Categories of Karma

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As regards categories of karma, the great Masters usually fragment them into three identifiable segments as follows:

1.         Fate or destiny Karma

2.         Stored karma

3.         New or future Karma

An encapsulation of each of these will now follow:

Fate or destiny karma

The notion of fate karma provides a valid espousal for the concept of predestination. Throughout one’s successive previous lives, a substantial amount of karma has been generated. Of that totality of one’s previous lives’ karma awaiting resolution, a certain fraction is extracted and apportioned to the bearer for this contemporary life; and it is this fate karma that patterns the course of one’s life, as well as govern the conditions and circumstances that unfold from that pattern. No one can abscond from the dictates of fate karma. The prescriptive authority of one’s fate karma deciphers one’s country and city of birth, time of birth, gender, physiognomy, parents, associations, benevolent and malevolent tendencies, aspirations etc.

Stored Karma

Throughout one’s previous lives, a colossal amount of karma has been generated and amassed in the sub-conscious mind. The volume of karma amassed in the sub-conscious mind is so exorbitant that it cannot possibly be consummated in a single lifetime. Therefore, for each successive reincarnation, a certain quantity of karma is extracted from the sub-conscious mind and precipitated upon the bearer, as the governing framework of his contemporary life. The remainder of the karma is stored in the individual’s karmic depository, waiting to be apportioned piecemeal, during subsequent successive lives.

New or Future Karma

This depicts the sum total of karma fabricated during this contemporary life. Some of the karma generated during the current life might yield all or some of their legitimate results during this contemporary life; for instance, a child who is tenacious in academic pursuit might subsequently obtain convenient employment opportunities. On the other hand, the dispensation of deeds of altruism might not eventuate into fruition during this lifetime; but the individual can be fully assured that he will reap the full scale of those consequences during another lifetime.

Karma can also be segmented into another format, which is ancillary or perhaps complementary to the initial segmentation. Thus, it is common to speak of:

1.                            Instant Karma and,

2.                            Mass Karma

Instant karma implies that the deed executed has yielded an instantaneous consequence; for instance, when one drinks water, one’s thirst is instantly quenched. Also, when one sanitises one’s mouth through brushing, the instant effect is clean teeth, a tidy tongue and fresh breath.

Mass karma is the karma that prevails on a wider collective scale, and can apply to the entire globe, a particular continent, nation or region. This category can assume either a wholesome or an unwholesome character. Instances of mass unwholesome karma had been observed to unleash such agonising consequences upon humanity; for instance, in the form of seismic calamities and other natural disasters such as floods, drought, famine, and even aeroplane crashes etc. The gruesome massacre of animals also generates collective karmic retributions in the form of wars; and the resultant massacre of substantial numbers of people in battle grounds.

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Types of Karma - Good and Bad Karma

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There is good Karma, there is bad Karma, and as the wheel of life moves on, old Karma is exhausted and again fresh Karma is accumulated. Although at first it may appear that nothing can be more fatalistic than this doctrine, yet a little consideration will show that in reality this is not the case. Karma is twofold, hidden and manifest, Karma is the man that is, Karma is his action. True that each action is a cause from which evolves the countless ramifications of effect in time and space.

(WILLIAM Q. JUDGE, The Path, Sep. 1886)

Karma is the generic appellation assigned to the cosmic adjudicating mechanism, which reconciles causes and consequences with exacting justice. There is an erroneous conception in circulation, which purports that karma is exclusive and restricted to malicious deeds and their corresponding consequences. Contrary to this illusory concept, karma embraces the full spectrum of causes and corresponding consequences for every thought, speech, emotion or deed; whether they be benign or malign. Thus, two types of karma can be distinguished as follows:

1.       Good or wholesome karma

2.       Bad or unwholesome karma

Each of these types of karma will speedily be highlighted as follows:

Good or wholesome karma

 Peace and harmony produce good karma

Caring for animals produces good karma

Good or wholesome karma can be viewed as the totality of the causes, consequences and ramifications of the wilful, purposeful, intentional and deliberate exertion of a thought, speech, emotion or deed, such that embedded in that exertion are constructive and wholesome properties such as wisdom, positive knowledge, selfless love, compassion, humility and unassuming general purity of intent; such that the product yielded by the execution of such an exertion will be desirable and beneficial to both the executor of that exertion and to associated recipients of the consequences thereof.

