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In a just universe, the Soul is never held responsible for any choice that it does not deliberately and voluntarily make. So, the Buddha pointed out that karma resulted, not from the results of our actions, but rather from our intentions. For the Soul can choose its intentions; it cannot "choose" the effects of its actions.
A good example is Jesus. Within a couple of centuries, his "followers," orthodox Christians, were cutting each others' throats. But Jesus received no karma for this, because he taught a message of Love, and he did so with a pure intention. For his intention was to plant and nourish the seeds of Love in the human heart. The fact that, in this complex cosmos, that did not work out, was not the responsibility of Jesus, and so, his Soul received no karma.
It is due to this principle that we do not have to live a "perfect" or flawless life to escape negative karma. We have only to live in pure intention.
This means that, if we intend to harm others, and end up helping them, we still receive negative karma. On the other hand, if we intend to help others, and our message is distorted by human nature, and people are hurt, we still receive the positive and beneficial "good" karma.
No karma results from the results of our actions. This is a serious misunderstanding we must clear up if we are to understand karma. For karma comes from only intentions, not just actions. And the Soul can always choose to live with good intentions, and thus, reap the rewards of good karma.
In this complex universe, there is actually very little that we can control; in fact, the entire mystical system of Taoism is founded on this single fact. But we are responsible for the one thing that we can control, and that is our intention.
We are not responsible for all of our own thoughtfeelings, for we cannot always control each and every microresponse. We are never responsible for the thoughts, words, or actions of others. We are not responsible for the physical world or its conditions; we are not responsible for even the condition of our local body. For the element of control is absent in every case, and where there is no control, there can be no responsibility.
Thus, the Soul is responsible for only its responses. (Easy to remember, for "responsibility" and "responses" share a root.)
Thus, the words of Jesus: "My load is easy, and My burden is light." The path of good moral judgment and good intention is much easier than that of "perfection." For, as imperfect human beings, the path of perfection is impossible for us. And, if karma resulted from the negative flowering of our behaviors, the situation would be hopeless.
Jesus made it plain that the cosmos, and the cosmic Mind behind it, are filled with forgiveness, mercy, and other aids for us. The cosmos is pro-human, giving us the benefit of every doubt; God always leans toward the side of mercy and forgiveness. The early Christian mystics wrote, "Mercy exults triumphantly over justice." So, the mercy of the One is even greater than Her perfect sense of karmic justice and balance. And we can all, and always, be very grateful for this.:)
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Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Responsibility for "Sin"
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Responsibility is a complex rather than simple concept. As human beings, human minds, and human activities are quite complex, this is really no surprise.
Responsibility might never be an "all or nothing" proposition. In view of the incredible complexity of the human brainervousystem, it might be foolish for us to seek "black and white," "yes or no" simplistic answers to such an involved and complicated question. For one activity, a person might be 93% responsible, and for another, 27%.
Due to genetic, karmic, environmental, and neurological factors, as well as others, it might be that few human beings are responsible one hundred percent for their activities.
I agree fully, and very practically, that a person who does an evil deed towards another needs to be held both legally and morally responsible. The universe itself is designed along the lines of this moral reciprocation. That is, in fact, the meaning of karma.
Older Western (Christian and Jewish) theologians distinguished between what they called a "deliberate" and an "indeliberate sin." This is a valuable and useful distinction.
The language of the Christian Scriptures, in their ancient form, was called koine Greek. (This implies that Greek was the "common" language of the time.)
In that language, the word that we translate as "sin" was amartyrion.
This was a term borrowed from archery, and it meant "missing a target."
The meaning of this word implies that much, or all, of "sin" is error, miscalculation, mismanagement, or mistake, rather than a deliberate action. In many cases, then, "sin" is not a deliberate, fully aware, intentional action.
It was because of this fact that Jesus forgave sins so easily, and immediately, telling people, "All your sins are forgiven." And early Christians called it the "good news" (Greek, evaggelion) that "all our sins are forgiven."
Jesus prophesied, in Mark 3:27,28, the following astonishing condition:
"Every sin and every blasphemy, no matter how serious, will be forgiven."
And it is true that, in the larger life, that of the Soul, we are allowed to gain a deep spiritual education that allows our hearts to accept forgiveness. This is the famous "grace" (Love) of God in a practical sense.
So, a person is held responsible karmically, and in eternity, for any action that is deliberate, voluntary, a matter of choice or intention.
But the justice of the cosmos is purer and more perfect than any human mind can match. And people are not held responsible for an "indeliberate" action-- one that was not voluntarily willed or intended.
