by Khenpo Tashi
Karma is cause, condition and effect. What are the causes? Our mental, verbal and physical actions. What are the effects? Our experiences – happiness and suffering.
Karma (Tibetan: le gyu dre). Le is action, gyu is conditions, dre is result. Karma is a very, very complex topic.
TWO MEANINGS OF KARMA
- Things Come Together
When a building is constructed, there are many parts that come together – the physical and the non-physical factors. The physical are the construction materials, people, paint, machines. The non-physical factors are those that we cannot see, like the financial budget, the city laws, the plan, and so on.
Likewise, Karma can also be seen like this. There are physical and non-physical factors. Our character, our relationships, our intellect, our physical appearance, our opportunities, abilities, lifespan and wealth all come together. These are one’s Karma.
2. Tendencies & Inclinations
Some of us find it difficult to kill or harm. Some find it easy. Some are inclined towards doing virtue, some are not. Some are more prone to strong desires, some are more prone to aggression.
These are Karma, as one’s tendencies, that have been developed from the past.
WHY IS UNDERSTANDING KARMA IMPORTANT?
If we want to be happy, we should create causes to be happy. These are following the ten virtues. If we have sufferings, we have to understand that we have created their causes in the past. This makes us be responsible for our misfortunes and situations.
If we want to follow the Buddha’s path, we should create causes for us to become a Buddha and achieve Buddha-qualities. We should avoid causes for us to remain in Samsara and be bound in our endless sufferings.
SOURCE OF KARMA
The main source of our Karma are our three emotional afflictions – greed, hatred and confusion.
Confusion (Tib: ti muk) is misunderstanding of reality and our surroundings. For example, we want our lives and happiness to be permanent. We know that they are impermanent, but we have the strong urge to make them permanent. This strong urge, to contradict reality, to fight reality, is one example of ‘confusion’.
From the three main emotional afflictions, many other emotions develop – desire, pride, laziness, lack of faith, jealousy, anger and so on. From our emotions, we create mental, verbal and physical actions – good and bad. These are the sources of Karma.
PURIFYING KARMA
If we aim for ordinary happiness, we create more causes for happiness and we avoid causes of suffering.
If we aim for Buddhahood, we purify our negative Karma. We accumulate merit and wisdom.
For more information on Karma, read the next article.