how you Deal with Karma ?

[Piliang]

Hi Dear Guys,

I would like to know how you deal with karma(s) especially negative ones ,because it has been told variety things about this subject ,

from spiritual vision of must of the religions ,traditions and lineages which claimed : we have to suffer to repay our debts and there are sub-opinions in this matter that some said suffering with awareness , suffering according the tolerance for higher realms and dimensions suffering according to help of master(s) and dedicating our life to Dharma and spiritual path and master (s) while we are suffering ,Participating in spiritual rituals ,we have to give something to receive which is told this one is from one of the cosmic law, suffering is one of the purging way ...... ( we can see lots of good things and bad things are created by these ways )

 

some said suffering is part of mental tactics which can mixed with other stuffs such as philosophies and practices to give hand to person to which gonna to deal with karmas

 

some also told if we wanna to removing karma(s) we have to change or transmute them by knowledge of cosmic and inner alchemy and energies or to become enlightened being , other said ......

 

and I think the success of this action is linked to choose the right way according to our needs and conditions that we are surrounded by this way we can hope to see the real fruit because it seems if we go to wrong way we may can harm ourselves or degenerating our progress ( while one part of life is to accepting the unknowing risks ) .....

 

while there are other ways which I don't know plz share your views and experiences about this field and if possible tell the negative(s) and positive(s) sides of each techniques and way to dealing with karmas ,as we know that each idea is not absolute but we can have some knowledge and insight beforehand,

 

Thanks in advance

Pouyan

Edited February 2, 2012 by Piliang

[Cameron]

Embrace it.

[.broken.]

The way I understand it is that karma is as simple as "you get what you give", "what comes around goes around", "every action has a reaction" etc.

 

So if you have karma that allows you to suffer and you no longer want to suffer, then start taking others out of suffering. Give, be generous, love, sacrifice, be kind, considerate, charitable...

 

Of course, you could carry on suffering but that is quite likely to be less pleasant.

 

If you're really 'good' then you can escape the cycle altogether.

 

All of the above is easier to say than to do. It requires you to investigate your habits, to understand them, to eliminate/circumvent them. As you're alive and need to spend your time doing something - perhaps this is the best possible option?

 

Love,

James

[xabir2005]

Sincere repentance to the triple gems is said to be an effective method to purify karma. Other methods in the Vajrayana tradition includes Vajrasattva purification.

 

http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol6no2c.htm

 

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/advanced/tantra/level1_getting_started/vajrasattva_purification_basics.html

[Harmonious Emptiness]

The way I see it, is that when we do things we take on the energy of that action, be it good or bad. If you do something good, you carry that energy around at a (usually) subconscious level. If you do something bad, you also carry that energy around with you. By doing good things you can neutralize the bad. Also, by simply changing your attitude at a deep and sincere level, you can change your energy as well and when you have done this you will also do more good things just automatically without even thinking about it. I think the latter is by far the best of these three.

 

The humility created by many spiritual practices is very important for this too, since it is so much easier and more rewarding to do good things for other people when our view is not blocked by a giant view of our self.

[Protector]

The way I understand it is that karma is as simple as "you get what you give", "what comes around goes around", "every action has a reaction" etc.

 

If everyone was thinking about karma this way... I would run out of bullets

 

Expecting that to work is like throwing a ball at a wall expecting the ball to bounce back into your hand. But there is no wall, there is just glass that you just broke and now a a giant luchador is running towards you with world's hardest loaf of bread as a weapon because he is a little mad that you made it rain glass all over his collection of candy coated alligators who already bit off your arms and legs which you would never expect to happen since candy coated alligators are such a funny scene that you must be obviously standing in front of a wall painting specifically designed to bounce off balls.

There are too many silly humans out there, who even pain alligators now and then, to make exact predictions. Trying to figure out karma is like staring at an anthill and trying to figure out where each ant is going at the same time. Earth is like an ant hill and when you finally figure it out, there's a jell-o meteorite from space landing somewhere on it. Instead of doing exact math of what must be done at each exact moment, it's easier to just understand that there is some stuff outside from our fields of view.

[Jetsun]

I think karma is always trying to play itself out all the time, we just have to let it without creating any new karma, which means we need methods like meditation to get to know it and allow it's release so it can work it's way out without harming anybody else. I don't believe in positive karma negating negative karma or good deeds cancelling out bad deeds, I think you do good deeds to prevent you gaining any more negative karma so as your existing lot works it's way out you overall become less burdened over time.

[Chang]

How do you deal with your belief in karma? (And how do you let your belief affect you?

 

Whilst I do believe in karma I accept the fact that its workings are simply beyond my comprehension.

 

That being the case my belief does not affect me very much at all.

 

But have you ever considered that the very idea of karma may have been devised by good men to coerce bad men to act in a good way through fear of consequence?

