The Law Of Karma

The topic of this article is the concept of Karma, whichare influenced by events completely beyond their
is common to most Eastern Philosophies be it Hinduismcontrol. All these Karma's are inter-related and can be
or Buddhism.understood in its full complexity only by an enlightened
It is said that in the second watch of the night whenbeing.
the Buddha attained enlightenment he gained aThe law of Karma gives us guidance as to how we
different kind of knowledge, which complemented hismay lead our lives. When misfortune strikes we know
knowledge of rebirth - The Law of Karma.that it will not last forever but will pass in time. And we
Karma is mistaken in the West as a doctrine of Fatenow know through the law of Karma that these are
or Predestination. It is not so. The word Karma literallyconsequences, which have inevitably followed from
means action - and the Law of Karma is the infallibleour past actions. The attitude to have when difficulties
law of cause and effect, which governs the Universe.befall us is this - That this, which is happening, is the
The doctrine of Karma has many implications as tocoming to fruition of our past Karma. We do not see
how we may lead our lives. In the first place it meansthe suffering as a punishment- or do we blame
that all our actions will lead to its natural consequence.ourselves and indulge in self-hatred. Tibetans say that
We may not know what the consequence will be andsuffering is the broom, which sweeps away our
in fact it may be delayed for many lengths of time butnegative karma. We can even be grateful that one
the consequence will follow inevitably. In Tibetankarma is coming to an end.
Buddhism the inevitable retribution, which however isEastern philosophy is full of stories of how bandits and
not obvious, is compared to the shadow of a kite ormurderers have overcome their bad karma and gone
an eagle as it searches for its prey. When the eagle ison to become - monks and even saints. Angulimala is
high in the sky its shadow is not to be seen. Howeveran example. He had killed 999 people in his previous life
when the eagle swoops to the ground to catch hold ofas a bandit. But he was won over by the Buddha and
its prey the menacing shadow appears. Similarly wewent on to become a monk and a sage. Similarly in
are not aware of the consequences of our actions forTibetan Buddhism the story is told of Milarepa. He was
most part but they will appear just as the shadow ofa sorcerer who killed many people with his black
the eagle suddenly appears.magic for revenge or profit. Yet through his remorse
The law of Karma is not confined to individuals - thereand hardships and penances that he underwent he
is family karma, national karma, International Karma, thewent on to become to become enlightened - a figure
Karma of a city. All these are mixed with the Karmaof inspiration to millions.
of the Individual, and thus it happens that people livesThese are some brief remarks about Karma.