18. KARMA

THE NEXT MEDITATION is the contemplation on karmic law. The foundation and root of attaining all the perfection of the future is the living of one’s life with awareness of the law of causality.

As we discussed earlier, the phenomena that are directly related to our experience of pain and pleasure are subject to the law of interdependence and therefore depend on their causes and conditions. If there is a cause, the effects ensue and themselves in turn become causes and produce their fruits. So there is a kind of chain reaction—it is like playing a snooker game, in which one ball hits another and that hits another and so on. This law of interdependence is very powerful. Things that we would never expect sometimes arise, such as a small cause triggering great change and transformation. That is the meaning of the law of interdependence.

The presentation of the law of causality is the presentation of a natural fact. It can be explained briefly in this way: if you do positive actions, you will face desirable consequences and if you engage in negative actions, you will have to face undesirable consequences. There is a connection of commensuration between cause and effect. Any action that produces happiness is positive. The distinction between negative and positive can be made only by judging the fruits.

Happiness and suffering can be posited only on the basis of the feeling of a living being. If that factor of feeling is not taken into account, what basis can there be for making such a distinction between positive and negative or harm and benefit? Since we have to accept harm and benefit, or in other words pain and pleasure, any causes that give rise to suffering are negative, and any causes that give rise to happiness are positive. Positive actions result in desirable consequences. In this way there is a definiteness in karmic law.

For example, taking the life of another obviously harms the other person. Just as you yourself regard your life as most precious, the same is true of the other person. Therefore, as a result of the action that totally disregards the preciousness of another’s life, you will have to face commensurate consequences. It is thus the worst form of negative action. Compared to that, a slightly lesser evil is the stealing of others’ belongings. Stealing is harmful to others because it harms their possessions and thus hurts their feelings. Although its consequences may not be as grave as those of taking the life of others, nevertheless, stealing is a negative act, and accordingly you will have to face commensurate consequences.

Sometimes we face certain situations where, although we have done something good for others, we may not be able to reap the consequences within this lifetime. When we are talking about the law of causality, we are not limiting its operation to the confines of this life alone, but rather are taking into account both this lifetime and the future. Occasionally people who do not have a proper knowledge of karmic law say that such and such a person is very kind and religious and so forth, but he always has problems, whereas so and so is very deceptive and negative, frequently indulging in negative actions, but always seems very successful. Such people may think that there is no karmic law at all. There are others who go to the other extreme and become superstitious, thinking that when someone experiences illness, it is all due to harmful spirits. If such a person were the disciple of a Kadampa master, he would be beaten with a stick. It is also possible for very negative people to experience their positive karma ripening immaturely due to the very strong force of negative actions, and thus to exhaust the potentials of their virtuous actions. They experience a relative success in this life, while others who are very serious practitioners, as a result of the force of their practices, bring upon this lifetime the consequences of karmic actions which might have otherwise thrown them into rebirth in lower realms of existence in the future. As a result, they experience more problems and illnesses in this life.

Just resolving not to indulge in a negative action is not enough. It should be accompanied by the understanding that it is for your own benefit and sake that you must live with awareness of the law of karma: if you have accumulated the causes, you will have to face the consequences; if you desire a particular effect, you can work to produce its causes; and if you do not desire a certain consequence, you can avoid engaging in actions that will bring it about. You should reflect upon the law of causality as follows: that there is a definite relation between causes and effects; that actions not committed will never produce an effect; and that once committed, actions will never lose their potentiality simply through the passage of time. So, if you wish to enjoy desirable fruits, you should work for the accumulation of the appropriate causes, and if you want to avoid undesirable consequences, you should not accumulate their causes.

Do not have the notion that karmic law is something laid down by the Buddha. Rather, it is a natural law like any other natural law. Although the very subtle aspects of karmic law are extremely hidden for us and can be inferred only by relying upon scriptural sources, there are certain general aspects of which we can develop an understanding through reasoning.

In order to gain such understanding, it is important first of all to develop a deep conviction and faith in the master Buddha. This cannot be produced just by saying that the Buddha possessed such and such physical qualities and had a very impressive personality and so forth. Rather, if after having subjected his doctrine to analysis, you find his teachings to be authentic, very reliable, and able to withstand any analysis, only then can you develop a deep and unshakable faith in him. You should then be able to see that the Buddha is a being who became enlightened through his perfection of a great compassion developed over a long period of time.

To generate the ascertainment that the perfection of a Buddha comes from such a process, it is vital to understand and develop the deep conviction that consciousness has the potential to increase to a limitless level. A proper understanding of buddhahood depends upon a proper understanding of dharma, and this in turn depends upon an understanding of the Four Truths, the deeper knowledge of which in turn depends upon a knowledge of the Two Truths. If you do not understand the Four Truths, you will not be able to understand the Buddha’s doctrine properly, and if you do not have a good understanding of the objects of refuge, then it is very difficult to develop a deep conviction in the validity of the law of causality.

If, due to the force of your ignorance and so forth, you find yourself committing negative actions, you should, equipped with the force of the four powers,¹ immediately purify them. There are different methods of purification, such as reciting mantras, meditating on emptiness, doing prostrations, engaging in deity yoga, making offerings, and particularly on days of religious observance taking the Mahayana vows. But the most important point is to have the factor of regret. Once you have that factor, your practice of purification will be very successful. For developing a deep regret for the negative actions, it is vital to see their destructive nature. Once you have seen that, you will have genuine regret, and this will then lead you to apply the opponent forces and to make a very firm resolve never to indulge in these actions again. For example, if you have a very serious and complex illness, you cannot cure it just by taking a medicine composed of one element; rather, you have to take all sorts of measures. Similarly, you need to apply every measure possible to tame your mind, which is under the influence of ignorance. Anger, hatred, and desire are also competing for domination of your mind. There is no possibility of taming your mind by using just one means. All the Buddha’s teachings bear on the taming of the mind and the bringing about of discipline within it. Since this work is done by employing all sorts of skillful means, one finds many different approaches in the Buddhist writings.

Motivated as they are by all levels of afflictive emotions and delusions (all rooted in ignorance), negative actions committed through the three doors of body, speech, and mind are countless. But they can be broadly classified into ten basic actions, as the Buddha taught. Abstaining from these ten negative actions marks the practice of the ten positive actions. Having properly recognized the ten negative actions, you should reflect upon their destructive nature, and impelled by the strong wish to abandon them, should refrain from doing them. There are three negative actions of body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; four of speech: lying, divisive speech, harsh words, and senseless gossip; and three of mind: covetousness, harmful intent, and holding perverted views. If you have indulged in these negative actions, you will take rebirth in the lower realms of existence as their matured fruit. There are also many other levels of fruits, such as the environmental effects² and the perpetuation of negative tendencies in the future.

By reflecting upon the destructive nature of the actions and their undesirable consequences, you should cultivate a strong resolve never to indulge in them and should restrain yourself from engaging in them. That, in essence, lays the proper foundation for the practice of morality. On the basis of such morality, you should undertake the practice. In order to achieve a true cessation, it is first of all very important to abstain from the manifest expressions of these delusions—the negative actions—thus gradually reversing negative tendencies of thought. Observing the morality of refraining from the ten negative actions is taught as a precept of taking refuge. This concludes the practice of training in the first phase, that is, training the mind in the stages of the path common to the practitioners of initial capacity.