Well, it's kind of your own fault, but here's an explanation given by Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda in his book What Buddhists Believe, page 113...
"Karma is an impersonal natural law that operates in accordance with ones actions. It is a law in itself and does not have any law-giver. Karma operates in its own field without intervention of an external, independent, ruling agent."
Therefore there is no God or gods that are necessary to govern our lives. Just live and let live all by oneself.
A person reaps what they sow. Sow good, reap good. Sow bad, reap bad.
But how do you explain bad things happening to those who sow good? Those who sow bad have no authority or accountability but their own.
God has a plan for each and every one of His children and that plan is not to harm us but to be used for our own good (Jeremiah 29:11). When we rebel and want to follow our own way, that's where we run into trouble.
I'm glad my Heavenly Father, God, is my "external, independent, Ruling Agent". However it is not quite truth that He is external. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior through faith, God sent His Holy Spirit to indwell me (and any other follower of Jesus Christ); therefore, He is internal. God seeks to commune with His children and He also wants us to follow His ways out of love and gratitude for Him. This is to make Him King of my life--to become that "Ruling Agent" and allow Him to be the "Accountant" of my life. He has our best interests at heart.
Sri Dhammananda points out on page 114 that it's the mind that is the individual's "lawgiver" giving "volition" to do good or bad causing that person to reap the consequences of their own actions.
The Fall had total bearing on our minds thus its corruptness and need of redemption and renewal. This not through our own efforts (according to God's Word Ephesians 2:8) or training our minds but through the blood of Jesus Christ who God gave to all of mankind. Once justified by faith, then, and only then are we able to work on sanctification of our minds and then on our actions through obeying God's Word and the Holy Spirit's convictions, help and influence in our lives.
I'd like to insert here two short paragraphs that I believe are so succinct in explaining, in brief, two big words: justification and sanctification. We will run into these terms as we wade through this Burning Quest series. Here then from the book The Gospel According to Rome by James G. McCarthy, page 68...
"Sanctification and justification must not be confused. Justification is a declaration of God by which a person is forgiven and credited with the righteousness of God. It is a once-and-for-all event by which a person comes into a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Practical sanctification is a process by which the Christian's moral character and personal conduct come into growing conformity with his legal standing before God. It is a work of God but one in which the believer must cooperate (Romans 6:19)."
God does not want to be impersonal to us His creatures. He wants relationship and interaction: communion.
The Buddhist reckons without this but the question needs to be asked, "Where did a human being's mind come from in the first place?
We must reckon with God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. I think if you read another article it will give you an idea of these. Please click on the link following: Testing God.
"The Buddha says, "There is no place to hide in order to escape from karma results..."" (page 117).
This means whatever a person does or does not do, the consequences are his and his alone. No one else is to blame: not some pre-programmed life by a "supreme being but ones own self is responsible". I tell you however, that there is a place to hide. Rather not a place, but a Person, and that Person is none other than Jesus Christ. He is the One to have suffered for my sins and their consequences. He took my punishment. I accepted this gift and received forgiveness of sins, His suffering the penalty of those sins on my behalf; and giving eternal life with Christ in the end. All praise and gratitude belong to Him.
Thank-You, Father, God.
Again from Sri Dhammananda page 118...
"...we are not slaves to our karma. Nor are we mere machines that automatically release instinctive forces that enslave us. Nor are we mere products of nature. We have within ourselves the strength and ability to change our karma..."
A determined decision to make such changes do happen to great degrees but it's the perseverance that can be problematic. Even with the Holy Spirit's help our own spirit and will may work against our good intentions to submit to God our Father and rely on Him in the progressive sanctification department. Just think of the people who make New Year's Resolutions or the ones who give something up for lent, these things often peter out eventually. Saving oneself would be a determined full time exhausting job; it does sound rather like slave work to me.
Sri Dhammananda says optimistically on page 118...
"Our minds are mightier than our karma and so the law of karma can be made to serve us. We do not have to give up our hope and effort in order to surrender ourselves to karmic force. To off-set the reaction of our bad karma that we have accumulated previously, we have to do more meritorious deeds; and purify our minds rather than simply rely on worshiping, performing rites or torturing our physical bodies in order to overcome our karmic effects...a person can overcome the effects of his or her evil deeds if he or she acts wisely by leading a noble life."
To outweigh the effects of bad deeds one needs to perform more good deeds so that whoever, or whatever, receives your "mental continuum" will have a better life while aiming to eradicate suffering; a kind act in and of itself. So whatever or whomever is to receive your 'gift' needs to rely on you doing your part, hopefully, for better, not for worse. You, yourself may not suffer/gain the consequences but the next person/critter will, it seems.
Many likely have heard of mind over matter. Yes, God has given many, mighty minds. Yet I prefer to rely on God's work in me to bring about the good character and the renewing of my heart and mind. The heart change comes through the justification a person receives at the point of salvation. The mind change can then follow suit (sanctification process). We do not have to worry about making the next person or critter's life miserable. At the end of our own physical body, God takes care of our soul and spirit till He's ready to call us to be with Him forever and give us that incorruptible body as we read about in Burning Quest - Part 6.
~ERC 2018~
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