{"id":1932,"date":"2020-02-29T11:52:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T01:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=1932"},"modified":"2020-02-29T12:07:30","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T02:07:30","slug":"understanding-karma","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/understanding-karma\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Karma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The meaning of karma has been greatly misunderstood in the\nWest. Many uninformed Westerners think that karma is some form of a curse, or\nthe effects of a curse experienced by the people in the East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it is the law of interdependent causation. Every happening\nof everybody\u2019s life and of the whole world develops, functions, and ceases\nbecause of causes and conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our spiritual experiences and growth are also caused and\ndriven by causation. It is really just a description of how phenomena come into\nbeing, like the process whereby a flower comes from a seed: first you see the\nseed, then the shoot, then the buds, until the flower finally blossoms. Then\nthe flower produces seeds, which take the process back to the beginning again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we have an open and peaceful mind and are a positive\nperson, we will have a positive life, peaceful feelings and experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to believe in karma, for if we really\nbelieve in it, we will never engage in negative acts that we can avoid because\nthey will just foster negative results, and we do not want to be victimized by\nour own doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We engage in negativity only because we do not believe in\nkarma\u2014that doing something bad will produce bad results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially at the time of death, nothing else will follow\nus. Money, power, friends, and family will not come with us. We will not have\nthe opportunity to take even our most cherished body with us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only the karma, the virtuous and unvirtuous traces and\nenergies we have created in our mind, will accompany us, lead us, and push us\nthrough our bardo stages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effects or energies of whatever karmic tendencies we\nhave will arise as or create the phenomena of our next lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So every experience of our enjoyment and suffering is\ndependent on and the product of our own creation, the karma of the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So understanding karma from the depth of the heart is\nessential in order to inspire our minds to develop good karma by doing such\nthings as Dharma practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buddha said: \u201cIf, when his time comes, even a king\nshould die, His wealth and his friends and relatives shall not follow him.\nWherever men go, wherever they remain, Karma, like a shadow, will follow them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Source: Taken from Thondup, Tulku. Enlightened Journey: Buddhist Practice as Daily Life<\/em>. Shambhala. Kindle Edition.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Understanding
Reflection:
Karma is a habitual pattern<\/em> sown in our mind-stream
by our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Our karmic patterns determine the kind of life experiences
we will have, now and in the future.
The term also sometimes means simply a \u201cdeed\u201d or \u201caction.\u201d
(Tulku Thondup) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The meaning of karma has been greatly misunderstood in the West. Many uninformed Westerners think that karma is some form of a curse, or the effects of a curse experienced by the people in the East. 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