to become enlightened. This is a figure of inspiration to millions.

This coming election, we must choice our right leaders so that we can experience the effect of good karma. Choosing the wrong one will be a bad consequence of karma to our city and to our country as a whole. These are some brief remarks about karma.