Karma another version of Hell/Dogma ??

[<8>]

Hi guys..


You are all lovely souls, and im not quite sure how my limited mind will express this to you.


Can karma only be one more suggestion to keep our limited minds trapt here?? karma make us, NO force us, to live many lives until we got it right, yes??

So lets say i have done alot of bad things before i now got this knowledge of karma, and realize now that karma are affecting my life.(and others ofc)
Can one with a true heart and the understanding of the pain he have sufferd others, ask for forgiveness and a new start in life.
Without having to relive the karma death..??

Or is it just that we go down different paths, learn what we can and move on to the next one.??

If you belive in karma, you have to know it´s a man made word and all what it stands for.??.(Just like the bible)
I am not claiming karma must be a bad thing, it can be a way to improve your life, as the bilble have words of wisdom, it can easily be turned around and used against you.
I sometimes see people who have their karma hanging over them, they say, i don't want to get involved too much karma.


A penny for your thoughts...:)

[Tony]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony

[atlantianferret]

Karma is only part of it. I think of it as a compass to keep you on the path. With perfect balance you stay on the path, however you still need to walk the path.

[Lord Sidious]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony

Would you agree that it isn't always about us?
That when something ''bad'' happens to someone ''good'' it can be about someone else in the equation?

[Seikou-Kishi]

Karma could seem like something imposed upon us from on high, but perhaps karma is the result of the free will decisions of a better part of us which is supremely fair. Whatever harm we cause, that supremely fair part of us will ensure we receive as well, in order to know it from both sides.

[Lord Sidious]

Karma could seem like something imposed upon us from on high, but perhaps karma is the result of the free will decisions of a better part of us which is supremely fair. Whatever harm we cause, that supremely fair part of us will ensure we receive as well, in order to know it from both sides.

Your handle and avatar are back like they were when I joined. :cool:

[Seikou-Kishi]

Karma could seem like something imposed upon us from on high, but perhaps karma is the result of the free will decisions of a better part of us which is supremely fair. Whatever harm we cause, that supremely fair part of us will ensure we receive as well, in order to know it from both sides.

Your handle and avatar are back like they were when I joined. :cool:

You've only just noticed? And I thought you were observant :P
Good to be back :)

[Lord Sidious]

Karma could seem like something imposed upon us from on high, but perhaps karma is the result of the free will decisions of a better part of us which is supremely fair. Whatever harm we cause, that supremely fair part of us will ensure we receive as well, in order to know it from both sides.

Your handle and avatar are back like they were when I joined. :cool:

You've only just noticed? And I thought you were observant :P
Good to be back :)

No, but I have been trying to juggle a few balls here and there and didn't have a chance to post about it yet.
Got a very high res video of Ofra Haza doing Show Me this evening.
The same one as in the Ofra thread, but much better quality.
Been doing some recon.

[ViralSpiral]

To me karma is cause & effect. Actions produce certain responses in the form of another event
No one knows for sure what is beyond the veil however, through my rose-tinted-kaleidoscope, I see the headmaster with a big stick ;)

[Mark]

newton's third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. of course, this is speaking of the physical mechanics of materiality. but as the hermetic wisdom states, as above, so below. reaping the whirlwind or karma is the spiritual equivalent.

karma is indeed an "entrapment" at some levels, no matter your perspective. even if you don't define karma through the lens of tradition but rather as a sort of spiritual and energetic science you can't get away from the seeming reality that this "system" is maintained at some level by powers and principalities that are alien to human consciousness. whether they receive some sort of "payment" or "reward" for maintaining the system is up for discussion, whether or not we participate by "free will" or by some sort of trickery is also up for debate. whether karma is necessary or not, is the ultimate question. could there be some form of existence for some forms of sentient beings outside of the wheel of karmic reincarnation? i find that an interesting question and have sought answers to it, which took me alternately to the Cassiopaeans (http://cassiopaea.org/), Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (http://www.gurdjieff.org/), Casteneda (http://www.castaneda.com/).

We each have to decide for ourselves. But at a higher level of consciousness, the totality of our knowledge is infinite and so we must take our conceptions of "knowledge" and "belief" within that contextual framework, accepting our limited understanding and remaining open, ever, to new information.

