599 Karma: a Zen perspective May 09 26

Karma demystified  

              In Zen, karma (literally "action") is stripped of its more mystical , divine or multi birth-death reincarnation cycles found in other spiritual traditions such as genuine  Buddhism: Instead, Zen focuses on the immediate, psychological, and practical application of this factual concept.

             Here is how karma is traditionally understood within Zen teaching:

1. Cause and Effect : 

In Zen, karma is viewed as the natural non-religious law of cause and effect. Both are inseparable as a single entity. Every intentional thought, word, and action will trigger an automatic responce. Seed becomes plant ,and plant becomes seed. However, Zen emphasizes that the "effect" isn't necessarily a reward or punishment in a spiritual or religious sense.

 It is the natural interaction between our thoughts, actions, and feelings with their effects on their environment.

• Initial cause:  You get angry for whatever reason.
• Following effect:  You begin to react socially, and usually negatively.

2. Intentionality:

Karma is driven by mental intention. Zen teaches that it isn't just the physical act that matters, but the state of mind behind it.

   Good  Karma: Thoughts, and actions rooted in compassion, wisdom, and selflessness will have positive outcomes.

   Bad Karma: Thoughts, and actions rooted in the "Three Poisons": Greed, Anger, and Ignorance. that is  our illusions, and delusions will have negative outcomes.

3. The "Mind & Current Moment"

While some schools of Buddhism focus on karma across multiple lifetimes, Zen brings the focus to the present life that is: Karma is created and experienced in our present life.

"If you want to understand your present life, look at your past intentions . 

If you want to know your future life, look at your present intentions."

In Zen practice, every moment is an opportunity to break this karmic cycle. By practicing formal meditation or in-the-go during the day, you observe your emotional  impulses, accept them , then let them go. By doing so, you "exhaust" the negative energy of past detrimental habits.

4. Karma and "No-Self"

When Zen teaches Anatta (No-Self). So: , if there is no self, who is the one "collecting" the karma?. This is a classic Zen paradox.

Zen masters often teach that karma is like a wave in the ocean that is  our genuine self. The wave (the resulting + or - actions from the initial intentions)  is just an intermittent component of the ocean which remains as it is. Karma is a  momentum of life continuing to flow, rather than some sort of  individual  permanent soul carrying our negative intentions.

Learning to meditate on our thoughts and feelings  (i.e. causes of Karma )  is an excellent way to try to modulate their effects. 

Summary Table: Zen vs. Popular Conceptions