Part 3.

1 Karma

Nichiren Buddhism

Cause and Effect Karma

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What is Karma
A concept of karma is often misused, described as destiny or fate, something that is inevitable. Wrong! The concept of karma is linked to the Law of Cause and Effect, central to Buddhist philosophy, similar to that upheld by modern science everything in the universe exists within the framework of cause and effect. However, Buddhist concept is not limited to those things that can be seen or measured. Rather it includes the unseen or spiritual aspects of life, such as the sensation or experience of happiness or misery, kindness or cruelty. The word KARMA in the ancient Sanskrit language originally meant ACTION linked to the verbs do or make Karma is a term that describes the chain of actions or the chain of causes and effects that run through all our lives. It represents the constant link between the past, the present and the future.

We Create Our Own Karma

All of us we have a dominant life tendency (or a fundamental life state) which is in some measure a manifestation of our karma. It has a key role in everything about us: how we think, how we respond to circumstances, even an expression on our face. Everyone without exception has karma: good or bad (negative) or both. We create it with everything that we do, which include our deeds, thoughts and words. Damaging actions create much heavier karma that angry words. Angry words heavier karma than a hostile or aggressive thoughts, which have never get translated into words and actions. As we make this continuous stream of causes, we are simultaneously planting in our lives seeds (effects) that will manifest themselves in the future, when the external conditions are right.
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Karma as Habitual Patterns

We often talk about karma in terms of habit or habitual patterns of thoughts and behaviour. Confronted with similar circumstances we tend to react in a similar way because of our karmic or dominant life tendency. We carry with us our dominant life tendency and the latent effects of all the causes that we have made. They will be expressed in actions when the appropriate set of circumstances will come along. All that is saying that we cant escape from ourselves. We all know from our experience how deeply past action good or bad or indifferent are inscribed in the fabric of our lives and still have a profound resonance in our lives. Karma in essence is just putting a Buddhist name to this knowledge. It embodies the truth that causes and effects arise from within. It is also important to remember that in Buddhist terms we carry our environment with us. All that means that our dominant life tendency will attract the same tendency from our environment where we have happened to end up. Compassion within will continue to attract compassion without. Just as anger within will attract anger without.

We Have to Change Within

If we have in our life things that repeatedly cause pain and grief, than changing our circumstances in some cosmetic way cannot have a lasting effect. Just as changing our clothes changes our appearance but cannot have an effect on our behaviour. With the help of the Buddhist practice, we have to change our dominant life tendency that lies at the root of our troubles. We have to change within. The critical starting point for any change is self-awareness. That is already a huge step forward. It is like equipping ourselves with a better pair of spectacles, which bring everything into sharper focus. The awareness is that our actions are not determined by our karmic tendency but influenced by it. Paul & Peter quarrel example. Awareness by itself cannot change deeply rooted karmic tendencies. Buddhism teaches that only through the consistent and steady daily Buddhist practice we can move our lives from the reactive states, such as anger and hunger towards the proactive life states of learning, realisation, bodhisattva and Buddhahood. One of the meaning attached to the process of chanting is to bring out our strengths and the power of our Buddha nature.
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Karma from Previous Lives

Karma is handed from one life to another. It determines the physical circumstances of this lifetime: appearance, place, health, wealth and even choice of parents. We may accept the Buddhist representation of life or not. What are the alternatives to explain sufferings and the differences in peoples lives circumstances?
1. Pain and suffering has been created along with everything that have been created in the Universe, by one powerful creator. If one doesnt believe in a powerful creator, it is not an explanation. The suffering is just simply a matter of chance, a random throwing of a dice. The vast majority of people in the West would sit this camp. Logical position. In human terms it is entirely without hope or consolation. And human being without hope is in a desperate situation. A Buddhist view. It seeks to establish a direct connection of individual responsibility between suffering experience at any stage of life and causes or actions that have been taken at some earlier stage.

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At first glance it might seem unjust that this responsibility can be carried from one life to the next. But from a different prospective it also carries a great message of hope in two main ways:
It eliminates the idea of randomness and chaos in the occurrence of suffering (and as such unjust), which can be so disturbing to the human mind, that can become a major cause of suffering itself. It empowers. It offers the chance of taking action to create a change in the situation. 7

Changing Accumulated Karma

Karma is about the FUTURE as well as the past. The future is created from this moment on and the causes for the future we make NOW. An old Buddhist text says: "If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present." Taking actions from now on will change the circumstances effecting and alleviating the way karma will appear in our lives. Buddhism teaches that the most powerful cause that we can make to change karma is chanting. It enables us to take actions based on the wisdom, courage and compassion brought out from within. This is a break through the habits and patterns of our established behaviour which moves us from our LESSER self to our GREATER self. In secular words, we all have a mean part of our characters and generous and outgoing one. Buddhism promises that the practice of chanting moves us from the meaner self towards the stronger and more resilient self. We think that this enthusiastic and energising commitment in our daily practice is a key to changing unhappy karma.
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