The Effects of Karma

Karma is a Sanskrit word describing a concept that westerners commonly label "Cause and Effect". This is not an accurate description, and a poor place to start for someone who is unfamiliar with the concept.

Here is why: "The Law of Cause and Effect" states: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". Karma on the other hand, is an observation that each of our actions has an effect, but the effect is directly proportional to the action and even more importantly, the intent behind the initial action.

For instance: Calling someone an "Idiot" because you wish to cause them emotional distress, and cause them to look bad before others creates a much different karma than using the same term as an expression of endearment.

(For a more complete and historical account of Karma and it's effects, we recommend you visit Wikipedia.com.)

To understand and accept the Law of Karma in our lives gives us a distinct advantage. It allows us some measure of control of the situation in which we find ourselves, and the ability to create desirable situations more often in the future.

Karma is the effects we are experiencing today, of causes we have set in motion in the past. For example, if we get up and go to work at a blue collar, manual labor job in the morning, that is a direct result of educational and career choices we made in the past. We may like our job, and be totally satisfied with it, in which case we would think of it as "good" Karma. While this is a relatively simple explanation, it is a very accurate example of Karma at work.

Let's look at a slightly more complicated example. Suppose we are driving to work, and we are extremely frustrated by the actions of other drivers. Several cars have pulled out in front of us at the last moment, others are not using their turn signals, etc.. How are our past actions/choices responsible for this situation in which we find ourselves? Well, we chose to drive to work, we chose to live in an area in which their was no bus or rail service that would take us directly to work, therefore we find ourselves driving! Also, let us not forget, we chose frustration as our reaction!

This is where it gets a little more tricky: we are also choosing our interpretation of what is happening, labeling it as either "good", or "bad", rather than just accepting that it exsists and moving on! As they say in Zen, "thus", a term signifying acceptance of the present situation, without labeling it.

Choosing to accept the Law of Karma can free us from the frustration, anger, and self-recrimination, allowing us to focus on creating tomorrow's good Karma!