Eastern traditions look at “karma” as a mysterious energy or essence of being that helps to explain how our present actions wind up influencing what transpires in our future, for ourselves and for others- “cause & effect.” Whatever we have done in the past, the law of karma, of cause and effect, says it will have inevitable consequences in the here and now, some subtle, some very salient, some understandable, some not- all modulated by our original motivation and intention, the quality (state) of mind that give birth to the action itself.

Truly, the past may be behind us, but we carry with us the accumulated consequences of what has already happened. Yet, with the “right effort”, we can also change our karma by coming to the present moment openly and mindfully as best we can, and forming the intention to shift from more afflictive and perhaps destructive to more nurturing mind and body states. We change karma by just bringing awareness to our motivations- by nurturing benevolent motivations and by consciously avoiding reacting reflexively out of unwholesome motives. In order for transformation and healing to take root, we must abide by an ethical foundation not just in principle, but in intention and action.

We are indeed responsible for our own actions and their consequences. There is no room for the “blame game” in this practice. Human goodness and kindness are spawned from how we conduct our own lives, and what our basic stance is toward these tendencies. The inherent nature of our goodness, our kindness, our gentleness- makes up our foundation, our practice, and our way of life. Through an ethical and moral foundation, we are able to tap deeper resources of our own hearts for kindness, generosity, compassion, and goodwill. What is truly authentic must be embodied and lived- an open-hearted presence is more than just talking the talk– it’s carrying one’s essence of goodness & fearlessness throughout life moment to moment as best as we can. It’s touching all of our experience directly and intimately as best we can with open-hearted attention- as if our life depended upon it. Awakening to the “full catastrophe” of our lives requires that we care deeply, otherwise this level of awareness cannot be sustained.

What we are on the inside is often carried to the outside. Much of the human condition today- the social condition today might be attributed to the dis-ease of unawareness, of ignoring what is most fundamental in our nature as human-beings.The practice of mindful awareness helps us to better discern what is natural and what is unnatural- to discern troubling streams of impulse, thought, and emotion- to discern healthy and troubled states of mind and body. The mind is a very powerful instrument to come to see and know the world. The practice of mindfulness helps to modulate and refine this instrument to see more clearly and directly, and to support our being to live more compassionately and fully. The greater the mindfulness- the greater the awareness, and the greater the potential for penetrative insight to transform individual and collective consciousness.

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