Question asked by Oaka
I pray to Avalokiteshvara to help people affected by Cyclone Mocha but there still were many deaths. Is it because of their karma?? I mean this with no offense or disrespect because I genuinely want to know. But if Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are above the law of karma, why can't they save people in the world from catastrophes and dangers if they can bypass karma or save despite the people's karma? we've heard in Avalokitesvara chapter that he saves people from fires, falling, being chained, demons, etc. So I don't understand…. Please make it clear for me.
Dear Oaka,
Thanks for your question. Actually it is a very interesting one, but you guess the answer already. Yes, the fully enlightened beings are no longer bound by karma. Actually that is one of the definitions of enlightenment, that one is free from the law of karma. So, they can definitely help us when we are suffering to alleviate our suffering, but why is it they cannot always help us, for example when you prayed to Avalokiteshvara to help the people affected by the tragedy of Cyclone Mocha? You already included it in your questions, it’s karma. The force of our own negative karma is what stops them from helping us. In this particular case, from the angle of karma the Cyclone was ultimately caused by the negative group karma of people living in that area. However, some people’s negative karma ripened and they died, but many people’s negative karma did not ripen and they did not die. Even with the power of your prayers and the prayers of others around the world, the enlightened beings could have helped many people, stopped their negative karma from ripening, so they didn’t die. We don’t have the ability to check this, we must go on faith. But for some people, their negative karma was so strong, that the prayers and merits generated for them wasn’t enough to allow the enlightened beings to help them. Karma plays a very big role in samsara, how we suffer and also understanding karma is how we progress on our spiritual path. That is why the basis of Buddhism, is not to create negative karma and at the same time purify the negative karma that we already have. Then we won’t suffer and the Buddhas can help us even more. I hope this answer helps.