The Confusing Thing About Karma:
Why Does Difficult Stuff Happen To Good People?
Karma is difficult to understand. Some believe that perhaps
it is beyond our understanding. It is especially challenging to understand
Karma when you see difficult things happen to really good people. This is true
for Zuri.
Zuri’s Story
It has been two months since Aunt Jasmine took in Zuri and
Rashan (her little brother). Eric, Zuri’s older brother, is still attending
school….just enough to be on track for graduating. Still, he won’t come stay
with Jasmine. Zuri knows Eric. She also knows when he is using. He is like
their mom when she uses—broken promises and all that. He is definitely using.
It is March and the weather won’t break.
Zuri feels like there is a crust of snow over everything, a
cover over it all. When Aunt Jasmine drops her off at school, Zuri notices the
crunch of the snow under her feet, the dusting of the new snow on top of the
old, and the frozen ice on the sidewalk that doesn’t melt because it is so cold
the salt won’t work. Even though she knows that spring follows winter, when it
is cold like this……when the cold holds like this……. when your mom won’t stop
drinking like this……. it feels like winter will never end.
Zuri loves school, her friends especially Emily and Jayla,
and—of course—she lives for yoga in afterschool. Miss Amanda, Zuri’s
afterschool yoga teacher, has been talking to them about Karma. Karma is
complicated for Zuri.
You see, Zuri is, and has been, a good kid. Some would argue
she is, perhaps, a great kid. Through all of her struggles, Zuri has worked
really hard to find the good in things, look for safe people, and stay steady.
What Zuri doesn’t understand is why?….WHY?
Why is it that if she does all of these good things, NOTHING
EVER GETS BETTER FOR HER. Her mom is still drinking. Her Aunt Jasmine has
breast cancer. Eric seems to be drinking (or worse) and Zuri and Rashan are so
lost.
Zuri feels like Karma can’t be a real thing. If it were,
good things would be happening for her.
When Zuri has these big questions, the afterschool yoga
program is grounding. Miss Amanda is a big part of that. Today, Miss Amanda
explained to the young yogis all about doing the right thing. She explained
that we should do the good thing, the right thing, no matter the expected
outcomes. Miss Amanda said that Karma is about a focus on the here and now. You
do things now because you just do. Your good actions are not for the reward,
the positive outcomes, the payback, or to earn lots of credit so that the
universe helps you. Your good actions are not for the fruits.
Miss Amanda shared a quote from Rumi, “Wherever you stand be the soul
of that place.”
“You see,” she explained, “it is not about whether or not
the place, or the people in the place, acknowledge you. It is simply what you
do and what you do creates you.”
www.buddhanet.net explains Karma like this:
“According to Buddhism, this inequality is
due not only to heredity, environment, ‘nature and nurture,’ but also to Karma.
In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present
doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We
create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own
fate.”
Miss Amanda
explained that Karma is like planting seeds. She said that, “When you plant a
garden you see the spring’s possibilities, you hope for summer’s blossoms, and
dream of fall’s bounty. Still, there are no promises. Karma is like that. You plant
the seeds that create growth in your heart and in the world.” She added, “That
is all that matters.”
After a
short pause, Miss Amanda added, “Oh, and you should be present and content in
the planting of your seeds. The planting of the seeds is the thing itself.”
Zuri
repeated what Miss Amanda told them in her mind as she was lying in savasana, “You
plant the seeds. That is……what is. You see spring’s possibilities, summer’s
blossoms, and fall’s bounty. Still there are no promises.”
Zuri walked
out of yoga to wait for Jasmine. She watched her feet as they crunched on the
snow. She sat down on the bench, waiting, cold. She looked over at the crunchy
snow and thought about something she heard in church, something that Mother
Teresa said:
“People are unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may
accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be
forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Be honest and transparent
anyway.
What you spend years
building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you
have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best
anyway.”
“So,” Zuri
thought, “Karma means doing the right thing, the kind thing, the loving thing
because it is right, kind, and loving and that is that.” She thought more,
“Maybe things will keep being hard and maybe they will get better. But in all
that, I will be in my actions of love and that will make the hard stuff better.
Maybe that is Karma, my Karma.”
She sat
there on the bench thinking. She thought about what might be under the snow.
She thought about spring and the tiny little seedlings that will be struggling
through the soil to peak out and start their leafy lives. She thought that they
were probably already there, waiting, waiting for a bit of sun, a drop of rain,
and the snow to melt just a bit.
She wondered
if that was happening in her life to.
Sure, it is
all snow covered and hard right now. But maybe, under it all, there was a bit
of hope waiting, just waiting…. Zuri smiled.
Zuri thought, “And really that
doesn’t matter, cause I am going to keep doing the right thing and showing
people love and kindness because it feels really good to do that. It is what
Miss Amanda does and she seems pretty happy.”
Aunt Jasmine
pulled up. Zuri dove into the car and hugged Rashan, “Hey Buddy!” Then, she leaned
over the back seat and gave Jasmine a kiss on the cheek, “I Love you Aunt
Jasmine.”
“I love you
too baby. Let’s go get some dinner. I am starving.” And they headed home. Ah,
Karma.
Namaste,
Catherine
References
www.buddhanet.net Buddhist Education Web Resources
If you want
read about Karma, there is a beautiful story of Karma in the book, “How Yoga Works.” Buy How Yoga Works Here:
For more on the Rumi quote see-- http://www.ke-innerworks.com/wherever-you-stand-be-the-soul-of-that-place-rumi/
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