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Who bears within them enmity:
‘He has abused and beaten me, defeated me and plundered me’,
hate is not allayed for them.- The Buddha (Dhammapada)
J: I don’t believe in karma [the moral cause and effect; of begetting fruits of that sown], because many ruthless people get ahead in life.
S: Why don’t you try being ruthless to get ahead then, since you don’t believe in karma?
J: I wouldn’t want to do it.
S: Why?
J: I would be unhappy doing that.
S: Then you do believe in cause and effect – that being evil leads to unhappiness, which would also mean that being good leads to happiness.
J: But many of the ruthless seem happy.
S: Do you sincerely believe they will be happy forever, and not reap the fruits of their bad karma in time?
J: I’m not sure.
S: You’re actually quite sure.
J: Why?
S: Because if you are certain that being evil can lead to lasting happiness, you would already be one of them.
J: But isn’t it unrealistic to think that good can always win evil?
S: Why not? It may not be immediate but it’s eventual.
J: Just as how some of the evil do get nabbed?
S: Yes, and how some of the good triumph.
J: But it doesn’t seem universal.
S: Even seeds take time to ripen – it’s a matter of time.
J: As long as I can’t see justice met in all cases, it requires some faith to believe in karma.
S: Yes but most people already believe in it in some sense.
J: How so?
S: If not, there would be chaos all over, with most believing that being evil is good.
J: It is better for one and all to believe in karma then?
S: Definitely.
J: But the world still has ruthless people out to take advantage of those like me. Shouldn’t I be ruthless in return?
S: Then you’ll have to ask yourself what kind of world you want?
J: Huh?
S: Do you want a world where everyone is ruthless to everyone?
J: No.
S: Then you ought to play a part in making this world a better place by doing good instead.
J: Isn’t being ruthless to the ruthless exacting karma justly to them?
S: Their bad karma might be expressed through you, but why create bad karma doing so?
J: If I don’t punish them, who will?
S: The law of karma will – via many other possible means.
J: Does that mean I shouldn’t stand up for justice?
S: You should – but without being ruthless, as bad karma is created with ill intentional actions.
J: It still seems tough going against the grain of the ruthless.
S: Some do not accord with the way we hope, but it always takes effort to change the world.
J: It’s too much for me to handle.
S: You are not alone. Many others are doing what they can too. Together, we can change the world.
J: It still seems too idealistic, trying to change the world totally.
S: Even if this ideal can’t be realised fully, it is ideal to realise it as fully as we can – for the happiness of as many as possible.
We the unhating live happily midst the haters,
among the hating humans
from hatred dwell we free.- The Buddha (Dhammapada)
Related Articles:
The Four Assurances (Solaces) from Not Being Evil
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-excerpt/message/190
The Paradox of Karmic Fairness
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zeph/message/1010
How Karmic Payback Works
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zeph/message/371
I can relate to J’s doubts. However, I do believe that I don’t want to live in a world even where everyone is indifferent to the feelings and plight of others. A ruthless world is even more unimaginable to me…
Feeling indifferent or desensitised to news of suffering around the world, that to me, is already a cold and ruthless world in one way or another.