Question: “I am a strong believer in Buddhist moral philosophy, but I often struggle with the idea of Karma being used to perpetuate oppression. I believe that people living in awful conditions deserve justice. I see this oppression is perpetrated by greedy people on top. Yet, Karma would could say that those who are greedy got wealth because of good Karma, and those who are oppressed are that way because of their bad Karma. How do you work around this? How does Buddhism empower the oppressed?”
I don’t think karma is perpetuating anything. Karma has no agenda, it has no side – it is neutral and is simply the law of causality. Karma is like flipping a coin; it’s either heads or tails, good or bad, or falls on the ground and become neutral. You can either flip the coin blindly and either win or suffer the consequences, or you can use math and physics to flip the coin at a precise speed and force to get it to land on your desired side.
Likewise, using intelligence, mindfulness, and doing good will get you the results you want. But like the flipped coin, even with precise equations there is still always a chance of failure. The law of causality (cause and effect), doesn’t care who you are, how much money you make or don’t make, or where you’re from. It only judges by the intentions of your causes and gives you your deserved effect.
For example. A lot of high schoolers barely just make it in school. They’re there just to be there and eventually graduate. Not thinking about college or their future. Say one of these kids that just barely got by went to college. Most college applicants that don’t meet certain academic criteria have to take an entrance assessment test, testing whether or not they need to take remedial math and english courses or any of those courses at all. This particular high schooler, because they barely got through high school (cause), ends up having to take remedial courses in both subjects (effect). Whereas a high schooler that did study and work hard in high school will most likely be able to test out of those subjects and begin taking 2nd and 3rd year college courses their freshmen year. However, in both cases, each student has a chance of completely succeeding or completely failing, depending on their effort.
The same thing works for the poor and rich. The poor, though have a harder time, still have the chances to ‘escape’ their poverty by working hard and bettering their lives. For some of the rich who blindly make and spend money usually have a harder time being able to control their lives. How many “rich” people have we seen lately on the news who have now become criminals or become associated with criminal activities? Are they really more fortunate? Probably not. Bill Gates is a high school dropout, yet managed to become one of the most richest people in the world. He used diligent efforts to crawl out of a hole and become a household name. He is also one of the most giving billionaires there are, giving millions to charities a year.
So karma isn’t judgement. You are your own judge and jury. The majority of people know right from wrong and know that there are consequences to doing wrong, and if you still decide to do that wrong, that you will be sentenced accordingly. But depending on evidence and circumstances (previous good deeds from past lives), the sentencing may be short or long, good or bad.
Smile and be well!