A few days ago, I talked about how karma isn’t some magical, external cosmic force that dishes out rewards and punishments. Many people think of it like this: If you’re good, your picnic will be sunny, and if you’re bad, it’ll rain. However, according to the Buddha, karma is really about the morality of our intentions and how they naturally lead to either more suffering or more freedom from it.
Karma is essentially about psychology: do certain things, and you’ll feel certain ways. It’s about how your mind evolves and becomes happier when you’re less selfish and more generous, less angry and more loving. Essentially, karma can be seen as another term for Buddhist ethics.
But misinterpreting karma as merely intention can lead to misuse. I’ve seen folks hurt others and then claim they did nothing wrong because they didn’t intend harm. I’ve been guilty of this myself. This represents a narrow understanding of karma and doesn’t consider the subtleties of the Buddha’s teachings. Simply put, if you’re a bull in a china shop, either be careful or stay out.
Let’s consider an example. Shoshana Roberts was filmed walking down the street, and in ten hours, she experienced over 100 catcalls. These were verbal interactions, not even counting whistles or stares. She was followed by a man who demanded to know what she thought of him and turned aggressive when she didn’t respond flirtatiously. Most of these men probably thought they had good intentions, thinking they were complimenting her. However, being repeatedly commented on can be distressing, and being followed by a stranger is threatening.
Even if you don’t catcall strangers, you likely do things that cause distress to those around you. We often notice these actions in our daily interactions, like forgetting to tidy up or not expressing gratitude. If we aim to live ethically, we must become more conscious of our deeper motivations. Recognizing how our actions affect others helps us uncover unskillful motivations.
We need to be aware of not just our surface intentions, but to dig deeper. The Buddha emphasized reflecting on our actions: asking ourselves if our verbal actions caused harm to ourselves or others. If so, we should acknowledge them and strive to do better in the future.
Knowing our true intentions isn’t always easy; we can deceive ourselves. But if you’re aware that many women dislike random street compliments, continuing this behavior reveals it’s more about your desire to control or impose your will on another person.
We can’t entirely avoid causing harm, as sometimes we must say things that will cause distress. However, the Buddha set a high bar: are our words true, kind, intended to help, crafted to lead to harmony, and spoken at the right time?
It requires brutal honesty to confront our real intentions. We must acknowledge the harm we’re causing and, if it doesn’t seem intentional at first, look deeper. When we continually cause distress, some underlying attitude needs to be addressed.
Here’s a personal story: Yesterday, my son-in-law was playing with a remote control helicopter and finally hit me in the face with a plastic disc. I got angry and threw a TV remote at it, causing slight damage. I quickly regretted it and later apologized, offering to pay for a new helicopter. This diffused the house tension immediately. Although I didn’t intend to make everyone tense, reflecting on my actions showed me my unskillfulness. This is what I gleaned from your article.
Karma doesn’t need a specific context to be relevant. It’s about connecting actions and consequences, which doesn’t require extensive education. The more basic needs are met, the more people can focus on emotional well-being.
Education and culture can influence responses to problems. Non-violent, compassionate solutions often require repeated exposure for old habits to change, which can be learned in any stable environment, whether urban or village-based.
Struggling for basic needs can limit emotional focus. However, reflections on human psychology and understanding violence can arise in both primitive and urbanized societies, prompting individuals to seek understanding as the Buddha did.
Clarifying karma’s role, not all suffering stems from karma. Conditionality levels include the physical world, biology, and ethical choices shaping our character. Mindfulness and emotional resilience can reduce suffering, separate from karma.
Understanding and accepting this can help ease the frustration of negative experiences, such as cold air discomfort, which isn’t always karma-related.
For more on karma, “Exploring Karma and Rebirth” by Nagapriya is recommended. As the Buddha suffered discomfort, he didn’t mentally label it as negative, which is a practice of perception to emulate.
In conclusion, recognizing karma’s true workings is about understanding intentions and their ethical implications, guiding us toward kinder, more mindful behaviors. For further reading, Bhikkhu Sujato’s “A History of Mindfulness” and Bhikkhu Analayo’s “Perspectives on Satipatthana” are informative.
Buddhist teachings on karma emphasize the rarity of human birth poetically, not logically. Embracing the deeper intention behind our actions is vital for living a compassionate and ethical life.