As explained in my book, Western Tantra, another “blind spot” for Westerners is how karma works. We understand the concept and recognize its appearance when it affects others over a short time span. But we generally don’t recognize it as a universal law, nor do we understand it well enough to avoid its consequences in our lives. The Western equivalent is the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Expressed this way, it sounds like a guide for ethical behavior, what we should do or avoid doing, and the result is under our conscious control.
In the Eastern religions, karma is a law. What we do for good or ill will come back to us as a natural consequence, whether we want it or not. It’s the law of cause and effect. If we create the cause, we will eventually experience the effect, either in this life or in a future life. Harm or benefit we experience in our life are effects we created by our prior conduct toward others. If we are currently innocent of causing harm or are undeserving of benefits, then the causes for these effects occurred in a prior lifetime. If we do not understand karma and reincarnation, then what happens to us appears unjust.
In its simplest form, what goes around comes around. What we sow we will harvest. It happens in a cycle, and the connection between a cause and its effect may not be obvious, because of the time it takes for karma to come full circle. My personal observation is that the intensity of an intention to harm or benefit seems to determine how quickly the result comes back to us. So the hateful terrorist who kills is often immediately killed by police. But the person who heedlessly belittles others may not be abandoned by others until their old age.
Less simply, karma is as complex as life. I remember several of my past lives, and I can tell you that I absolutely deserved all of the bad things that have happened to me, even though I’m something of a “boy scout” in this this life. In fact, I deserved worse that what I received. What seemed to mitigate the negative karma was regretting the harm, trying to atone, and doing unintentional harm when trying to help others. So often our intent to help goes terribly wrong. My experience says that regret, atonement, and redemption can mitigate the consequences. Sincere confession and purification practices can erase negative karma. Mercy and forgiveness are possible.
Also, I’m sure random events happen. One or two people in an aircraft crash may have been negligent mechanics, but the rest may have been undeserving of that consequence. Here the manner of death may be relevant. When I was in the Air Force, a friend came to me distraught because an entire inspection team was in an aircraft crash, and he knew all of them. He was especially upset that the only one who survived the crash was an asshole. “So he survived okay?” I asked. “No,” my friend answered, “Everyone else was killed instantly, but he was burned over 80% of his body and died in agony three days later.” I thought to myself, “Karma’s a bitch!” When someone dies, we really don’t know what they experienced from their own side. Death is not necessarily a punishment. With reincarnation in mind, undeserved harm is probably compensated in the next life. Personally, if I’m met by angels or buddhas and taken to God when I die, I’ll be okay with that.
Intention is king with karma. Just as intention to harm comes back to bite us, I know that intention to help brings us benefits, or at least mitigates negative consequences. This is supported by personal experience and Buddhist dharma teachings.
Certain actions have mixed consequences, helping some while hurting others. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one,” as Spock once said. Harming one person to help many may generate positive karma in balance. Police are faced with this daily. But watch out for the kind of thinking where the action hero kills dozens of “bad guys” to rescue his daughter. In real life, even people we see as enemies have loved ones who depend on them.
Thinking and speech also affect karma. We all know that hateful speech and writing can cause harm, even kill. Kind words can help in many ways. But Westerners generally believe they can think anything they want. The Eastern view is that even thoughts can generate karma. So try not to wish people dead or rejoice when bad things happen to those you dislike. I’ve noticed that when I wish for benefits for others, benefits come to me, so the reverse is probably true also. Be mindful of your thoughts.
So I’ve said that we harvest what we sow, for good or ill, and it’s a law of the universe regardless of belief. Karma can span our past and future lives. Intent to help or harm is key. I said that regret and atonement can erase negative karma. I’ve noticed that thoughts and words generate consequences, just as actions do. What are your thoughts and experiences of karma?