The Law of Karma and the Mystery Beyond
My recent 20-foot fall off of the roof of my house on October 19 was about the law of karma, and its true meaning, the experience of miracles. Falling has to do with the law of gravity, and with all of the laws in the world of time, space and matter. We seem to be subject to the law of sin and death in that world. Our whole human system is based upon that assumption. In society we have been trying to perfect that system into incremental system of rewards and punishments. The implication is that the little picture is guided by the big picture, and that responsibility is what integrates the two. You are responsible for all of your choices and their consequences. There is no higher principle bigger than responsibility. Responsibility is it.
You were foolish, you made poor judgments, you are responsible for the consequences, for your fall. Is that true? Obviously so. I made a mistake, I fell, I suffer the consequences. But is this picture the biggest picture? Or is it just our description of the human system as we see it and have seen it for thousands of years? This picture is the law of karma, it is the law of sowing and reaping, it is the law of human choice and responsibility. It raises the same questions again as raised in the book of Job. Adam fell. Job fell. Jesus fell. I fell. Everyone falls (fails) in their responsibility. That fall is preceded by, filled with, and results in: anxiety.
Human sight is dominated by this story. Everyone measures and judges themselves and others by this scenario. Every human trial is anxiety-based, whether the prosecution or the defense wins the case. The judge and the jury seem to have the final word. Even if you have never been to court per se, you seem to be on trial. Lawyers, judges, accusations, and judgments abound everywhere to deal with our falls, our failures, our shortcomings, our irresponsibilities. We are here to learn our lessons.
And this is the best system we know? Yes. But anxiety remains. Whew! He got what was coming, and I will too. What goes around, comes around. What you sow, you reap. I try to accept that, but I can’t. There is something in me that wants more. There is a miracle hope in me, something beyond my responsibility, something beyond karma. In the Sound of Music, the 16 year old sings longingly “I must have done something good.” But you can’t get to miracles from karma. There is no connection between law and grace. There is a gap there, a jump, a discontinuity.
You can’t get to the Infinite Good from the story of good versus evil. There is no bridge. You fell. Its your responsibility, no matter how much you explain and protest your innocence. Then why does everyone, without exception, protest their innocence? Even Saddam Hussein protests and expects some kind of exoneration, some kind of last minute reprieve, something beyond his grievous record, some kind of graceful resurrection.
In spite of all appearances, my client says beggingly: “I was abused and I did not abuse. There was some goodness, some innocence, somewhere. I spent 14 years in a mental institution, and even since I was released, I still live under the cloud of judgment and suspicion. I am not one of the bad guys.” He keeps trying to be good, and to prove that he was not bad. He is still caught in the system. There are no such good guys and bad guys. It is all a story about a system in which we are caught. All of these judgments are mistaken. We are ignorant of Grace and anxious about responsibility. You can’t live by the system and be who you are. You can’t really correct your behavior and leave your identity in this human system. Responsibility is impossible if our identity is mistaken. Out of nowhere, miracles appear.
Was my fall real or unreal? It was real, and it was unreal and it was neither. Deserved or undeserved? It was deserved, and it was undeserved and it was neither.
Are you responsible or not responsible? You are responsible, you are not responsible, you are both and you are neither. Are you human or are you a god? You are a human and you are a god. You are both and you are neither. You live on an edge that you are not yet fully aware that even exists. That is the purpose of the experience of falling.
Falling itself is an anxiety experience. Its meaning lies through the door of anxiety. What lies on the other side of that door? We call it the process of enlightenment because there are thousands of such doors you can choose to go thorough, each lying on the other side of the one you now face. Each one opens up into an ever-expanding awareness of grace and miracles. Each fall is just a limited perception of an un-nameable experience and process we call the Mystery. Life is a total mystery in which we have so many labels and stories, so many assumptions that we “know.” But we do not yet know the truth and we are not yet free from anxiety. (John 8:32)
You were foolish, you made poor judgments, you are responsible for the consequences, for your fall. Is that true? Obviously so. I made a mistake, I fell, I suffer the consequences. But is this picture the biggest picture? Or is it just our description of the human system as we see it and have seen it for thousands of years? This picture is the law of karma, it is the law of sowing and reaping, it is the law of human choice and responsibility. It raises the same questions again as raised in the book of Job. Adam fell. Job fell. Jesus fell. I fell. Everyone falls (fails) in their responsibility. That fall is preceded by, filled with, and results in: anxiety.
Human sight is dominated by this story. Everyone measures and judges themselves and others by this scenario. Every human trial is anxiety-based, whether the prosecution or the defense wins the case. The judge and the jury seem to have the final word. Even if you have never been to court per se, you seem to be on trial. Lawyers, judges, accusations, and judgments abound everywhere to deal with our falls, our failures, our shortcomings, our irresponsibilities. We are here to learn our lessons.
And this is the best system we know? Yes. But anxiety remains. Whew! He got what was coming, and I will too. What goes around, comes around. What you sow, you reap. I try to accept that, but I can’t. There is something in me that wants more. There is a miracle hope in me, something beyond my responsibility, something beyond karma. In the Sound of Music, the 16 year old sings longingly “I must have done something good.” But you can’t get to miracles from karma. There is no connection between law and grace. There is a gap there, a jump, a discontinuity.
You can’t get to the Infinite Good from the story of good versus evil. There is no bridge. You fell. Its your responsibility, no matter how much you explain and protest your innocence. Then why does everyone, without exception, protest their innocence? Even Saddam Hussein protests and expects some kind of exoneration, some kind of last minute reprieve, something beyond his grievous record, some kind of graceful resurrection.
In spite of all appearances, my client says beggingly: “I was abused and I did not abuse. There was some goodness, some innocence, somewhere. I spent 14 years in a mental institution, and even since I was released, I still live under the cloud of judgment and suspicion. I am not one of the bad guys.” He keeps trying to be good, and to prove that he was not bad. He is still caught in the system. There are no such good guys and bad guys. It is all a story about a system in which we are caught. All of these judgments are mistaken. We are ignorant of Grace and anxious about responsibility. You can’t live by the system and be who you are. You can’t really correct your behavior and leave your identity in this human system. Responsibility is impossible if our identity is mistaken. Out of nowhere, miracles appear.
Was my fall real or unreal? It was real, and it was unreal and it was neither. Deserved or undeserved? It was deserved, and it was undeserved and it was neither.
Are you responsible or not responsible? You are responsible, you are not responsible, you are both and you are neither. Are you human or are you a god? You are a human and you are a god. You are both and you are neither. You live on an edge that you are not yet fully aware that even exists. That is the purpose of the experience of falling.
Falling itself is an anxiety experience. Its meaning lies through the door of anxiety. What lies on the other side of that door? We call it the process of enlightenment because there are thousands of such doors you can choose to go thorough, each lying on the other side of the one you now face. Each one opens up into an ever-expanding awareness of grace and miracles. Each fall is just a limited perception of an un-nameable experience and process we call the Mystery. Life is a total mystery in which we have so many labels and stories, so many assumptions that we “know.” But we do not yet know the truth and we are not yet free from anxiety. (John 8:32)
posted by Dr. Joe at 7:16 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks, John, for your insights, Dr. Joe
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