Can Karma Cause Suffering?

Abstract

Needless to say, the Buddhist doctrine of karma is one of the central tenets of the faith. In his book What the Buddha Thought, Richard Gombrich describes karma as “a kind of lynchpin which holds the rest of the basic tenets together by providing the perfect example of what they mean”. Gombrich explains this is because the Buddha taught that all thoughts, words and deeds derive their moral value, both positive or negative, from the intention behind them, making intention the basic criterion for morality. As positive and attractive as this understanding appears on the surface, this article raises the question of what this understanding of karma has led to when put into practice in various Buddhist-influenced countries in Asia over the centuries and continuing to the present. On the one hand, there can be no doubt that a belief in karma, in combination with compassion, has led socially engaged Buddhist groups like Tzu Chi, based in Taiwan, to engage in a wide range of charitable activities throughout the world. Followers believe the world can be made a better place by planting good karmic seeds. They view these “seeds” as the prerequisite for flowers to bloom and bear fruit. In other words, they believe the workings of karma lead to the creation of a better society as a result of good actions and pure thoughts.

While this article is not meant to denigrate, much less ignore, the wonderful work of karma-inspired Buddhist charitable organizations like Tzu Chi, there is another side to karma, one to which little attention has been paid, i.e. the negative effects that alternative interpretations of karma have produced, especially in Japan but also in other Buddhistinfluenced Asian countries. Inasmuch as Buddhism is a religion dedicated to the removal of suffering, it is deeply ironic, if not contradictory, that these alternative, and widespread, interpretations of karma have been the cause of so much suffering, both past and present. How is this possible?