BUDDHIST PRACTICE: Karma 1

I recently experienced a period of what some might call bad luck, a bad run, or difficult times. In the past, if life seemed to be unfair, society treated me wrongfully, people were rude, cruel, or nasty towards me, or events and plans did not work out, I would have called it 'sucky old life' or perhaps just the injustice of modern society expectations. These days I recognize it as the result of my karmic residue.

Some people question the unfairness of life. Maybe their baby has died from a fatal disease or a friend has been wrecked in a car accident that was not their fault and is in critical or damaged condition. Maybe a loved one develops cancer or however hard they try cannot find the right job or partner. Whilst experiencing these problems, we can look in two directions.

Whether we are optimistic, realistic, or pessimistic, we can usually find problems coming and going in our life on some level. Whether they are petty problems such as being five dollars short for that fancy new dress we have our eye on, or serious such as facing homelessness, it is often how we view them that matters.

We can see ourselves as worse off compared to someone with fame, fortune, and a happy family; we can view that neighbor's car as superior to our own model; we can grumble because we do not make as much money for doing the same job as the girl across the road. Otherwise, we can see how well off we are in comparison to others. We might whine that we haven't enough money to go on vacation every single summer, but then we see that some people do not have enough money to buy food on a daily basis. We could complain because our neighbor's dog poops on our lawn, but then we might recall that some people have no house, with or without a yard.

Until a year or two ago, I spent much of my life expecting it to be fair, and criticizing, becoming angry, or sulking when it was not. I had this attitude because I felt that life was unfair, people were not being fair, society was not treating me fairly, or some other body or being was in the wrong. I would carefully judge the situation neutrally, to make sure it was not just my expectation that was unfair, but I always lay the blame on someone else.

Then I encountered karma. A brand new theory that I had not properly understood before.