[Seikou-Kishi]

newton's third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. of course, this is speaking of the physical mechanics of materiality. but as the hermetic wisdom states, as above, so below. reaping the whirlwind or karma is the spiritual equivalent.

"As above, so below" would seem to have the corollary "as below, so above". If we hold that "as above, so below" has any truth to it, we could take knowledge of superior worlds by the study of this world. It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure we can learn of such worlds in such a way, which makes me question the veracity and utility of "as above, so below"

[Mark]

newton's third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. of course, this is speaking of the physical mechanics of materiality. but as the hermetic wisdom states, as above, so below. reaping the whirlwind or karma is the spiritual equivalent.

"As above, so below" would seem to have the corollary "as below, so above". If we hold that "as above, so below" has any truth to it, we could take knowledge of superior worlds by the study of this world. It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure we can learn of such worlds in such a way, which makes me question the veracity and utility of "as above, so below"

you are free to "believe" or "doubt" anything, as I stated above:


We each have to decide for ourselves. But at a higher level of consciousness, the totality of our knowledge is infinite and so we must take our conceptions of "knowledge" and "belief" within that contextual framework, accepting our limited understanding and remaining open, ever, to new information.

Ancient wisdom, spread across many cultures and types of humans corroborate the axiom, "as above, so below". Taking a scientific perspective and looking for correlations necessitates the cultivation of a perspective through which the synthesis of information, the determination of constants and the relative accuracy of communicative discourse proceeds logically, which then leads to a tentative acceptance of the corollary. You can look at the world as it is, make the appropriate shifts in conception approximating a higher consciousness and more ethereal state of vibratory existence, and come to some conclusions personally regarding the nature of higher states. Every system of spiritual understanding attempts this. But the difficulty in doing so is aptly encompassed by considering the hypercube (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercube), which exists at a higher dimensional state. If is is difficult to fully conceptualize the spatial parameters of higher dimensional realities as they pertain to some sort of living/existing/resonating framework, then it must be equally difficult to conceptualize higher consciousness levels as they pertain to same.

To state it simply, it's easier to roll downhill than to climb back up.

[Seikou-Kishi]

you are free to "believe" or "doubt" anything

Ah, that's kind of you :P

[Mark]

you are free to "believe" or "doubt" anything

Ah, that's kind of you :P

Not at all. It is true. We are all free to do anything we choose. That is the entire purpose of our being here.

[Tony]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony

Would you agree that it isn't always about us?
That when something ''bad'' happens to someone ''good'' it can be about someone else in the equation?

Yes, there is more to the equation.

This is a really tough one, and I hope what I say will not upset anyone.

During the summer I spent some time with a Tibetan teacher and monks. There were several readings from a new book about the life of the lama's teacher. The lamas teacher was a very high lama in Tibet when the Chinese invaded. This an account of life in a concentration camp.

The lama and many other lamas spent twenty five years in prison. Life was so horrific that several lama practised the ejection of consciousness ( leaving the body), others dashed their heads against the wall and smashed their heads in. This action is unheard of for spiritual people.

The point is, there was nothing to be done about another's suffering, it is not possible. We all have the intention and wish to help others. Maybe physically we can, and we can certainly pray, but that is about it.

All enlightened beings do not wish sentient beings to suffer, but we have to do the work and join up the dots ourselves. This is tough bit, we create our situation = cause and effect =karma. It cannot be taken away from us, that could make things worse.

I believe we can reduce the effects of karma, but this is to do with our attitude to what comes up in our life, and to stop over reacting. Over reacting puts more karma back in our karmic bank. We need to be karmically bankrupt!

This does not mean we do not care. Compassion is very important, but we have to be aware of what is called...grandmother's compassion!

One interesting fact: the lama's teacher said he did the best practise in prison, and had total compassion for those who imprisoned him. In fact in the last seven years, a chinese doctor took compassion on him and several other lama, and so they practised in solitary confinement. Who could ask for more!

It all depends on your view.


Tony

[<8>]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony



There is good karma, and there is bad karma

May i ask, how do you know, is it just by faith in this..??

I mean no disrespect...

