Question asked by Jerry
Hello, I have a question that has bothered me for a very long time. I really need an answer to this dilemma!! Are the Buddhas beyond karma? Yes they are. Can Buddhas intervene in our karma and help us? The usual answer I get is: "No, because our karma prevents it." Then if that's the case, then that would mean that OUR karma is too strong for the Buddhas/cannot be intervened by Buddhas. Karma as a whole gets more confusing when you look deeper into the iceberg, so answering this single concern can help me a lot. Thank you
Dear Jerry,
Yes, you are correct, the Buddhas are beyond karma.
But can the Buddha “intervene”? That depends on how you define intervene.
Due our karma, the Buddhas are not able to take us to the state of enlightenment from their side alone. It requires us to work on it as well.
But they are definitely able to help us on the way there. For example, when the results of our karma has ripened and we are facing situations in life, we can do pujas which invoke upon the Buddhas to help purify that karma that is causing the situation and at the same time generate merit, which can over power the the negative effects of that negative karma so that we do not suffer. Generally, Dharma protectors can help to hold back the negative effects of karma until we have time to purify said karma through our own practices. Some Dharma protectors practices such as Dorje Shugden has the Kawang practice, which itself also helps to purifies karma causing us suffering. If these were not able to help with these things, in terms of assisting with karma, then pujas and prayers would be ineffective. But the opposite is true, they can definitely help. However, they cannot help to take us out of samsara.
In fact, the more we purify our negative karma, the more that they can help us. That is why there is such an emphasis on purification of negative karma within practice.
I hope that helps a little.