Drop karma

Buddhist teaching of ethical cause and effect (skt. karma-vipaka), as well as it's variant causes and conditions (skt. hetu-pratyaya), has historically been used at various levels of philosophical and practical sophistication. When transmitting Dharma to the West, the notion of "karma" has most often not been properly translated, that is, it has never been properly and sufficiently interpreted to give rise to a practical conceptual translation. Knowledge and awareness of natural karmic dynamics (as distinct from karma being controlled by something or someone) is considered to be indispensable for genuine Buddhist practice.

What the Buddha's teaching of karma does, in effect, is empower the individual practitioner. Since I am simultaneously the actor (skt. kartr) and experiencer (skt. bhoktr), fundamentally it's up to me. Structurally speaking, this is an enormous leap. At the time of the Buddha, karma was interpreted in many different ways, all of which had one thing in common: karma was inflicted upon you, and there's not much an average individual can do about it. The Buddha did a strategic reframing of this valid, albeit partial truth. First, since a present felt-sense is a result, technically "a fruition", of previous actions, and the present action is at it's core a cause for future fruitions, your first task is to act upon the opportunity and transform the felt-sense into a stream of self-liberating events. To act in this way, you need to become a knower (skt. jnatr) and not just an actor/experiencer, because awareness/wisdom (skt. jnana) must arise in the middle of those two aspects that all too often generate a self-perpetuating reactive compulsion, known also as "laukika pratitya-samutpada", the worldly/cyclical dependent arising.

Arising from the self-protecting momentum of the felt-sense, there appears to exist a fundamental duality of acting and experiencing self on one side ("here") and the objects of one's actions and experiences, the conditions of the world and others on the other side ("there"). This illusion of fundamental separation makes the whole process appear unquestionable, as a matter of fact. Thus, one is surrounded with infinite sources of either pleasure or pain, hence one is at mercy of other powers. Subjectively speaking, one is at every step followed by fear. Not knowing any better, not understanding the beginnning and end of such predicament, being a victim of sorts, one divides this world into that which is craved for and that which is feared, and one divides others into allies and enemies, friends and foes. The Buddha's teaching points back at the experiencing self, offering steps toward freedom from this phobic relationship to life. (Buddha's activity is often equated to bestowing freedom from fear.)

So first of all, instead of being a victim, become a witness. Step back for a moment and allow your experience to arise of it's own accord, in light of your awareness. Witness, without acting or avoiding. You will discover that action is essentially volitional impulse (skt. cetana) and you will decide to develop sufficient presence of mind to dwell at that level, recognizing that without such development you are at the mercy of your own unawareness (skt. avidya). Depending on one's spiritual talent, such witnessing gives birth to either dispassion (seeing your own predicament) or compassion (seeing everyone's predicament). In either case, you are given a chance to not do anything or act differently, but always consciously.

So, basically, get your act together, own your felt-sense, take heart and assume responsibility, and develop the ability to be free from compulsive reactivity, more and more, day by day. Pursue this course of awareness without attachment (dispassion), gentle and generous (compassion), untill you find all fundamental objection to life and death has been eradicated. Herein lies the initial freedom from karma.

Drop karma and assume responsibility.

(to be continued)