Recommended readings

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm

I believe in Buddhist Karma because I like to think that my life is influenced by my own action, speech and thought.

Buddhist believe that Karma is a natural force that produces good results for good action and creates bad results for bad behaviour.

One of the mistake that I made in the belief of Karma, is to subconsciously have a wrong or ignorant expectation about how karma SHOULD work.

For example, sub-consciously I believed that if I do not cause harm by telling lies, then I should not experience harm resulting from lies told by others.

or if I remain faithful in a relationship then I would not have to suffer the pain of being cheated on. Such unrealistic expectation runs on and on.

The problem is not that Karma is false but rather the fault of my over simplistic expectation; that Karma will behave according to my unenlightened expectation.

Thus I came to realised that I had wrongly believed that I can control the action of others by my action. VERY NAIVE.

The working of Karma and the manifestation of Karmic result is beyond comprehension of an enlightened mind because there are limitless permutation of the aggregation of causation factors that contribute towards the actualisation of karmic results.

Put simply, in order for an apple seed to sprout, the various factors like sunlight and its quality, soil and its quality, water and its quality, seed and its quality etc must be right for it to sprout.

Likewise, for a karmic result to manifest in our life, the various factors of environment, time, actions of other beings (including unseen ones) etc, needs to be just right for it to manifest.

That is why the world will seem so unfair at times and it seems like Karma is not working; when we try to comprehend this world with our limited wisdom.

Past masters had advised us that;

It is not that Karma is not working but just that the timing is not right yet.

The belief of Karma enable us to come to terms with our current situation and help guide our reaction to the situations.

If it is a bad situation, we console ourselves that it is a ripening of past bad karma. Therefore to counteract it and prevent similar bad situations in future, we have do do good now.

If it is a good situation we remind ourselves that it is a ripening of good karma. In order to continue such good situation now and in future, we have to do more good now.

I think if everyone react to daily situations in similar manner, then this world will become a better place.

Instead of waiting for others, let us adopt this belief unto ourselves. Hopefully this world will become a better place, one person at a time.