Karma Chameleon

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Since the 1960s, the word "karma" has become a part of our everyday vocabulary. You might hear that a person has bad karma, or that someone "needs to clean-up her Karma." If you ask for a definition of the word, you might be given the simplistic answer "what comes around goes around." While somewhat accurate, this trite definition does little to help us understand this law of nature.

Although karma is a concept that originated on the Indian subcontinent, we can probably best understand it by taking a look at western thought. In a way, karma is nothing more than Newton's third law of motion, which states that, "Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first." In plain English: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

However, where karma is concerned, we take Newton's law and apply it to realms that Sir Isaac probably never even considered, for the concept of karma dictates that this law of motion applies to mental, emotional and spiritual concerns as well as to our physical reality. Our authority for this broader application comes from a much earlier writing attributed to Hermes Trismegistus on the Emerald Tablet which states, "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, in the accomplishment of the Miracle of One Thing," or "As above, so below."

What the "Thrice Great Hermes" meant was that all natural laws exist on all planes of existence. Therefore, Newton's observation regarding action and reaction is true in all aspects of our lives, not only in the physical realm.

The truth of karma is rather easy to see. If we decide that a person is our enemy, that person will usually return the favor and make us their enemy as well. If we decide to love a person, that person will usually love us back (though not necessarily in the same way, since "equal" and "opposite" are somewhat relative terms when we move away from the comfortable predictability of physical reality). If we spend all of our money carelessly, we become broke and penniless. If we save and invest wisely, we amass wealth.

But karma affects us in more subtle ways which we can hardly imagine. If we consider the fact that there is a karmic consequence to all of our thoughts, all of our feelings and all of our actions, then we must come to the realization that even actions that are seemingly inconsequential can create huge karmic reactions. If we decide to become angry at the world, then the world becomes angry with us and refuses to cooperate with our plans. If we abandon spirit, then spirit abandons us and no longer protects us.

In the west, doctors are beginning to realize that a person can become ill from negative thoughts. A person who constantly worries about cancer, for example, is much more likely to develop the disease than someone who daily affirms to have a healthy life. Likewise, doctors know that the sick can become well purely from positive thoughts. In a phenomena known as "the placebo effect," a sizable percentage of patients recover from an illness even when given a useless sugar pill, if they believe that they are being given "real" medicine that will cure them.

If our lives are a mess, if nothing we attempt works-out, if no matter how much we try to succeed we fail, then we must address our accumulated karmic issues to turn our lives around. This fact is known to all of the world's religions, not only in the east where the concept originated, but in the west as well. Christians are taught that they must atone for their sins. In Judaism, one is taught that forgiveness must be sought and earned.

Even the Twelve Step Program, the most effective way known to help individuals break addictive behavior patterns, deals extensively with the addict's karma. To be successful in the program, one must make a list of all of the times that she or he has wronged another and make amends for all transgressions. Even the Serenity Prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference," is designed to help a person break the karmic bonds produced by negative thoughts.

In the east, the yogis have realized that self-realization and enlightenment are impossible to achieve so long as one is tied to past negative karma, and have taken an almost scientific approach to developing ways to change one's karma. Cleaning one's karma is necessary, they say, for anyone who wishes to get off of the wheel of futility.

Most of us create negative karma out of habit. Negativity, hate, anger, selfishness and the like are habitual thought patterns, usually taken-up when we are very young. Often, we carry these qualities with us constantly, without even realizing it, just as a smoker doesn't realize that he or she is chain smoking.

I've seen the proof of this in my own life. Some time ago, I began working on some anger issues that I didn't realize I had until they began to arise during therapy. It turned out that even though I had been unaware of these issues, those who knew me saw them well. About a year into my therapy, I ran across an old friend who told me, "Christine, I didn't used to like being around you because you were angry all the time. You've really changed." My anger was so habitual that I didn't even recognize it, even though it was plainly there for all to see.

The Buddhists of Tibet realized long ago that the habitual creation of negative energy was a stumbling block to enlightenment. Although the practice of meditation was thought to help one "burn-up" past negative karma, this did little good when, as soon as the meditation session was finished, the practitioner began creating negative karma all over again.

So they developed methods for practitioners to use to turn their karmic energy around; to help people to begin accumulating merit through the creation of positive energy, which would help them to achieve the perfection they sought. One way was through the use of the "six perfections," a practice that is well suited for modern western life.

The first perfection, "Giving," is often divided into three parts; material giving, the giving of good advice, and giving fearlessness. Material giving quickly helps one to break the bonds of selfishness, since there is an immediate feel-good benefit from helping someone in need. The second form of giving, which the Buddhists called "giving Dharma" (technically, the Buddhist teachings) can be seen by westerners as giving any advice that helps someone to lead a better life. The giving of fearlessness is important, as our fears are usually the source of the bad habits which result in negative karma.

"Giving" may be the most immediately effective of the six perfections. In any event, it's mentioned specifically in the Prayer of Refuge, which Tibetans use to begin all meditation sessions. "By the merit I create by practicing giving and the other perfections," the prayer states, "my I attain Buddhahood (perfection) for the sake of all sentient beings."

The second perfection, "Moral Discipline," is also often divided into three parts; the discipline of restraint, the gathering of virtuous teachings, and the discipline of benefitting living beings. When practicing restraint, we begin to realize that we don't have to buy-in to our habitual negative thoughts. When we feel hate or misplaced anger, we learn not to act on these emotions, but to realize that their cause is not "here and now" but actually a reaction to something that happened long ago. By practicing this perfection diligently, you'll find that your negative emotions will begin to gradually diminish in frequency.

The gathering of virtuous teachings means that the practitioner will concentrate consciousness on things that will help instead of hinder. The discipline of benefiting living beings is closely tied to the first perfection. A good way to start with this would be to rescue a cat or dog from the animal shelter, but make certain that you're ready for the responsibility.

"Patience" is the third perfection: the patience of not retaliating, the patience of voluntarily enduring suffering, and the patience of definitely thinking about Dharma. In other words, don't get even; if you have to do something unpleasant, just do it; and continue to concentrate on those things which will help you.

Perfection number four is "Effort," again divided into three parts; shielding effort, the effort of gathering virtuous Dharmas, and the effort of benefitting others. The fact that this perfection is closely tied to the others only proves the interconnectedness of all actions. In any event, this one indicates that it's important for you to get up off of the couch and do something!

The last two perfections are "Mental Stabilization" and "Wisdom." Practice the first four and these two should take care of themselves.

Breaking your negative patterns will have a profound effect on your life. However this is no easy task, since most of us have spent a lifetime identifying with our bad habits. One way to begin is by making a conscious effort to practice each one of the perfections once per day, and to write down the things that you do each evening in a diary.

Just try to remember that when you do good deeds, good will come back to you..

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