The Karma of Thoughts and Intentions
Nothing can exist without a cause.
Voltaire
What if karma was based on our true intentions instead of merely our actions? This would certainly seem to make our thoughts much more important, especially if you believe in the karma, the law of cause and effect. It is commonly believed by many people that our actions, both good and bad, will come back to us in one form or another. But actions can be deceiving. Many actions which appear honorable and good actually have hidden agendas and less than honorable intentions.
With this in mind, let’s examine karma a bit deeper. The law of karma basically means that the present quality of your life is determined by your behavior in the past. For example, if you have been a good person and spent at least some of your time helping others in the past, you may find that people seem to offer you help when you need it today. On the other hand, if you have been mean and nasty to people in the past, you can expect that same attitude to revisit you in the future, in one form or another.
A simple way of looking at karma is whatever you send out in this world will eventually come back to you. If you send out love, kindness, and harmony, then those wonderful traits will eventually manifest in your life in the future. But, as with everything in life, there are two sides to the karmic coin. The law of karma does not discriminate. If you mistreat people, are mean and nasty, cheat people, manipulate people, etc., you can expect those actions to eventually catch up with you too.
It is a pretty simple concept to grasp. Your actions, both good and bad, will come back to you at some time during your life. For every action, there is a reaction. Everything you do carries a consequence of some kind, whether good or bad. Most people who believe in the reality of the law of karma, or as many in the West prefer to call it, the law of cause and effect, accept the belief that our actions have consequences. But what about our intentions and thoughts; are they also susceptible to karma?
There is no act, however trivial, but has its train of consequences.
Samuel Smiles
The field of quantum physics has now proven that our thoughts contain energy. Thoughts are forces. Negative thoughts contain negative, low level energy; and positive thoughts contain positive, high level energy. Every thought that you have, produces some effect, just as every action produces some effect. While it is true that the effect of many of our thoughts is minimal, they do produce an effect nonetheless.
If this is true, and it is, then why would our thoughts and internal intentions be exempt from the law of karma? Are we not just as responsible for the thoughts that we entertain as we are for the actions which we take in our lives? Of course we are. You and you alone, are responsible for your thoughts, at least the thoughts that you allow your mind to dwell on for any length of time. And, you are surely responsible for the intentions behind your actions.
This brings me back to the original question, what if our thoughts and intentions are susceptible to the law of karma, just like our actions are?
There would be no hiding malicious intentions behind the veil of what appears to be honorable actions, at least not from the universal laws of the Universe. The thoughts that we dwell on would produce effects in our life just like our actions do. Our thoughts and intentions would become as important as our actions, at least as far as the building of our future life is concerned.
Do evil thoughts of retaliation injure oneself or one’s enemy?
Nagarjuna
Well, I have some news for you. Karma does apply to your thoughts and intentions. Do you think that the Great Spirit of our Universe cannot see the intentions behind your actions? Are you so clever and cunning that you can con the Universe by hiding your less than admirable intentions behind the veil of your seemly good, but empty actions? Can you manipulate karma like you manipulate naïve, trusting people who cross your path? I don’t think so!
Karma cannot be conned. What you send out, in any form, will come back to you. It doesn’t matter if it is evil, selfish actions, or malicious, negative thoughts and intentions, you will reap what you sow. Your intentions do matter. It is your intentions behind your actions which make your actions honorable or dishonorable, not the action itself.
Thoughts give birth to intentions, and intentions give birth to honorable or dishonorable actions. This is a package deal. Your thoughts, intentions, and actions cannot be completely separated.
Think of these as parts of a recipe and once you mix them all together, there is no separating them again. They become a part of the whole creation that you alone created, and you alone will be responsible for. You will either reap the benefits of it or the detriments of it. It may not happen overnight, but be assured, eventually you will see the results of your creation.
There is always a cause for everything in your life – both the good and the bad. Your thoughts and intentions are not exempt from the laws of the Universe. Make sure that your thoughts and intentions, as well as your actions, are pure and honorable. You may fool the naïve eyes of man, but God sees behind the veil of your actions.
Now, though I do no wrong, I’m punished by my past. Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit…When you meet with adversity don’t be upset, because it makes sense…
If we should be blessed by some great reward…it’s the fruit of a see planted by us in the past.
Bodhidharma
Bohdi Sanders
Author of:
Secrets of the Soul, Wisdom of the Elders,
Warrior Wisdom, and Modern Bushido
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much!