What goes around must come around. We reap what we sow. What goes up must come down. All these thoughts contain the same reality. We are told that we can create our own reality by our thoughts, behavior, action and choices. When we choose to be greedy and vindictive, our reality is fearsome and full of pain. When we make a choice to be compassionate and forgiving, our reality is full of peace and balance.
Those of us who can understand the truth of law of karma and the way it works have an inner control which keeps an automatic check on our thoughts, words, deed and choices. We do not need an external check, a government law or an order from any religious institution to control us. We follow the rules instinctively and intuitively. There are many who do not get the inner understanding of the law of karma and they are controlled by the rules and regulations enforced by religious authorities. Most of the people need external governance called the law of land which is enforced by police and courts of law.
Ultimately, it is our own responsibility to create our lives the way we want. What we undergo today is because of what we have done before in this life and previous lives. We are all aware of the truth that every action has an equal reaction and it will hit us. But we all like to live in the illusion that we are above karma and the rules of karma are for the unfortunate others. We must understand and accept the simple rule: Good begets good and evil begets evil. The story of hunter and the monk illustrates this truth:
There was a hunter who lived on the game he caught, killed and sold. He was very negative minded and thought bad about everyone he met. One early morning he set out to hunt with his pack of dogs. On the way he saw a monk seeking alms. He was not very fond of monks. He grimaced when he saw the monk. He was sure that even the glimpse of a monk that early morning would bring him bad luck and he would not get any game that day. And unfortunately, his ugly predictions came true. That day he did not catch any game and his game bag was empty.
On his way back home, the hunter saw the same monk he had seen earlier that morning. He was angry and sore at having no game and needed someone to blame. He already had a strong feeling that his ill luck was due to the monk. So he took revenge by setting his dogs on the monk. The poor innocent monk ran for his life and managed to climb a tall tree to save himself. He sat there trembling while the dogs went around the tree barking and snarling wildly at him. When the hunter arrived there, he was angry that the monk had escaped the dogs. So he began to poke the soles of the monk’s feet with his long sharp arrow. The poor monk jumped about trying to escape the pokes. While doing so, his robe slipped off and fell down on hunter and covered him fully. When the dogs saw the yellow robe, they attacked their master mistaking him for the monk. They tore him apart mercilessly and killed him.
The monk was full of guilt feelings and went to Buddha and sought Buddha’s advice. Buddha assured him that the hunter was at fault and not he. When the hunter tried to harm him for no reason, the harm that he wanted to do the monk rebounded on him. Evil begets only evil and the hunter got what he gave. When we throw dirt in the wind, it will hit us on our face. The one who harms an innocent person by words or deeds will suffer the same fate. We have the choice to design our own fate and life. Let us do so by being good and getting good in return.
