A few weeks ago, I was having a late lunch at CWB Japanese Curry Bee. Since it was late, there was only one other guy eating at a table across from me. As I paid for my bill, I paid for his too. Yes that was the random good thing I did. But it was more that just a good thing. I intended to plant seeds of giving and love into the universal energy field and thereby reversing the cycle of what is happening all around us, especially in the light of the global economic crisis, causing so much stress for beings from all walks of life. As mentioned in my previous post- according to the universal law of cause and effect, the underlying causes of this current global crisis is greed and selfishness - the ulterior motivation and intention behind many "super" powers, decision makers, CEOs, bankers, fund managers etc - finally manifesting in the collapse of the world's economy - the worse since the Great Depression of the 1930s. There has been many opinions on the causes of and possible solutions to this economic tsunami from the world's renowned economists. However, I am looking at this from the point of the world as an universal energy field and the universal law of cause and effect. Karma is usually a synonym to the latter - however karma simply means actions.
There are three types of actions: virtuous, non-virtuous and neutral actions. Virtuous actions, with the required conditions will lead to virtuous results. Non-virtuous actions have non-virtuous results. Neutral actions have neutral results. Actions (including non-actions) can be carried out through three doors of our body (physical actions/non-actions), speech (words) and mind (thoughts).
Avoiding the ten non-virtuous actions is one of my very first and repeated instruction from my Guru. The non-virtuous deeds are divided into actions of body (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct), speech (lying, harsh speech, gossip/idle speech and calumny) and mind (coveting/desire, malice/hatred and wrong view/ignorance). Each of these actions will lead to corresponding result similar to its cause. For instance, killing will lead to shorter lifespan or illness. Stealing or taking that which is not yours will lead to one being poor. Not speaking the truth/lying will lead one being slandered or being deceived by others. Harsh speech (such as swearing and saying mean things) will lead to one hearing unpleasant speech or what one says will be basis of fighting or dis-harmony. Coveting will lead to one not getting what one has wished for and without sense of contentment. Malice will lead to very fearful state of mind. Of course, ideally not only do we want to avoid these non-virtuous deeds, with a good understanding karma, its power and how it works, we would naturally want to carry out virtuous actions. Oh and by the way, whether or not you believe in karma, it is happening to all of us. Karma and how it works is one of the universal truths, like the law of gravity, the law of impermanence (i.e. all born will die, all accumulated will be used up, all risen will fall, all began will end).
For the purposes of this discussion, let's look at the cause and effect of giving and taking. If one donates money to a charity with pure intention to help others, as opposed to a self-serving purpose, then this is a virtuous action and is liken to planting a virtuous seed. This seed with the meeting of right conditions such as sunlight, water and eco-friendly fertilizer will ripen in a virtuous tree bearing virtuous fruits. Therefore, if we are trying to get rich, we should be be planting seeds of giving rather than taking. Because by taking, which is no different then stealing, one is actually planting non-virtuous actions making oneself poorer in the future. There is however one big caveat here- I am not suggesting that each of us give away all our money, do nothing and wait to win the biggest lottery. This is absolutely not the point at all. Generosity is a state of mind- meaning as we go about our business, we go about it with a kind, generous mind rather than selfish and greedy one. We want to create win-win situations for all stakeholders rather that just benefiting ourselves to the detriment of others and destruction of our environment. Personally, the beauty with the teachings of Buddha is the wisdom of middle-way. Whatever actions we do or not do, they are carefully carried out in a non-extreme and skillful manner, certainly not just benefiting oneself at the cost of exploiting other beings or our land.
Thus, while my present circumstances do not permit me to be an uber-philanthropists like such of Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, I am a super-lover and super-giver from my mind. So I bought lunch for a stranger with very clear and strong thoughts of planting seeds of sharing and love and hence reversing the power of greed and selfishness. Perhaps the cynics and non-believers will argue that it was a senseless act of mediocrity. I don't blame them because they have not understood the true meaning of karma and how it works. But for those fortunate ones who gets it, they will never under-estimate the power of actions - virtuous and non-virtuous alike. A simple Hello, a friendly Mercibeaucoup or just a big smile to someone, stranger or not, is a good start. The goodness of an action is not merely measured on how big the action is, but rather on how genuine and sincere, how kind and how loving the heart is. Incidentally, even in facebook there are gadgets like"Pay your Karma forward", so it seems that I am not the only one who gets it :-)
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