Question: “Hi there, big fan of your blog. I’m a life long Hindu, and lately I’ve been struggling with rationally arriving at the conclusion that all actions and reactions are a part of an overarching karmic system, specifically because of the seemingly meaningless deaths and illnesses of innocent people, specifically young children that are the victims of violence and/or fatal diseases. Does a karmic system imply that these individuals somehow had it coming in the grand scheme of the universe?”
Thanks for being a fan! Glad you enjoy it 🙂
Yes and no. It might sound like a horrible and cruel thing to agree to or believe in, but the saying “everything happens for a reason” is true in the case of Karma. Death and disease doesn’t just happen to individuals, but whole countries too. Tibet is a great example. As a Buddhist country you would think all it does is gain good karmic merit and deeds, but even the His Holiness the Dalai Lama said that it was Tibetan karma accumulated over the centuries that caused such a huge karmic effect, because there is individual karma and group karma; so it would of been group karma for the deaths during the Chinese invasion, but individual karma for people’s own deaths or suffering.
There’s a story of a monk, whom long ago knew he was born at the time he was because someone was going to kill him, because he had killed that person in a past life. He was an honorary monk of a king; being at the king’s side and preaching the Law to him. One day, the man whom would kill the monk charged at him, but the king had his guards stop the man before he could attack. The monk told the king to let him be because he already knew his fate and he knew he had to “pay back.”
So even when people are innocent, guilty, young, old, rich, poor – if you believe in karma and past lives, then it’s easier to understand that the person whom would harm/kill us could of been someone we’ve previously harmed or killed and we’re just paying back for our negative karmic actions. Every cause has an effect; and when it comes to karmic effect, it doesn’t always happen in this lifetime – it could come back to us in any of our future lives.
Karma works in different ways though. I heard a story from a monk that when he was in college, him and his friend rented the basement from this old married couple. The husband was a hunter and their home was full of animal heads hanging on the walls, and furs made blankets and covers. They had one child whom had died. The monk later realized that their child was taken away because the husband was taking away (killing) dozens of children away from their families.
Our karma reborns us in specific places for specific reasons. Bad past karma will have you ended up in a poor, third-world country, or with some kind of misfortunate disease or illness. Good past karma will reborn you in a nice place, to a nice family, living a nice life. So whether we have a good or bad life depends on our past karma, however, we must take the opportunity in our present life to better ourselves and accumulate good merit so that our next life will be a much better one.
Smile and be well!
I do understand you are a student like anyone else but I really want to get to the bottom of this.
The one major thing I respected about Buddhism is the fact that one does not have to have blind faith. Blind faith is a major issue and requirement for Christianity. I think when it comes to the basic tenets of Buddhism some of the is very self evident. life is suffering, attachment. etc,etc. How do we go from there to the aspect of Karrma? I need more proof and I think others would like that to this is the way Karma works.
If it is the case of faith then how does one choose the concept of Karma over original sin?
In this sense Karma sounds like victim blaming. Actually I think that is directly what it is and how can people be responsible for karma if they dont know what they did, are asleep and not on the path. Who is the judge, jury and executioner of all this? It is not making much sense to me and I very much wish to understand.
Sincerely, a concerned/confused Buddhist
It’s not really blind faith. Karma is what causes the cycle of cause and effect. YOU are Karma; you’re the creator, the controller, the justifier. Everything has a cause and effect; throw a ball in the air (cause) and it’ll come back down (effect), drive recklessly (cause) and you’ll crash (effect), generate negative thoughts (cause) and you’ll start to become a negative person (effect). Even the movements of your body, your arms, legs, head, blinking, typing on the computer, these are all effects of the cause created by triggers to do these in your brain then transmitted to your muscles as movements.
If Karma is victim blaming, then how do you explain your life? Your family? Did you grow up in low class, or middle or high class society? Public school or private school? Were your parents able to support, comfort, and guide you? Then what about other people who had the complete opposite kind of life as you; living in the streets on in mansions – were they just lucky or unfortunate? If you want to call it victim blaming, well then that’s still karma no matter what you want to call it. All I can say is continue reading on the subject. If there is a temple in your area or near by, visit it and talk to the monks or nuns. They’ll probably be able to give you a much better, solid answer – or at least guide you to the way of understanding.
Smile and be well!
I agree about the law of gravity and cause and effect. I am not talking about that.
I am referring directly to your claims about how our karma carries over into past lives. All I want is a straight and direct answer and decent proof of how our past life existence has carried over in this life.
As to answer your question about my life, this is a quick summary.
I was born in destitution and poverty. I was born in Mississippi to extremely abusive parents. I constantly went hungry and lived in cars. I was dropped in foster care and went through things I would rather not repeat but by a little luck and one or two half decent people and my own trying I managed to get through my associates degree by working 3 jobs. I was one year shy of my bachelors degree until foster care dropped me and I ended up homeless. I continued to educate myself by reading and practically living in the library and by luck I make just enough assistance to afford the basics.
Perhaps, occasionally one is reborn in a poor state not due to “bad” karma, but because of “good” karma — this could be a position in which the causes and conditions of renunciation might be easier to come about. One in possession of great riches might be more hesitant to devote his life to the pursuit of liberation from samsara than one who is born into poverty and can [perhaps] see the frivolousness of the world’s wealth.
It is impossible really to truly analyze the workings of karma, so I just wanted to offer an alternative viewpoint in case it might be beneficial.
Thank you. Be well, friend. 🙂
Very true, my friend. Or even perhaps, someone whom is born in a “bad karmic” state so they can better see the suffering in the world around them and they’d better be able to help others versus someone who’s born into riches and doesn’t see anything but non-suffering and ease.
Smile and be well!