The Advantages Gained from Learning
about the Law of Kamma
Knowledge of the Law of Kamma has the power to elevate the consciousness of ordinary human beings to that of holy individuals. The following are the advantages which can be gained in this and future existences from knowing about the Law of Kamma.
1. The knowledge helps us to be motivated to perform only good deeds from this day onward. It helps us realize that the fortunate circumstances of our current existence are due to our past accumulated merit or the effects of our past good Kamma and these effects have finite duration in that they can be spent. Therefore, we need to continue accumulating good deeds in order to ensure that our merit is constantly replenished. For those of us who meet with unfortunate circumstances in the current existence, we should not be discouraged. Now that we know what constitutes good and bad Kamma, we can choose to perform only good Kamma on a continuous basis because the good things we do today will go to create a brighter future for us tomorrow.
2. The knowledge helps us to abandon all misdeeds because it helps us realize the harm which our misdeeds can have on ourselves, on society, and on the environment.
3. The knowledge helps us not to be complacent by thinking that it is enough that we do not commit any misdeed and there should be no need for us to perform any good deed. It helps us realize the fact that every breath which we take uses up part of our accumulated past merit. Therefore, our past accumulated merit is continuously being spent. It helps us realize the fact that death can come to us without any advanced warning. Therefore, we must seize every opportunity to perform good deeds.
4. The knowledge helps us to use our body in the most worthwhile manner possible. Whether we possess a healthy body or a handicapped one, we realize that it is the result of our overall past Kamma. A handicapped body can still be used to perform many good deeds. Healthy or handicapped, we must learn to control our impulses by controlling our body, our words, and our thoughts so that we do not fall prey to the dictate of our defilements. A handicapped body that is used to perform good deeds is far more superior to a healthy body that is used to commit misdeeds.
5. The knowledge helps us to have a firm belief in the Law of Kamma. This belief in turn helps us to be increasingly conscious of our action, and its consequences so much so that it becomes our second nature. The consequences of good deeds are a healthy body and a healthy mind; economical success through right livelihood and respectability. The consequences of our good deeds propel us to meet with ever increasing success and prosperity.
6. The knowledge helps us to design our life for both this and future existences. We can choose whether we want to experience success and prosperity or to experience abject poverty. Most people believe that we cannot choose the circumstances in which we are born. The truth is we can if we truly understand the Law of Kamma and how it works. We can design our next rebirth by choosing to perform our physical deeds, verbal deeds, and mental deeds accordingly.
7. The knowledge helps us to appropriate goals for our life. We learn from the Law of Kamma that the root cause of our problems is our action which in turn impacts our lifestyle, our business, our society, and our environment. Therefore, to solve the root cause of our problems, we must bear in mind at all times that we are here to
perform good deeds, accumulate merit, and pursue Perfections. For these purposes, we can design our lives by setting the objective of our lives at three different levels as follows:
* The primary level of our life objective: To experience ease and comfort in the current existence.
* The secondary level of our life objective: To experience ecstasy in our next existence in the Celestial Realm.
* The tertiary level of our life objective: To elevate our physical, verbal, and mental status to the point where emancipation from defilements can be achieved and the round of rebirth can be terminated.
8. The knowledge helps us to teach and train ourselves and others to behave properly. The true nature of our consciousness is beautiful and bright. It can imbibe the goodness of sound advice and help us to feel motivated to do good deeds. Moreover, we can benefit others by becoming their virtuous friend.
9. The knowledge helps us not to be heedless in the way we live our lives. It helps us to pay attention to every small deed and makes us realize why the Lord Buddha taught us to practice generosity, observe the Precepts, and practice meditation. The practice of meditation brings about wisdom, which can guide us to live our lives correctly.
10. The knowledge prevents us from wrong thinking. Human beings tend to have wide imaginings and this poses a great risk where true knowledge about the earth and our existence is concerned. For instance, instead of accepting the truth about the natural aging process of our body, we try to search for a magical remedy that can make us immortal. Some of us are of the opinion that the earth will last forever. Others believe that the reality of this world and the hereafter does not exist. They believe that death is final and signifies the end of everything. These are all dangerous imaginings which give deleterious consequences.