They are, instead, covered by the infinite forgiveness of the tender and infinitely loving Mind of God.
This article could, and perhaps should, go on for several more pages in order completely to address this most important question. But it is better to have mercy on your mind, your heart, and your time, and bring it to an end. But if, of course, you have any further feedback, it will be a delight to discuss it with you, as it is precisely such profound spiritual inquiries that give life its "flavor" and deeper meaning.:)
*******
Responsibility is a complex rather than simple concept. As human beings, human minds, and human activities are quite complex, this is really no surprise.
Responsibility might never be an "all or nothing" proposition. In view of the incredible complexity of the human brainervousystem, it might be foolish for us to seek "black and white," "yes or no" simplistic answers to such an involved and complicated question. For one activity, a person might be 93% responsible, and for another, 27%.
Due to genetic, karmic, environmental, and neurological factors, as well as others, it might be that few human beings are responsible one hundred percent for their activities.
I agree fully, and very practically, that a person who does an evil deed towards another needs to be held both legally and morally responsible. The universe itself is designed along the lines of this moral reciprocation. That is, in fact, the meaning of karma.
Older Western (Christian and Jewish) theologians distinguished between what they called a "deliberate" and an "indeliberate sin." This is a valuable and useful distinction.
The language of the Christian Scriptures, in their ancient form, was called koine Greek. (This implies that Greek was the "common" language of the time.)
In that language, the word that we translate as "sin" was amartyrion.
This was a term borrowed from archery, and it meant "missing a target."
The meaning of this word implies that much, or all, of "sin" is error, miscalculation, mismanagement, or mistake, rather than a deliberate action. In many cases, then, "sin" is not a deliberate, fully aware, intentional action.
It was because of this fact that Jesus forgave sins so easily, and immediately, telling people, "All your sins are forgiven." And early Christians called it the "good news" (Greek, evaggelion) that "all our sins are forgiven."
Jesus prophesied, in Mark 3:27,28, the following astonishing condition:
"Every sin and every blasphemy, no matter how serious, will be forgiven."
And it is true that, in the larger life, that of the Soul, we are allowed to gain a deep spiritual education that allows our hearts to accept forgiveness. This is the famous "grace" (Love) of God in a practical sense.
So, a person is held responsible karmically, and in eternity, for any action that is deliberate, voluntary, a matter of choice or intention.
But the justice of the cosmos is purer and more perfect than any human mind can match. And people are not held responsible for an "indeliberate" action-- one that was not voluntarily willed or intended.
They are, instead, covered by the infinite forgiveness of the tender and infinitely loving Mind of God.
This article could, and perhaps should, go on for several more pages in order completely to address this most important question. But it is better to have mercy on your mind, your heart, and your time, and bring it to an end. But if, of course, you have any further feedback, it will be a delight to discuss it with you, as it is precisely such profound spiritual inquiries that give life its "flavor" and deeper meaning.:)
*******
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Faith, Love, and Justice
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Faith and Love, although deeply related, are not quite identically the same thing. The world tests both, every day.
Faith is the absolute certainty that an invisible Power exists and is a part of our lives, and cares for us. This "faith" can actually be simply the product of close and careful observation.
For there are so very many things that occur that we do not, and cannot, influence or control. We must have a kind of "faith" that the sun will rise tomorrow, and there is absolutely nothing that we can do either to prevent this, or to make it happen. We must have a similar faith that the sun, water, and soil will create fruits and vegetables. Then, we must have faith that this miracle-- the creation of delicious foods from water, dirt, and sunlight, will create blood, bones, teeth, eyes, and skin from tomatoes and watermelons.
We must also have faith that our bodies will take in oxygen, and use it in a thousand ways to support our biochemistry. We must have faith that thousands of biochemical processes will occur in our bodies.
To show just how complex these processes are, scientists estimate that to describe all the processes occurring in your body in one single second would require forty-seven large volumes of fine print!
Everyone has these kinds of faith-- even a person who claims that she is a total atheist, and has no faith in anything.
But when it comes to Christian faith, we must add another factor. We, as Christians, must develop a very special faith. This is faith in Love.
In a world that can be, and often is, quite horrible, we must believe that Love (God) is in charge of absolutely everything. We must believe, to put it colloquially, that "He's got the whole world in His hands."
This is the Christian, and general mystical, belief in God as Love. In a world whose major purpose is the outworking of negative karma, there is so much suffering. The Buddha said, for example, that "life is suffering," and we have all suffered in this world-- some more, some less.
