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Clarifying on the law of karma, can I say that if people are really good and die young, it may be a result of their bad karma ripening from past lives? Thanks.
‘may be a result of their bad karma ripening from past lives’ – ‘may’ is the key word, because, as above, ‘if one is really good [in both past and present lives] and really dies young, it’s simply to be reborn quickly to a better life, as they deserve better sooner’
Karma is like you never do your closing at every financial year. So if tt year, you supposed to be earning profit. Becos you never ensure closure, your profits may end up be paying for your bad debts. Anyone who live on credits will eventually run out of it. The western world is a GREAT example of this becos they dun believe in karma. If u hv to pay. U hv to pay. But Dharma is free and it is here to set you free.
The only question is how much we pay. Buddhism is not a one way ticket. It is two way. If one end up in hell but having Buddhist knowledge. One can still wk to get oneself out. If we get to pureland. Those we did wrong against. We can come back as Bodhisattvas to make up to them by saving them. If we come back as such. We will b very different oredi. The Buddha other than being interested in saving you, he is also interested to teach you how you can be a boat to others. In the process of getting onto the boat. Let’s not forget those who are still suffering in both hell and heaven.
To come back or not. We hv a choice too so everything is based on motivation. Why is there suffering in heaven? It’s the same answer like what we see in daily life. Rich people suffer too though they have a higher credit limit than everyone. The truth is everything we ever owned is all on loan. They can be taken away from us anytime. Why do gods think they are going to live forever? Delusion. They have not lived beyond their extremely long lifespan so they think it’s going to be forever. That’s why the Buddha said tt only he is free. We humans are transient so we know we will die one day. But knowing we will die can also be delusional. Assuming I am asked how long I think I will live. I tell myself 80. If it’s 60 or 40. Am I not deluding myself? The problem with gods is they have not seen the end of their line yet to conclude it is not forever becos it is simply too long.
When u have a higher credit limit. You can own and loan more things in your life. The celestial plane is definitely a great place but to fall from it is like rich people losing their wealth overnite. The place is so perfect that there is not even a chance you can help an old lady cross the road. So heavenly beings simply live on credits till it runs out. Only the Dharma can help one generate the greatest merit in a short time with less effort becos it’s like the strongest currency.
The more one has. The more one loses. That’s a matter of fact in life.
Therefore. What we are and who we are. We have to earn it through hardwork. If someone is gracious towards you and we turn out to be a disgrace. Then really we have to be looking at ourselves deeper.
Of course. There is also good karma tt something tt is supposed to happen to us did not happen. Tts really good karma ripening. But few humans are so micro. Karma can be micro becos every actions no matter how small have consequences. A man throws a pebble into a pond. The pebble create ripples. At this time, a fish was abt to swim right but becos of the pebble. It turned left and ended up in the mouth of a predator or escaped a lurking predator. It may sound very micro. But the Buddha has left a path behind that will help us tread on it with confidence as long as we stay on it.
Death starts at all ages. Even a fetus, an egg and sperm is not spared at the microbiology level and some life just get terminated unwillingly by abortion. Life is only measured by the amount of breath we can take and the breaths that take us away. Not all deaths that occur are bad but death is a sad thing. In a suffering world, it could be a release or for better. But as Dharma practitioners we know that death is not the end to what we can do for them in this life and their afterlife.
Death does not take holidays. The irony is life is full of uncertainties but sentient beings spent 100% of their life preparing for it. Death is certain but nobody prepares for it only to be caught unguarded. How does one prepare for death? By preparing for it everyday. By living one’s life as if it is the last. A mind like that has no room for evil, for scheming and for exploitation. While people may say pessimistic. But the real pessimists are the ones who cannot accept it when it strikes. Those who accept it earlier are the optimist. If one cherishes life and it’s transcience, one will cherish people and make sure every moment we spent with them is real. Too idealistic? Without ideals, mankind can only be an idiot simply becos there are times when we score below animals.