Don't let your karma run over your dogma

I have struggled for many years with the concept of karma.  Part of the problem is that there seems to be no universal agreement about what it actually is, and many people believe it does not exist anyway.  The main theories are that it is some sort of divine retribution, 'an eye for an eye', or cause and effect.  Some think that karma comes back amplified, the threefold law. 

It was not until I read the works of a Tibetan Bon lama, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, that I felt I understood what karma is all about.  His description made sense and here is my potted version:-)  If you would like a better understanding, explore the Ligmincha site http://www.ligmincha.org

What is Karma?

Karma is the Emotional Charge from Unconscious Memories and Desires, from experiences in waking life in addition to dreams, daydreams and all other thoughts.  Karma also consists of unconscious memories and desires from previous lives and experiences in the bardo plane (the after death realm described in The Tibetan Book of the Dead .) 

Karma = action, work or deed
Emotion = E motion, energy in motion
Both karma and emotion relate to action, or the movement of energy.

How does Karma function?

The emotional ‘karmic’ charge acts as a nucleation point for the formation of thoughts, rather like a speck of dust acts as the nucleation point for a snowflake or raindrop.  The nature of the charge shapes the initial thought construct.  This is further shaped by the mind, both directly by thinking and indirectly by interacting with other karmic charges, individual thoughts and thought constructs.

These karmic thoughts can grow and evolve to form a train of thoughts, which can result in a number of outcomes; an action, a belief, the kindling of desire or aversion, a cascade of thoughts, or the creation of a new karmic seed in the form of an unconscious emotional charged thought.

The combined action of this thought process leads to the construct we think of as our selves.

An example of karma in action:

We experience great joy and fulfillment during a visit to a delightful garden.  We breathe in the scent of the flowers and allow the bright colors to infuse our minds. Bliss! Then, suddenly, we are stung by a wasp!  It is painful and unexpected, we run away in shrieks of terror.  Over time, we forget about the experience, at least it is not in our everyday awareness.

One day we are at a gathering and meet someone we are attracted to.  The scent of the flowers triggers the recollection of the wasp sting- but we do not recall it consciously.  Instead the emotional charge is transferred onto our current thinking process, admiring the new person we have met.  This causes us to experience negative thoughts or a gut feeling, which is manifest as us ignoring this new person.  This may have been the start of a meaningful relationship, but due to the karmic memory of the wasp sting, we pull away.  We may never actually become fully conscious of this process, or forget our experience very quickly.  It does however leave a karmic trace, this time a feeling of aversion to someone we are attracted to.

This feeling of aversion remains dormant until we meet someone we are attracted to, then it arises.  This time the feeling of aversion leads to a train of thought in which we call into question pursuing the relationship.  The person we are attracted to also has a karmic seed or two activated and we find ourselves in a deep conversation about relationships and our karma steers our thought processes to viewing relationships negatively. We stay friends for years but never get romantically involved.  This too creates a karmic memory, which eventually turns into a belief that we will never find a romantic partner and we are destined to be alone.  

Over time, maybe many lifetimes, this seed manifests, grows and creates other seeds.  It grows out of proportion and interacts with other unconscious memories and we create a pattern of beliefs which define us as a person.  We may believe we are unworthy, unlovable or always destined to be alone. 

Just as silt builds up in a river and changes its course, our karmic traces build up over time and change our course.  It is analogous to the time travel problem often explored in science fiction, most notably in 'A Sound of Thunder’ by Ray Bradbury.  A small change a long time ago may produce a massive shift in the present.  In ‘A Sound of Thunder’, the accidental killing of a butterfly in the prehistoric era results in global changes in the present.  The most insignificant of events can have a profound effect on our future and we have no way of predicting what this effect will be.  The wasp sting scenario may manifest as a fear of insects, or paradoxically as a love of pain, or both. 

How do we move beyond karma?

Awareness is the key to moving beyond this process.  Awareness in the present moment, known as mindfulness, allows us to deal with situations as they arise.  Awareness of our unconscious mind allows us to examine our ‘karmic seeds’ and liberate them during meditation.  Liberating karma is no more than experiencing the original memory in the light of consciousness, where it can dissolve.  It feels a little bit like solving a puzzle- A-ha! That’s how it works!  Sometimes we can have a massive A-ha moment, where a whole field of karmic seeds is liberated and we experience life from a completely different perspective.  We feel free, new and glimpse our true nature, like the sun breaking through the clouds on a rainy day.