[Robert J. Niewiadomski]

There is karma. If you believe in it. Otherwise there is only you, your fellow spirits and ethernal unconditionaly all loving Light. Waiting for you to join it and make you both bigger. And every time you make a mistake it is you who ask for another lesson. And this Light provides you with it. No external to you function pushes this lesson on you. You consciously ask for it by yourself. And if you decide you have learnt that lesson you approach closer to Light. You can also decide you do not want to join Light anylonger. Then you just cease to exist. It is also your conscious choice. A last one. But your earned experience and your memory persist. It can be given to another new born spirit to further refine it... Some call it reincarnation...
Life is joy :) Even when it seems that you have no reason to laugh... There is no use in sadness... It gets you nowhere... It is just a "human drama" however dreadfull...
This is how I see it... And I might be wrong ;)

[TraineeHuman]

The word "enlightenment" is an old English word. It doesn't mean being lit up with light, but, rather, having your load greatly lightened. Enlightenment brings at the same time a perception that in reality everything is interconnected with everything else, and also it brings the beginnings of the cutting off of all your attachments.

If everything is truly interconnected (which it is!), then the true cause of all the effects you ever experience is the universe itself, n'est pas? Of course, with enlightenment you get the insight that you actually are the universe (seen from a certain "angle", which is different from everybody else's "angle"). So, "your" karma in reality never was Fred Nurk's karma, if you carry the label of Fred Nurk. "Your" karma is the entire universe's, and not "yours" in the conventional sense at all.

[Davidallany]

Karma is the feed back of energy output, it can be cancelled, deflected and transformed with the adapting of love, just as a mother would care for her only child, so is the love for others should be. It's the basic requirement for all the marvels that follow, it is also the cushion to safeguard from any falls. In my experience everything is better when operating more from the upper chakras, rather than running all day on lower chakras. Upper chakras are the source of love and wisdom.

[AMystic3434]

I think negitivity causes karma for a person, but that being said if a person were to change from negitive to positive (and being honest with ones self) that one can free themself of bad karma rather quickly

[Tony]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony



There is good karma, and there is bad karma

May i ask, how do you know, is it just by faith in this..??

I mean no disrespect...

Good question.
I've been on spiritual paths for over forty years, studying and experiencing this thing called karma. On a practical level it is merely cause and effect. But our reinforced actions seem to leave an imprint in the mind, an attitude. An attitude that we carry around. We know that if we are angry with some one, they wil be angry back. Likewise if we smile, they will smile back. This has all been said before!

I suppose I know through observation.

We seem to carry a smell or vibration around with us, which has a affect on that situation. We may attract people or people may just move away from us, or we get ignored. These seem to be the same principles in very atom! So we may be creating the world we inhabit...

From a Buddhist point of view we also carry long term karma - we have been reincarnating for a very very very long time.
So the grooves in the mind are quite deep, and some of us have some heavy karma to repay. This is merely balancing the account! It seems to be a law of this universe, though not at all easy to understand.

One could just say...**** happens! But when I look, I can see what I have done, and what I am holding on to.

I am creating karma now, if I hold an attitude. If I hold no attitude then the action is pure and then it doe not create karma. If I stop just reacting then there is no cause and effect. Of course, we wish our intentions to be good - or beneficial- so that may, or may not, produce good karma. However, good karma is also a problem! As humans we have a tendency to cling to good things that come our way, and that in itself will produce bad karma...!

I find the concept of karma to be logical and here it is slightly tricky because it keeps us on the straight and narrow - but one could also say that it could be used to control us, to create fear. For myself, I find it helpful because of the idea of reincarnation - that I want a better rebirth than the one I had this time around, although I am grateful for what that has produced.

I belief the so-called elite do not believe in karma, and so there are no limits to what they can do without caring about the result for others. They do understand about cause and effect for their own selfish gains...maybe it is up to every individual to work this out for themselves.

It is not dogma.

I genuinely believe in patience and loving kindness, which is called Bodhicitta, and is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.

All the best
Tony

[<8>]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony



There is good karma, and there is bad karma

May i ask, how do you know, is it just by faith in this..??

I mean no disrespect...

Good question.
I've been on spiritual paths for over forty years, studying and experiencing this thing called karma. On a practical level it is merely cause and effect. But our reinforced actions seem to leave an imprint in the mind, an attitude. An attitude that we carry around. We know that if we are angry with some one, they wil be angry back. Likewise if we smile, they will smile back. This has all been said before!

