Kamma and Wishes
Buddhism often touches on the law of kamma.But what does kamma mean?In Buddhism, kamma is translated as ‘volitional action.’But the general meaning of kamma is beyond that term.Kamma can be loosely translated as mere ‘action.’ Therefore, when we talk about the law of kamma, we talk about the law of action.When we talk about the law of action, we talk about the law of reaction.And these laws are part of the universal laws i.e. the natural phenomenon laws – not shaped by someone else; no one owns it; neither Buddhism.It is merely a natural law of balancing that helps to attain the circumstance of equilibrium in the nature.In other words, when we speak about kamma, we speak about action.When we speak about action, we speak about motion.So for one to gain an insight into kamma, its orientation and consequences, one has to observe and understand thoroughly into the law of motion.Right now, let us ponder at the three physical laws of motion that were discovered by an influential English physicist and mathematician, namely, Sir Isaac Newton, shown as below: -
1st Law of MotionEvery object in a state of consistent motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force applied to it.
2nd Law of MotionIt is pertaining to the relationship between an object’s mass, its acceleration, and the applied force.In this law, the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.
3rd Law of MotionFor every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Generally speaking, there are two categories of motion i.e. the constant and the variable motion.When we mention that a rising force of something would generate a new equal opposing force, such as the Newton’s third law of motion, we are actually referring to a process of action and reaction under a circumstance of constant motion (constant opposing forces).In other words, we could mention that the come factor is equal to the become factor: -
Come factor =Become factor
However, under a circumstance of variable motion, the opposing forces would orientate in a unique harmonising mechanism, such as the Newton’s second law of motion, shown as below: -
Scenario 1 - Acceleration
When come factor accelerates, the relative become factor would decelerate: -
Force A come ↑ Force A become ↓
For example, the thought experiment of twin paradox which concerns a twin who flies off in a spaceship traveling near the speed of light and returns to discover that his or her twin sibling has aged much more.This scenario depicts the circumstance of time dilation in Einstein’s special theory of relativity.Literally, the acceleration of spaceship would decelerate the becoming process of the twin who sits inside it.The deceleration of the becoming process would mean the slowing down of the aging process for the same twin.In other words, the mental and the physical progression of the twin who sits inside the spaceship would slow down relatively.
Scenario 2 - Deceleration
When come factor decelerates, the relative become factor would accelerate: -
Force A come ↓ Force A become ↑
For example, if the speed of the car decreases, it is literal to speak of deceleration; mathematically, it is acceleration in the opposite direction to that of motion and vice versa.Besides, this scenario explicates that a physically sick or a mentally stressful individual is advisable to go for a full resting at home or a cool vacation elsewhere for this state of affairs would decelerate the come factors in or around the same individual.Consequently, the process of recuperation on the same individual, both mentally and physically, would speed up.
In Buddhism, it was mentioned that the precise working out of the results of kamma was one of the four unconjecturables and to speculate about it would bring madness and vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.But why is it so difficult for one, even the Buddha, to predict the timeline for the end result of kamma?The rational explanation to this enigma lies in the orientation of come factor and become factor under the different circumstances of motion.Naturally, we always involve in motions that vary in frequencies under the influence of conditional phenomena.Therefore it is literally impossible for us to contemplate on the end result of all the different types of motion inter-waving with one another in continuum.
As mentioned earlier, when we talk about the law of action, we talk about the law of reaction.This scenario is basically due to the elements of attraction existing in the cosmos and the universal law of attraction states that we attract what we are sending out i.e. like attracts like, unlike repels unlike.Hence, favourable energies attract favourable energies and unfavourable energies attract unfavourable energies.Human thoughts are cosmic waves of energy that penetrate all time and space and it is the most potent vibration that can attracts what is desired or wished for.In other words, all sentient beings are electro-magnetic beings with the subtle mind consciousness that acts as an antenna or a radar detector constantly attracting and magnetising vibrational frequencies.Human thoughts are frequencies to which other similar frequencies are constantly resonating.This resonance is the basis for a universal law – the law of attraction.
With all the above clarifications, we begin to understand that it is sensibly possible for any wishes to ‘come true’ or ‘be granted’ within the desired timeline.It all depends on the skills of the individuals who conduct the wishes. In Buddhism, there is a cardinal virtue known as mettā bhavana or the cultivation of loving-kindness.It is a foundation for the brahmavihāras and also a powerful antidote to accelerate the realisation of emptiness in the dependent nature.When we talk about realising into emptiness, we talk about the progressive comprehension of the mind on the reality of things.And emptiness would mean the absence of inherent existence i.e. all beings or things are inter-dependent, inter-waving and inter-relation with one another.Just like the saying, ‘Part of you is part of me, part of me is part of them.’This phrase implies the inter-connectedness of all things in the nature and the significance of mettā bhavana is to condition and transform the mind from a delusive state into a non-manipulative and non-discriminatory ones.This is because the mind is naturally something more objective and involves clear discrimination – differentiates and understands the characteristics of objects.And the cultivation of loving-kindness would inspire the deluded mind into seeing all things as they truly are.
Basically, the cultivation of loving-kindness is performed by radiating out to all beings in all directions the unconditional and boundless love, goodwill and kindness.Through the practice of meditation, one could begin the radiating of loving-kindness towards oneself, such as, ‘May I be well and happy, may I be peaceful all the time, may I be free from harms and dangers, may I be strong in facing difficulties, etc.’Thereafter, one could continue with the similar wishes and progress into the immediate family, the good friends, all the known and unknown beings, and gradually the entire universe.When one has fully realised into the significance of cultivating loving-kindness, the state of egolessness and compassion would arise concurrently.
Nevertheless, these strong wishes for the happiness and the well-being of oneself and others must be carried out in a meditative state with full concentration and mindfulness.Mettā bhavana is considered one of the powerful antidotes for alleviating the immeasurable suffering in samsarā because the end result can be witnessed by oneself immediately - right here, right now!This is mainly due to the deceleration of the come factors i.e. the wishes being radiated out in a discretely clear and slow tempo recitation (as per the above illustrated Scenario 2 – Deceleration).As such, we could see that the mettā blessing from a highly revered monk who has attained the advance level of jhana is very powerful and could generate the immediate and promising results to the recipients.Jhāna is an altered state of consciousness with profound stillness and concentration.At the pinnacle of the jhānas, there is a transformation of the mind consciousness into a potent black hole of emptiness that strongly attracts and magnetises vibrational frequencies and this is the beginning of attaining psychic powers among individuals.In other words, within the innate mind of all individuals, there is a compelling black hole of emptiness and it is also known as the Clear Light in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
At the end of the day, we would realise that ordinary people do not always get what they wish for in life because for most of the time, they have engaged with the wrongful techniques.Any wishes by individuals must be radiated out in a discretely clear and slow tempo recitation and must be in full concentration and mindfulness in order to catch a glimpse of the immediate result.Therefore, meditation is a key tool for realising one’s wishes sooner than later.Besides, there is a need for one to understand well and observe thoroughly the law of motion before gaining insight into the law of kamma.In fact, the law of kamma is nothing more than the law of balancing in the dependent nature.For general understanding, nature is a system of constant with a factor of intermediation or absence.If one stirs up in any phenomena of existence under volitional or non-volitional term, the natural law would take its course to balance it in one way or another across time and the plane of existence.Otherwise, a constant factor cannot be achieved at all in the nature and this is the core basis for the three physical laws of motion that were discovered by Sir Isaac Newton.
Last edited by Buddhitakso on 30-10-2013 01:01 PM
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