Karma

Instil a little more kindness and purity into your actions so as not to be subject to it

February 14th 2024
The moment you act, you inevitably trigger certain forces, which will just as inevitably produce certain effects. Originally, the word ‘karma’ referred primarily to this notion of cause and effect. It was only later that it came to mean the payment of a debt incurred through a misdeed.
In reality, one might say that ‘karma’ (in the latter sense) comes into play every time you do something less than perfectly – which is almost always the case! But human beings learn by trial and error. They have to practise before they can do things perfectly, and as long as they blunder and make mistakes, they have to keep correcting themselves and repairing their mistakes. And this, naturally, means pain and suffering.
You will say, ‘Well, if whatever we do, we inevitably make mistakes, it would be better to do nothing.’ There are people who have held this philosophy, but it is not a good solution, for if you do nothing you learn nothing. It is better to act, to make mistakes and to suffer, while trying, every day, to instil a little more kindness, purity and selflessness into your thoughts, words, feelings and acts. Gradually, you will no longer have to suffer any painful consequences, any karma. You will live increasingly in joy and fullness, and this is what is known as ‘dharma’.*
* Related reading:
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