[Buddha-l] karma and consequences

[L.S. Cousins]

Weng-Fai Wong wrote:
> I notice something interesting that always comes up with the discussion of
> karma and karma-vipaaka. Something like "a good guy gets cancer and dies; it
> may be due to his past life karma" seems not to be acceptable to a Westerner
> whereas for someone Asian, it is. 
>   
I am not sure that this is really a 'Westerner' versus 'Asian' 
difference. It seems much more a question of not understanding what is 
meant and how it is applied.
> The Westerner seems to find this a pervasion of the notion of fair play and
> justice, as well as a case of "rubbing salt on the wounds".
>   
One meets this response, but not usually among Westerners who actually 
accept the teachings of kamma and rebirth. There are plenty of them -- 
except on this list :-)

Note that at one time, when someone dies of cancer, it would be referred 
to as 'God's will' and might still be in some Christian circles.
> However, for someone Asian, it in fact provides closure and a sense of
> solace. The window of justice goes beyond the current live. Furthermore,
> that I am luckily than the dead person does not mean that I am somehow
> better or superior. As a Chinese saying goes, "it is not that the karma will
> not come, it is just that the time is not right yet." All of us have a mix
> of good and bad karma manifesting at different times. It may be that my good
> karma is manifesting now while the dead man's bad karma manifested in the
> same time window. It by no means excludes the possibility that fortunes will
> reverse within the same time window some time in the future.
That describes pretty exactly how I would feel about it.

Lance Cousins