I suppose I know through observation.

We seem to carry a smell or vibration around with us, which has a affect on that situation. We may attract people or people may just move away from us, or we get ignored. These seem to be the same principles in very atom! So we may be creating the world we inhabit...

From a Buddhist point of view we also carry long term karma - we have been reincarnating for a very very very long time.
So the grooves in the mind are quite deep, and some of us have some heavy karma to repay. This is merely balancing the account! It seems to be a law of this universe, though not at all easy to understand.

One could just say...**** happens! But when I look, I can see what I have done, and what I am holding on to.

I am creating karma now, if I hold an attitude. If I hold no attitude then the action is pure and then it doe not create karma. If I stop just reacting then there is no cause and effect. Of course, we wish our intentions to be good - or beneficial- so that may, or may not, produce good karma. However, good karma is also a problem! As humans we have a tendency to cling to good things that come our way, and that in itself will produce bad karma...!

I find the concept of karma to be logical and here it is slightly tricky because it keeps us on the straight and narrow - but one could also say that it could be used to control us, to create fear. For myself, I find it helpful because of the idea of reincarnation - that I want a better rebirth than the one I had this time around, although I am grateful for what that has produced.

I belief the so-called elite do not believe in karma, and so there are no limits to what they can do without caring about the result for others. They do understand about cause and effect for their own selfish gains...maybe it is up to every individual to work this out for themselves.

It is not dogma.

I genuinely believe in patience and loving kindness, which is called Bodhicitta, and is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.

All the best
Tony



Hi Tony...


Very well explained as expected...:)



I belief the so-called elite do not believe in karma, and so there are no limits to what they can do without caring about the result for others. They do understand about cause and effect for their own selfish gains...maybe it is up to every individual to work this out for themselves.

If they all are psychopaths, then it would make alot of seens...But i have a hard time beliving they all are psychopaths, because many are born into this role.
I suppose they are indoctrinated from an early age, just think of the nightmare all there kids have to go through...
Either way, they must be raised with some sort of belif system, that they be crowned as kings and queens upon death, for job well done. Or even Gods when i think about it.

So with all that in mind, they are really forced and shaped in to this. Would you say there be less negative karma if you look at the big picture.
Or are all the children in Africa who starve to death, the end result of negative karma..??

Thanks Tony...

[Davidallany]

The soldier that fires a bullet, the pilot that fires a missile and the banker that steals, are just following orders. Those people who issue orders are not actualy soiling their hands with executing the deed although they issued the order, whoever execute the order gets the most feedback, energy-wise. And that's how they get away with the lowest possible feedback. It's a dangerous game and requires lots of planning, recruitment, and deception.

[Tony]

Hello 8,
There is good karma, and there is bad karma. It is not a punishment, it is just cause and effect. Every action and reaction leaves an imprint in the mind. This imprint colours everything we see and do. Our present is created by our past action, if we do not change our future will remain the same. We go round in circle, as do our thoughts. We need to break out! Sometimes this is difficult to understand, I know I have a problem with it. If we hold on to a fixed idea, then life can become hell. We get frozen.

The question arises, Why do bad things happen to good people? One can say, stuff happens, or it past karma. It's a sort of debt that has to be repaid, and can be tough to deal with.
We have to put our trust in something. If I am aggressive to someone, they will aggressive back. If I smile they smile back. That is seen in the immediate moment. Karma can be long term, and it seems to be a law in the universe.

Karma hangs over us, if we hold on to it, if we hold onto our suffering. This sounds strange, but my Mum did. Our life and our future is in our own hands, even enlighten beings do not seem to able to help. We have to do the work. The Buddha did not answer some questions, we have to go through it and find out.

All the very best
Tony



There is good karma, and there is bad karma

May i ask, how do you know, is it just by faith in this..??

I mean no disrespect...

Good question.
I've been on spiritual paths for over forty years, studying and experiencing this thing called karma. On a practical level it is merely cause and effect. But our reinforced actions seem to leave an imprint in the mind, an attitude. An attitude that we carry around. We know that if we are angry with some one, they wil be angry back. Likewise if we smile, they will smile back. This has all been said before!

I suppose I know through observation.

