Does Karma Go In Endless Loop?
When April harms May, can April
justify her action by claiming she is simply expressing May's
negative karma, that she as the one doing the damage is
really blameless? This is twisted thinking, that unskilfully
rationalises personal evils! That May suffers from being harmed is
indeed the result of her negative karma ripening. If otherwise, she
would never be harmed. However, it is wrong for April to assume she
is without fault if she intentionally harmed May out of her own
free will. Since whether the karma created is positive or negative
depends on the wholesome or unwholesome nature of the intention
behind an action, April would have created negative karma for
herself when she harmed May with an unwholesome intention. As in
human law, someone is guilty when there is an ill action with a
corresponding motivation. This is also to say that only if April
truly accidentally harmed May, is she actually faultless.
April might argue that someone has to
be the means to express May's negative karma. However,
if May indeed has the karma to be harmed, she will receive harm via
some way, even without April's deliberation. It can be via another
person, a karmic 'accident' or other ways. If another harms May
intentionally, that person too creates negative karma. Is it
possible for April and May to harm each other in a cyclical manner
out of vengeance? Is it such that whatever goes around, comes
around… only to go around again, to come around again….
indefinitely, or even forever? If this is so, all of us would be
stuck in predestined loops with no hope of liberation. Thank
goodness, karmic payback is not a closed loop, but more of a
spiral, be it upwards in a virtuous cycle or downwards in a vicious
'circle'. No one is destined to 'irresistibly' harm anyone,
including oneself, though there might be habitual tendencies to do
so.
We always have free will to do or not do evil. Though there might be retaliation on both sides
for some time, the moment one forgives and stops, the cycle of
vengeance breaks. As the Buddha taught, 'hatred cannot be ceased by
[more] hatred; hatred can only be ceased by love [loving-kindness
and compassion].' Like us, April and May create a mix of fresh
positive and negative karma in their lives, which have the power to
dilute or thicken their hatred and love. Thus, their mutual karmic
payback will not be one to one direct tit for tat with no change in
quality or quantity. In fact, it is constantly changing, for better
or worse. Both ought to dissolve their enmity. June, as a mutual
friend, should do her best to urge them to do so, and not assume
her intervention cannot condition them to change their karmic
relationship, for the workings of karma is a vast web of
interconnected and interdependent causes and
conditions.
Should May simply let April harm her,
accepting that it is her karma to be harmed, while gleefully 'rejoicing' that April is
creating more negative karma to receive harm in future? To
'rejoice' in others' evil or retribution creates negative karma!
May should dissuade April from harming her and others out of
compassion instead, to express repentance for her own negative
karma, by urging others not to create more negative karma which
harms all involved. Such help is the direct opposite and remedy of
harm. It should be noted too, that May need not suffer when
nevertheless harmed, if she changes her attitude from aversion to
gracious acceptance. However, if she can, she should walk away from
being harmed, and not suffer needlessly. Though it might not be
instant, the moment she walks away might be the moment the related
negative karma ends, while staying on might create karma for its
continuation.
As complacency can arise
from positive karma's ripening,
positive karma can condition negative karma.