Some espouse this idea – ‘…他是真的欺骗我们，我们随他…’ (If they really bully or cheat us, we let them do it.) The idea is to let them express our negative karma, so as to wear it out, and to just accept the suffering they inflict on us graciously. This doesn’t seem healthy, because it allows evil-doers to go scot-free. They are also likely to harm more people. It would be partly our fault if we let them off without even any admonition. If we don’t help the evil to see the error of their ways, who will? Even the Buddha tells off evil-doers he comes across – to educate them.
It seems selfish to want to ‘pay back’ others our ‘karmic debts’, while letting them create negative karma. What we can do is to counsel the person to change his/her ways out of compassion; not blame. But if he/she doesn’t change, that’s would wholly be his/her problem. If we really get bullied and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it, we should then let it be. But is there really nothing we can do? If one lacks compassion to help those one is capable of helping now, there would be lack of Bodhicitta in the moment. There is no other way to practise the Bodhisattva path, than to work with our present limitations.
Hi, this article set me pondering what may be the right way to deal with karmic debts? I kind of understood the law of karma – one reaps what they sow.
I have been in many situation whereby i just “let go” of bullies and believe that it could be the reapening of my negative karma which resulted in such misfortunes. However, these days my anger seem to whelm up from the slightest trigger and i ponder if i should do something about it, as in fighting back what is rightful though it maybe quite ugly?
Ie, consequitively for 3 ocassions, i have to outsource some projects to freelancers to do, after all the contractual promisses of competency and delivery, when the dateline draws near, 3 of them couldn’t be contacted, couldn’t deliver the projects and refuse to return the money i have paid them. And i ended up returning the deposite to the 3 clients for non-delivery. My reputation has been tarnished, and ended up loosing money to the freelancers.
What should i do to deal with such situation?
If you just let go each time, you might be letting go of compassion to wake up the bully too. Why not try to talk reason with the bully patiently? No need to fight. It could lead to suppressing of rage in yourself too?
You can file case complaints against the freelancers since you have the contracts? Why not just tell your clients the problem frankly?
(T)