Question asked by Eli Levine
Good afternoon and Happy New Year Pastors!
I was reading "Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand" by Pabongka Rinpoche, and I'm still left with some questions about karma. I believe that it exists and have no trouble comprehending it. I'm just curious as to why it seems so harsh? An example of this is Nagarjuna getting his head cut off because he cut the head off an ant while cutting the grass. I don't understand how such a minor offense could warrant so much pain and suffering, especially if it was accidental and without malevolent intention. There's also the case of the poor monk who spilled oil on a cushion and received a stained black back in a future rebirth. Again, it seems that the universe literally makes mountains out of molehills when it comes to the natural laws of karma. How can we say that it's fair when so many minor or unintentional offenses lead to so much pain and suffering?
I hope you can clarify these points.
Have a wonderful New Year! Thank you.
Dear Eli Levine,
There are a couple of ways to answer this question. The first is that the law of Karma is not as static and rule bound as we think about it or would like it to be. One of the most common misunderstanding about karma is that it can multiply. As Pabongka Rinpoche mentions in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, if not purified then the karmic result of killing a head louse will multiply quickly to become as heavy as killing a human. This is the reason why purification practices are so heavily emphasized. Actually any Buddhist practice necessarily includes aspects related to the purification of Karma.
The law of Karma was recognised by Buddha Shakyamuni and then explained to his students. From that time on the enlightened Buddhist masters have expounded on this further.
From another point of view, our view of fair and unfair is actually based on our ego. Since we have egos we have a sense of fair and unfair. Therefore what we think of fair and unfair is not necessarily the case. Yes, from our point of view it may seem unfair, but fair and unfair doesn’t actually exist, as it’s an internal concept from our minds, based on ego. I hope this helps.