There prevail certain dispositions or tendencies whose incubation and eventual manifestation possess the viability for yielding wholesome or good karma. Such inclinations encompass purity and sincerity of any exertion; abstinence from undesirable desires such as exaggerated lust, avarice, vainglory; and the concerted adoption of wholesome dispositions such as non-judgmentality, generosity, selflessness, tolerance, forgivingness, perseverance, equanimity, temperance, fortitude, habitual assimilation of spiritual literature, devotion, meditation, just to mention a few. Generally, all that is canopied by the designation virtue has that viability for yielding positive karma. In Buddhism, the noble Buddha alluded to exertions that generate wholesome karma as skilful. By this denotation, a skilful event implies an activity that is performed and devoid of craving, resistance and delusion. On similar basis, as regards good karma, the bible also states:

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

(Galatians 5:16-18)

And also, it is stated:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  

(Galatians 5:22-23)

Contrary to popular subscription, happiness cannot be harvested from exterior sources as implied by certain counterfeit social dictums. The seed that yields happiness must be germinated and fostered from inside; then and only then can its bountiful harvest overflow the bounds of interiority and exteriorise its delicious fruits. Therefore, the venerable Masters do not by any means advocate the express dereliction of one’s social milieu and redundancy from one’s role in society, in favour of asceticism in some cave in the Himalayan Mountains. Rather, the noble Masters intimate that individuals should uphold the status quo of their responsibilities; but that they should master the spiritual art of discharging one’s functions in such a highly effective and efficacious manner, and in a fashion that generates productive consequences both for one self and to society at large.

Bad or unwholesome karma

War is bad karma that causes even more bad karma

Killing animals produces terrible bad karma that causes war

Bad or unwholesome karma can be viewed as the totality of the causes, consequences and ramifications of a wilful, purposeful, intentional and deliberate activity, whether such an activity be of the character of a thought, speech, emotion or deed; and such that within the content of that activity is embedded destructive properties such as debauchery, wrath, attachment, vainglory, egoism, agitation, intolerance, vindictiveness, impatience, recklessness in conduct, callousness or antagonism to spiritual literature or spiritual practice. Thus, the fruits that accrue from such an activity are naturally undesirable and unbeneficial to both the executor of that activity and to others.

In Buddhism, events of the character of unwholesome karma are alluded to as unskilful, because such events are accompanied by craving, resistance and delusion, and by virtue of such accompaniment, they naturally beget anguish for their perpetuator. Thus, it is stated:

Bad karma is the spiritual debt one has accumulated for one's mistakes from all previous lives and this life. It includes killing, harming, taking advantage, cheating, stealing, and more. On Mother Earth, when you buy a house, you take out a mortgage from a bank. This mortgage is your debt to the bank. You pay every month for fifteen, twenty, or thirty years to clear your financial debt. In the spiritual realm, if you have bad karma, you may have to pay for many lifetimes to clear your spiritual debt.

(ZHI GANG SHA, The Power of Soul)

Unwholesome karmic causes and consequences pollute the spiritual ecology of the universe and induce alienation to its intrinsic harmonious rhythm; and hence, prompt discordance. Nonetheless, considering the efficacy of the intrinsic self-regulatory mechanisms of the universe, the agents of that discordance are speedily ejected from the spiritual ecology of the universe, and redirected to their originator; such that the perpetuator of unwholesomeness will certainly be the final recipient of its perilous products; reaping dissatisfaction and distress in due time.

The physiology of the human spiritual instruments is such that spiritual energy travels in a circular pattern within specific ethereal vehicles known as magnetic fields. The persistent generation or incubation of unwholesome karma poses as a hindrance to that natural pattern of energy circulation within these magnetic fields. This hindrance in the circulation of spiritual energy then ramifies onto the physical realm, and its symptoms become manifest as physical illness. Therefore, physical ailment can only be viewed as intense symptoms of spiritual discordance. The scenario regarding impediment in the circulation of spiritual energy in relationship to physical ailment can be analogised to a pipe conveying water.

Now, a water pipe is designed such that its internal cavity poses as the medium via which water can flow. Suppose the cavity of that water pipe is obstructed by a piece of rock; hence, hampering the smooth flow of water within that pipe. The eventuality is that, pressure will mount within the water pipe to the degree that the pipe would puncture, bursting out forceful splashes of water. Suppose the pipe is repaired by sealing the perforation engendered by the hindrance, without disposing of that solid rock that obstructs the internal cavity of the pipe, the inextricable implication is that, another puncture will be imminent, simply because the causation of the puncturing and puncture has not been addressed. Thus, the enduring remedy to this bewilderment would be to dispose of that solid rock within the pipe. Thus, to re-establish the wholesomeness of the pipe, the obstructing material must be disposed of, simultaneously as the puncture on the pipe is sealed.

Attempting to remedy physical ailments without tackling their causation is tantamount to the above illustration of sealing the perforation on the pipe without disposing of the primordial cause of the puncture. Therefore, the phenomenon of mind cure advocates that through the adoption of a constructive mental attitude, one can diminish the gravity of certain physical ailments. Nonetheless, mind cure is more effective for those who are well versed in mind culture than those who are not.