[Apech]

Karma means action. And the law of karma means that every action has an effect of some kind. The idea of good and bad karma is a bit of a sunday school version. However it doesn't take a genius to work out that the consequence of being genuinely nasty to people results in being shunned and hated ... and so on. Having said that the issue for this and every situation is not about guilt or blame or such but more about your ability to assimilate energy ... given that everything is energy (supposing you accept this idea). If you act in the world the consequences of your action will come back to you sooner or later. Thinking like this is a way of sobering your approach so that you respect the energy, the situations and other people you deal with. Meditation on the law of karma strengthens your resolve to behave in a self-consistent, honorable and warrior-like way. That's what it is for really. In Buddhism they call it one of the four thoughts which lead the mind to dharma. In other words it is a spur to practice.

[Chang]

Karma means action. And the law of karma means that every action has an effect of some kind. The idea of good and bad karma is a bit of a sunday school version. However it doesn't take a genius to work out that the consequence of being genuinely nasty to people results in being shunned and hated ... and so on. Having said that the issue for this and every situation is not about guilt or blame or such but more about your ability to assimilate energy ... given that everything is energy (supposing you accept this idea). If you act in the world the consequences of your action will come back to you sooner or later. Thinking like this is a way of sobering your approach so that you respect the energy, the situations and other people you deal with. Meditation on the law of karma strengthens your resolve to behave in a self-consistent, honorable and warrior-like way. That's what it is for really. In Buddhism they call it one of the four thoughts which lead the mind to dharma. In other words it is a spur to practice.

 

Beautifully put.

[RiverSnake]

Hmm...made a post about this awhile back. This is the best explanation i have found for Karma and how to overcome it. Enjoy

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/21731-karma-destiny-and-mastering-your-life/page__p__308463__hl__Karma%20destiny__fromsearch__1entry308463

Edited February 2, 2012 by OldGreen

[Dreamingawake]

This is just my own perspective but worrying about karma is a bit like worrying about gravity. You don't really think about it most of the time but you still make sure not to step off any tall buildings or steep ledges.

 

Trying to figure it all out is like trying to know where every ball will go when you break in a game of pool. It's much more useful to focus on the cause/effect relationships you can control (ie one ball at a time )

 

Hope thats helpful

[Birch]

I don't think I do quite as much - ever since it got stripped of its morality.

Saying it's 'causality' is fine by me, but I don't really understand that stuff either. Sometimes I think I do.

Maybe just listening for it? Then it presents itself for resolution, i reckon that's pretty much all it 'does' and it might do that through me.

And it might not. And it might resolve something small very fast and something bigger longer and cut down an entire root in a swoop.

 

Sorry, i don't know but i think it's ok. Would i still say that if it required i be killed in the process? Hmm, not sure. I think it's both eminently personal and impersonal all at the same time.

[Cameron]

When I met Sifu Jenny Lamb she said " I always try to do my best so I don't have any regrets."

 

 

I have no idea if this relates to karma or not. But sort of answers the question from my feeling of things. What is doing ones best is an individual thing. Or perhaps from the awakened perspective might be how best one can serve. Or not. I don't know.

[Birch]

I could get weird about this stuff and say doing one's best is irrelevant, but from my small appreciation, that all by itself is karma in action.

Sorry, i think it's too complicated for me. I don't think it precludes doing one's best. But do you have to know what that is before you do it?

[Cameron]

I could get weird about this stuff and say doing one's best is irrelevant, but from my small appreciation, that all by itself is karma in action.

Sorry, i think it's too complicated for me. I don't think it precludes doing one's best. But do you have to know what that is before you do it?

 

Exactly. What is doing ones best? A constant question to ask(or not).

 

Perhaps you could say it is your karma not only what you do but what you think that is good.

 

Hitler doing his best and Buddha doing his best are not the same thing exactly.

[JustARandomPanda]

In all the resources I've consulted about how karma works (which granted are not many) I did not see something particularly discussed that I myself have ruminated over recently.

 

It is this:

 

All the negative karmas - the bad actions I've performed - has one other bad result aside from the fact it leads to intense suffering and future negative events.

 

The far greater damage even than your own suffering is the fact that it shuts down options in giving aid to others that otherwise would have remained open to you. This is an exceedingly dangerous thing to happen.

 

 

The more bad things you do - the more you are shutting down your avenues for aiding other beings. It's like compound interest in reverse. An exceedingly bad feedback loop to be setting up. This is why keeping Precepts, Taoist Virtue cultivation, doing frequent good deeds and observing the Hippocratic Oath (First, Do No Harm) is soooo important. You do not want to start getting into an ever-amplifying/compounding negative feedback loop.

 

This is why it's said Hell Beings have an exceedingly difficult time getting out of the Hell realms. With them being stuck there for Eons upon Eons upon Eons - time out of mind. Good Deeds are CRUCIAL to getting relief from suffering and good fortune manifesting again. But those good avenues (the good might-have-beens-to-aid-others that would've been open had they done good deeds) have been shut down to nearly infinitesimal proportions. The bad deed negative feedback loops have become so vast and numerous it takes no less than a very Great Being like Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to save them.

 

One of this Great Being's Great Vows was to not achieve Enlightenment until all the hells are emptied. "If not me, then who will go?" he said.

 

 

It's said you can purify your own negative karmas (and thus set up a positive karma loop) by making frequent offerings to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. I've been having some unexplainable experiences enough recently that I'm convinced it's a real good idea to take that idea LITERALLY.