I used to think that I should only accord with conditions that are proper but with time, I have doubts about this and I would like to seek your opinion.
Say if in my last life, I was the boss and I made my subordinate do something against the law, may be some fraudulent accounting and he was sentenced to jail.
Now in this life, the exact opposite happens. If I were to oblige with his orders ("mindlessly" without accessing the thought arising), then the karma would be fulfilled. But if I were to accord with conditions that are proper, I would be actually be not "accord with the conditions" because I have the 2nd and the string of thoughts that follows. The entanglement would deepen.
Now, I tend to think that as a Pureland Buddhist, just go with the flow.... whatever comes, just do it. I were to be jailed for doing something illegal because I was asked to, it's just my fate.
We accord with conditions that are proper. Cultivation is correcting our faults. If I mindlessly go along with whatever happens, I'm not cultivating because I'm not correcting my faults. If, after we have done everything possible to do what is right and to correct our faults, something bad happens then we say that is our karma and accept it. But we only accept after trying our best to practice the Five Precepts, Ten Virtuous Karmas, etc.
October 30, 2014
Reader Comments (2)
I used to think that I should only accord with conditions that are proper but with time, I have doubts about this and I would like to seek your opinion.
Say if in my last life, I was the boss and I made my subordinate do something against the law, may be some fraudulent accounting and he was sentenced to jail.
Now in this life, the exact opposite happens. If I were to oblige with his orders ("mindlessly" without accessing the thought arising), then the karma would be fulfilled. But if I were to accord with conditions that are proper, I would be actually be not "accord with the conditions" because I have the 2nd and the string of thoughts that follows. The entanglement would deepen.
Now, I tend to think that as a Pureland Buddhist, just go with the flow.... whatever comes, just do it. I were to be jailed for doing something illegal because I was asked to, it's just my fate.
Please enlighten me.... AMITUOFO !
We accord with conditions that are proper. Cultivation is correcting our faults. If I mindlessly go along with whatever happens, I'm not cultivating because I'm not correcting my faults. If, after we have done everything possible to do what is right and to correct our faults, something bad happens then we say that is our karma and accept it. But we only accept after trying our best to practice the Five Precepts, Ten Virtuous Karmas, etc.
Amituofo
Venerable Wuling