We seem to carry a smell or vibration around with us, which has a affect on that situation. We may attract people or people may just move away from us, or we get ignored. These seem to be the same principles in very atom! So we may be creating the world we inhabit...

From a Buddhist point of view we also carry long term karma - we have been reincarnating for a very very very long time.
So the grooves in the mind are quite deep, and some of us have some heavy karma to repay. This is merely balancing the account! It seems to be a law of this universe, though not at all easy to understand.

One could just say...**** happens! But when I look, I can see what I have done, and what I am holding on to.

I am creating karma now, if I hold an attitude. If I hold no attitude then the action is pure and then it doe not create karma. If I stop just reacting then there is no cause and effect. Of course, we wish our intentions to be good - or beneficial- so that may, or may not, produce good karma. However, good karma is also a problem! As humans we have a tendency to cling to good things that come our way, and that in itself will produce bad karma...!

I find the concept of karma to be logical and here it is slightly tricky because it keeps us on the straight and narrow - but one could also say that it could be used to control us, to create fear. For myself, I find it helpful because of the idea of reincarnation - that I want a better rebirth than the one I had this time around, although I am grateful for what that has produced.

I belief the so-called elite do not believe in karma, and so there are no limits to what they can do without caring about the result for others. They do understand about cause and effect for their own selfish gains...maybe it is up to every individual to work this out for themselves.

It is not dogma.

I genuinely believe in patience and loving kindness, which is called Bodhicitta, and is the essence of the Buddha's teaching.

All the best
Tony



Hi Tony...


Very well explained as expected...:)



I belief the so-called elite do not believe in karma, and so there are no limits to what they can do without caring about the result for others. They do understand about cause and effect for their own selfish gains...maybe it is up to every individual to work this out for themselves.

If they all are psychopaths, then it would make alot of seens...But i have a hard time beliving they all are psychopaths, because many are born into this role.
I suppose they are indoctrinated from an early age, just think of the nightmare all there kids have to go through...
Either way, they must be raised with some sort of belif system, that they be crowned as kings and queens upon death, for job well done. Or even Gods when i think about it.

So with all that in mind, they are really forced and shaped in to this. Would you say there be less negative karma if you look at the big picture.
Or are all the children in Africa who starve to death, the end result of negative karma..??

Thanks Tony...

That my friend is another very good question!

We are now in the realm of pushing our brains slightly over the edge!
There is natural goodness in the universe, and to balance it there must be evil.
I never believed in evil until six months ago - actually, this forum has produced a lot of unusual side effects, but I'll leave that till another time...

There are inner demons and outer demons. The inner is our ego ( It's all about me!), that is sort of straight forward. Now, there seems to be entities (outer demons) that do not like love and compassion - they hate it. They feed our negative emotions, and feed off them. This information is in Tibetan teachings.

(I'll try to keep this short, as somewhere I've written about this and will dig it out - although part of those above mentioned side effects is that every time I write, it comes out differently!)

Spiritual practitioners are attacked, so there are practices to deal with this. I believe the so called 'elite' are easy prey, as they are extremely selfish individuals. They are not much different from us, merely extreme. I think, as Hoagland, that there is a filter down system of deception, greed and fear. But we cannot be too smug as many of us could be 'turned'. Anyone who does not have control of their minds can be turned, as history shows..."I was only obeying orders".

Having a bigger picture, only serves to see more karma at work. That eases the pain, because you know that suffering does not last. Actually, this is why compassion arises.

Why do children have to suffer so much? Maybe it is not just karma. Maybe it is just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe everything is not so precise? I am not totally certain about this. Stuff happens to us all - it could merely be a coincidence.

I look every day at this question and have no real answer. There could be things going on in the universe that we will never know about. We can only play our part.

This may sound strange- I do a practice which supplicates the enlightened beings, sending out light rays from my heart to all them. The light returns into me, and then I radiate it out to all sentient beings. It returns and goes out again to the enlightened ones and so on...

Does it do anything? Well, I think that we are transmitters and receivers, and we do not have original thoughts. But we do have free will to join up those dots and see how it all makes sense. There are good and bad transmissions, and our job is to see clearly. That is the job of meditation - and a good heart!

Sorry for so many words, but you do ask a good question, and I am not sure who is writing this answer!!!


All the best
Tony