MARIANNE CARR | Zen Wisdom

Karmic force is analogous to water rushing down a mountain. If the water is blocked by a stone, it will alter its course and continue to flow until it reaches the ocean.

STUDENT:
Where does the karmic force reside?

SHIH-FU:
In the teaching of the Yogacara school, the eighth consciousness (alaya consciousness) is known as the storehouse consciousness. It stores the consequences of our actions. Karmic force resides there. Mahayana Buddhism describes the eighth consciousness as containing the seeds of all our karma, but we should not think of these seeds as separate units of karmic force. The eighth consciousness is not comparable to a computer memory disk, where data increases or decreases. The eighth consciousness does not become larger or smaller as individuals create karma and experience consequences. Although it consists of many different karmic seeds, the eighth consciousness is one, ever-changing karmic force.

STUDENT:
If a bomb falls on this city, it cannot be my personal retribution. What about collective karma?

SHIH-FU:
Collective karma exists. If a bomb were to fall on this city and we all suffered, we should understand it like this: All of us, at different times and in different places, created similar karma, and at this time the karma for all of us ripened simultaneously for such a consequence to take place. We do not share the karma of other people. Every person suffers the consequence of his or her own actions. However, one consequence may take care of many people’s karma.

STUDENT:
Is it the action, the intent behind the action, or a combination of intent and action that brings about a consequence?

SHIH-FU:
If an action is carried out without any awareness of it, there will be no karmic consequence for that action. Karmic force corresponds to the type of awareness that the individual has at the time of his or her action. If, in a drunken stupor, I kill a man, but have absolutely no awareness of doing so, then I will take the consequence that corresponds to being drunk ─ breaking the fifth precept ─ not to the consequence of taking someone’s life, which is breaking the first precept. However, it is extremely rare to do or say something that drastic without being aware of it.

STUDENT:
If a person breaks the law, will that draw a negative karmic consequence, or will it be the guilt the person feels that draws the karmic consequence?

SHIH-FU:
Karmically speaking, there will be a consequence whether you feel guilty for your action or not. If a bodhisattva feels it necessary to kill someone, though in his or her mind it may have been the best thing to do under the circumstances, he or she must still take the karmic consequence.

STUDENT:
Who determined what actions create good and bad karma?

SHIH-FU:
The principles of Buddhism come from Sakyamuni Buddha. His principles are not commands telling us what to do and what not to do. They are not a moral code. Rather, they are based on observation. With his wisdom, Sakyamuni was able to tell his disciples what consequences followed certain kinds of action, and he advised them to avoid actions that generated bad consequences and perform actions that generated good consequences.

In society, laws are necessary in order to maintain structure and stability. For this reason, laws are relatively rigid. Karma, on the other hand, is flexible. Suppose I’ve done something bad, but because causes and conditions are not ripe, I have not yet taken the consequence for that action. If then I do something good, the karmic force may change. However, if instead I do something else which is bad, it may lead more quickly to that consequence. There are people who have never taken the consequence for a bad action because they constantly generate good karma. With this in mind, it should be an encouragement to practice more diligently.

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