Karma
Dharma talk -- July 28,
2007
by Hoshin Seki, President, American Buddhist Studies Center, NYC
Good morning.
On this rainy July
summer day, my talk is going to be on how some Buddhists and non-Buddhists
use certain Buddhist words in their everyday language without really knowing
their true meaning. It is quite common that words from
different languages wind up in English and lose some or all of their
original meaning.
Can you guess the two
Buddhist words I am thinking of? We hear these words in songs, in movies, on
the radio and read them in novels and see them used in poetry.
Right now, I can only
think of one song but I am sure there are others with these Buddhist words
in the title.
The two words I am
thinking of are “karma” and “nirvana.”
You hear these words a
lot especially in casual conversations -- to suggest a feeling or used as an
expression, like “You must have bad karma.” I recently read in a newspaper
article, “Make straight for the dining-saloon and there, over a cup of
coffee, you will be eased into nirvana.” On CBS radio the other day I heard
“doggie nirvana.”
Since time will not
permit me to really go into the meaning and history of these two words, I
will focus my talk on one of them.
In ancient India,
Hindus and Buddhists commonly used the word “karma.” Karma is a
Sanskrit word meaning
actions determining
future state… in
Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the quality of somebody's current and future
lives as determined by that person's behavior in this and in previous lives.
Most people think of
karma as the law of cause and effect, which is only touching on the surface
of its deeper meaning.
John Lennon wrote a
song entitled, “Instant Karma.” John expresses some of karma’s meaning.
Here are some of the lyrics:
Instant karma’s gonna
get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of
Laughing in the face of love
What on earth you tryin to do
Its up to you, yeah you
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on
Come on and on and on on on.
As you can see, John’s
theme and message in this song is our continued birth and rebirth.
To truly understand
karma you have to know the Indian culture of rebirth. Indians believe in
samsara, a Sanskrit word meaning “wandering” from one life to another. To
keep our morality in check they believe that how we live our lives in this
lifetime will determine our life in the next. If you do good deeds, you will
have good karma and doing bad deeds will manifest your evil karma. In
Christianity, one believes in an eye for an eye. God will punish you for
doing bad deeds.
In Buddhism, karma is
interpreted to mean mental, verbal and physical actions, in our thoughts and
deeds. Therefore, every action we do good or evil will influence our present
and future lives.
Buddhists believe in
karma as being either mutable or immutable.
Mutable karma or
non-fixed karma is the opposite of immutable karma. This is a karma where
the result is not entirely fixed, or destined to appear at a set time. It is
our lighter karma.
Immutable karma however, inevitably
produces fixed results. There are four causes of immutable karma that can be
either negative or positive:
* Actions motivated by exceptionally
strong earthly desires or by a profoundly pure mind
* Actions, done
habitually whether they be good or evil
* Actions that will
benefit the three treasures (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha)
* Actions causing harm to one’s parents
Mutable and immutable karma manifest
itself in three forms:
* karma that is destined
to appear in this lifetime
* karma whose
effects are destined to appear in the next lifetime
* karma that can
come from any one of your past lives. Karma is always there and you will
never know when it will manifest itself. It is just a matter of time.
An example of mutable
karma could be when you do something foolish and immediately get hurt from
your action.
Westerners might think
of karma in positive terms especially from a materialist point of view. They
might think, I can accumulate good fortune and wealth in this life and get
to do it all over again, or if I don’t get rich in this lifetime, I will do
it in my next. They do not see the burden of continued rebirth as foolish
beings.
I heard on the radio
the other day that Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world. The title
goes to a Mexican who owns a communication network. This Mexican’s worth is
more than $68 billion. I wonder if this man is truly happy or is he driven
by power and wealth.
One summer, when I was
11 years old, my father drove the entire family to California and back. I
remember it took us forever to get to the west coast. In those days there
was no air conditioning in the car and as dad drove through the hot deserts
of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Southern California he hung a canvas bag
filled with water over the ornament on the hood of his old Chrysler.
Every time we stopped
for gas dad would give us all a drink from the canvas bag. I can still
remember how delicious and cold the water tasted. Then, when we reached the
west coast we stayed in a motel that was right on the water facing the
Pacific Ocean. The first thing my brother and I did was run down to the
beach in our bare feet to feel the cold Pacific waters. It was wonderful.
It was our mutable
karma of good fortune, which no amount of money, power or fame could replace
at that moment. These little experiences in life give us a deeper sense of
gratitude. I am thinking every one of you has had moments like this.
In Mahayana
(Great Vehicle) Buddhism, karma is associated with the elementary belief
that closely aligns with its original meaning. If you do good deeds good
things will come to you. For the commoners this was sufficient.
As Mahayana
evolved, it took on a deeper more spiritual meaning relating to the
Bodhisattva or Buddhas-to-be.
Bodhisattva is someone
who has come back to selflessly help others without thinking of his or her
self motivation. As Alfred Bloom wrote in an essay on karma, the Bodhisattva
does not ask, “What is the meaning of my life, but how can I be meaningful
to others?” The Bodhisattva is not concerned about his life, rather, “What
can I give to others (dana)?”
A deeper reality
emerges from the Bodhisattva, by accepting all his past karmas and only
wanting to help and serve others without going to the bliss of Nirvana and
ending the cycle of rebirth. The Bodhisattva shows us a more profound and
deeper perceptive into the understanding of karma.
Therefore, Mahayana has
taken the concept of rebirth to a higher level. Even though we are bond by
the laws of karma, Amida’s Vow cuts through our birth and rebirth samsara
cycle. Shinran Shonin clearly understood how to transcend our karmic evils
as written in the Tannisho. Karmic evil (zaigo, zaiaku) is
defined by Taitetsu Unno as the fathomless ignorance deep within us, which
regulates our life according to the laws of cause and effect.
Quoting from the
Tannisho, “Under the influence of our karmic past we human beings will do
anything.” So, by practicing good deeds or giving into our bad deeds is the
result of our current condition and one does not have to lament over it
because it is the nature of our karma. Amida’s Primal Vow is the only
true reality. Everything else is blind passion.
Again quoting the Tannisho: “In the person of
nembutsu opens up the great path of unobstructed freedom. The reason is that
the gods of heaven and earth bow before the practicer of true entrusting,
and those of the world of demons and rival paths cannot obstruct his way.
The consequences of karmic evil cannot bear fruit, nor does any form of god
equal his. Thus, it is called the great path of unobstructed freedom.”
Here Shinran is not
encouraging one to commit evil acts, but rather to better understand the wisdom
and compassion of entrusting in Amida’s Vow. Selfless giving is the goal
rather then expecting some kind of reward or praise for one's actions. Not
to be burdened by your past karma but to live in this world knowing that Amida
Buddha is your true motivator.
Karma is not an easy
concept. It is deep and beyond our human ability to understand all of its
implications. As a foolish being (bonbu) no matter what my motivations are
-- good or bad -- they are ultimately driven by my evil karma. It is my
continued cycle of birth and rebirth. I do not know how deep my karma goes
or how high is the compassion of the Tathagata. I know that I am a foolish
being living with blind passions in a world that is impermanent, empty and
untrue. The only real truth is the nembutsu.
Let’s put our palms
together as I read another passage from Shinran:
“When I ponder on the
compassionate vow of Amida, established through five kalpas of profound
thought, it was for myself, Shinran, alone. Because I am a being burdened so
heavily with karma, I feel even more deeply grateful to the Primal Vow which
is decisively made to save me.”
Namu Amida Butsu.
