[Buddha-l] Re. karma and consequences

[Vicente Gonzalez]

Robert wrote:

RE> I previously gave some examples of karma not being accomplished:
RE> a good person getting cancer, a nasty dictator in happy
RE> retirement, and also a lie which does not necessarily lead to
RE> ascertainable bad results. To assert that in these kinds of
RE> examples karma must be being fulfilled even though we do not
RE> experience it is dogmatic. It is unfalsifiable.

On the contrary. In those examples the kamma is accomplished in the
same moment that you explain this is the result.
It seems what you miss in kamma is justice, not causality.

But the role of kamma is nor that. Using another analogy, in a
billiards game, surely we will bet for the best player instead the
worse one. However, when only remains three balls in the table, we see
how the black ball goes to a hole in a surprising way. We will feel
the injustice because that man is a very good player. However, the
movement of the balls was absolutely logical and we know it.
And the wise people we will bet always for the best player instead the
worse one. Because we know the causality is accomplished in a
scientific way despite we cannot obtain a prediction.

To examine kamma one need to limit the reach of his understanding. In
the same way that we cannot know all relations involved when we shot
to four balls to predict the result. I think for this reason, the
Buddha advices are not a bidirectional recipe of effort -> reward
but to become a good player ("skillful"):

"Abandon what is unskillful, monks. It's possible to abandon what is
unskillful. If it were not possible to abandon what is unskillful, I
would not say to you, 'Abandon what is unskillful.'" AN 2.19

Buddha teach how to shot the balls, to identify a wrong strategy,
wrong views and wrong movements. Roots are greed, aversion and
delusion, the three roots of unskillful things. When we check the
Buddha teaching on kamma, all the teaching is to become a good player:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/kamma.html

The rational character of kamma teaching is implicit, and this can be
checked all the time while one don't exceed the reach of his
understanding. Because quickly many third factor are involved, and the
failure is when we are extending our imagination believing it is our
understanding. Our mental images only are able to predict a "logical
result" in the short distance (i.e: 1 + 1 = 2). Beyond these poor
distances, these images are only imaginations with uncertain degrees
of probability.

But one can check how sustaining a happy thought for a while it causes
happiness. Or if you give me 1.000 dollars I will be happy. etc..
You can check any of them.


best regards,