Now, on a recap of this phenomenon of karma proper, it should hereupon be accentuated that regardless of the apparent inconsequentiality of a thought, speech, emotion or deed; irrespective of its apparent triviality and regardless of space and time, its legitimate consequences must follow in due time. To imagine escapism from the consequences of one’s deeds is entirely indefensible. Sooner or later, the proper magnitude of legitimate consequences must catch up with the individual. Thus, in the bible, it is stated:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

(Galatians 6:7-9)

It will amount to unproductive self-deception to sow oranges and aspire towards reaping bananas. Such a possibility is simply implausible. Therefore, in the Buddhist Dhammapada, it is stated:

Not in the sky, not in the mid-ocean, or entering a mountain cave is found that place on earth where one may escape the consequences of an evil deed.

Below is a poetic depiction of the law of karma:

The liberty to maketh what thy desireth is yours,

The necessity to desireth what thy maketh is inevasive;

If thy desires and maketh that which is desirable,
the desirable shall be reaped;

But if thy maketh that which is undesirable,
the undesirable will desire to be desired by thee;

Undesirable though it might be because thy maketh.

To desire that which is spiritual is to desire the desirable,

And to desire the desirable,
will beseech salvation and eternal bliss.

An appetite for the undesirable is the causation of expatiation;

Therefore desire the desirable;

and detest the undesirable with all thy might.

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How the Forces of Karma Manifest

An obsolete notion generally lingers; which purports that karma unfolds in linearity; in which case, the past is envisioned to determine the present, and the present determines the future in a straight forward and predictable manner. While such a postulation is veracious to a recognisable degree, it can be comfortably posited that such a conception is but partial truth. Karmic consequences unfold in feed-back loops, as postulated by the noble Buddha. Under the feedback loop mechanism, contemporary circumstances are moulded by both past and current factors; while the future is determined by a complex blend of past, present and even prospective factors. The following illustration attempts to elucidate the complexities that characterise karmic unfoldment:

Suppose a student enrols in an academic establishment and embarks upon a certain discipline of study, geared towards the acquisition of the relevant award. Suppose also that in the course of that academic pursuit, the student incurs a debt as a bank loan to enable funding of his/her studies. In the course of the studies, the student had also established a healthy entourage of friends. Now, upon the successful completion of that academic programme, the following consequences become associated to the student. Firstly, the student has secured the relevant award; secondly, the student is indebted to the bank following the procurement of a bank loan; and thirdly, the student now boasts an exuberant entourage of credible friends. All these three consequences are ramifications of the same causation; which is, the undertaking of an academic pursuit.

Suppose now that one of the consequences manifests upon that individual, for which the individual secures employment by virtue of having acquired an award. This in turn will generate secondary consequences for the student; for instance, remunerations, interaction and relationship with work colleagues, securement of a mortgage etc. Thus, the manifestation of the consequence of the award has enabled the student to generate revenue for settling the consequence of the bank loan (debt). But the manifestation of the secondary consequence of employment also ramifies into other consequences such as new friends at work; and this sub-consequence reinforces the initial consequences, for instance, numerical increase in the cycle of friends. Suppose having been in active employment for a considerable timeframe, the individual develops the impulsion to derelict employment in favour of further studies. In this case, the income generated during employment now enables the individual to fund this particular episode of academic pursuit.

This examples portrays the intricacies and complexities that characterise the mechanism governing the generation of karmic consequences; and hence qualifies the postulation that karma manifests in feedback loops, as always rightly enunciated by the noble Buddha. While linearity is not entirely deniable, feedback loops constitute a more feasible fashion by which karmic consequences manifest.

From the above annotation, while the initial episode of academic pursuit can be considered the primordial causation of the karmic chain, the second episode of academic pursuance now poses as a consequence of a consequence of another consequence, which itself was a consequence of the initial causative chain.

Now suppose again that upon the resumption of further academic pursuit, this individual is met with the rosy fortune of romance with a classmate; and that his/her spouse is an expatriate; and following their mutually consented lawful matrimony, the pair then settle in the spouse’s country of origin. The pattern of karmic unfoldment of the individual becomes even more colourful and complex, as fresh horizons of cause and effect now surface onto his personal arena.

Now contemplate that the aggregate of an individual’s hundreds, thousands, millions and even eons of previous lives karma is submerged in the sub-conscious mind, as an eclectic tapestry of karmic entanglements, all awaiting conducive circumstances for manifestation into reality. Then, attempt to envision the spiritual stance of an average mortal.

Depending on the severity of the previous lives’ karmic burden, the soul becomes entirely inundated; and lapses into chronic mundane fatigue, unable to shoulder the cumbersome baggage that it has summoned upon itself. Hence, the able hand of a capable friend becomes a warrant of necessity; and one of such compassionate, graceful and highly capable dependable friends is Supreme Master Ching Hai. Supreme Master Ching Hai will alleviate your karmic burden to a degree that is manageable, and also liberate your soul from the fatiguing monotonous cycles of reincarnation; compassionately delivering it to the splendiferous abode of eternal glory. She will liberate five generations of your family from the arena of struggle, and deliver them to eternity. She can also rescue some of your deceased relatives that might have fallen into the dreadful penance of hell; and deliver them to more desirable and blissful spiritual realms.

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