The question is this: How can we live in such a nightmarish world, and still believe that Love is in charge and control of the whole show?
The only answer lies in karma. I have quite carefully studied, over the past forty years, every Christian "explanation," and many varieties of Christian faith. (I have attended the churches of forty-seven Christian sects and denominations.) I have also read widely in Christian literature.
One amazing fact that I discovered, which will be denied out of ignorance by many Christians, was that, until the second century after Jesus, reincarnation was a staple of Christian belief. Before the great Corruption of the fourth century, almost every Christian in the world accepted reincarnation as fact.
There is a lot of "blah-blah" about "the will of God," but that phrase means nothing if you cannot explain why the "will of God" includes so much horror and agony for living creatures.
Karma says that nothing happens at random. If we suffer, we are helping, at a soul-level of deep mind, to create that suffering. It is bringing justice to the cosmos; it is also teaching all to love-- often, by showing the "hell" of its absence.
This is a universe of harmony. God or Love never creates suffering, but God allows it to create growth and progress in all of God's children. Earth is such a painful mess because it is a planet full of "kindergarteners" or "pre-schoolers" spiritually. Among many human beings, there is zero interest in spirituality (Love), and so, the cycles of karma continue, for only Love can ever erase or neutralize karma.
This letter, then, is the result of over four decades of looking for an answer that makes sense. Honestly, if I can ever find a better answer than karma, I will drop and throw away karma, and embrace the new answer!
*******
Faith and Love, although deeply related, are not quite identically the same thing. The world tests both, every day.
Faith is the absolute certainty that an invisible Power exists and is a part of our lives, and cares for us. This "faith" can actually be simply the product of close and careful observation.
For there are so very many things that occur that we do not, and cannot, influence or control. We must have a kind of "faith" that the sun will rise tomorrow, and there is absolutely nothing that we can do either to prevent this, or to make it happen. We must have a similar faith that the sun, water, and soil will create fruits and vegetables. Then, we must have faith that this miracle-- the creation of delicious foods from water, dirt, and sunlight, will create blood, bones, teeth, eyes, and skin from tomatoes and watermelons.
We must also have faith that our bodies will take in oxygen, and use it in a thousand ways to support our biochemistry. We must have faith that thousands of biochemical processes will occur in our bodies.
To show just how complex these processes are, scientists estimate that to describe all the processes occurring in your body in one single second would require forty-seven large volumes of fine print!
Everyone has these kinds of faith-- even a person who claims that she is a total atheist, and has no faith in anything.
But when it comes to Christian faith, we must add another factor. We, as Christians, must develop a very special faith. This is faith in Love.
In a world that can be, and often is, quite horrible, we must believe that Love (God) is in charge of absolutely everything. We must believe, to put it colloquially, that "He's got the whole world in His hands."
This is the Christian, and general mystical, belief in God as Love. In a world whose major purpose is the outworking of negative karma, there is so much suffering. The Buddha said, for example, that "life is suffering," and we have all suffered in this world-- some more, some less.
The question is this: How can we live in such a nightmarish world, and still believe that Love is in charge and control of the whole show?
The only answer lies in karma. I have quite carefully studied, over the past forty years, every Christian "explanation," and many varieties of Christian faith. (I have attended the churches of forty-seven Christian sects and denominations.) I have also read widely in Christian literature.
One amazing fact that I discovered, which will be denied out of ignorance by many Christians, was that, until the second century after Jesus, reincarnation was a staple of Christian belief. Before the great Corruption of the fourth century, almost every Christian in the world accepted reincarnation as fact.
There is a lot of "blah-blah" about "the will of God," but that phrase means nothing if you cannot explain why the "will of God" includes so much horror and agony for living creatures.
Karma says that nothing happens at random. If we suffer, we are helping, at a soul-level of deep mind, to create that suffering. It is bringing justice to the cosmos; it is also teaching all to love-- often, by showing the "hell" of its absence.
This is a universe of harmony. God or Love never creates suffering, but God allows it to create growth and progress in all of God's children. Earth is such a painful mess because it is a planet full of "kindergarteners" or "pre-schoolers" spiritually. Among many human beings, there is zero interest in spirituality (Love), and so, the cycles of karma continue, for only Love can ever erase or neutralize karma.
This letter, then, is the result of over four decades of looking for an answer that makes sense. Honestly, if I can ever find a better answer than karma, I will drop and throw away karma, and embrace the new answer!
*******
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