You know the Buddhists believe in the cycle of life.
Do good, accumulate positive Karma, and you'll be reborn into a better life than the one you're living now. Do bad, accumulate bad Karma, and you'll end up in the ghetto, or worst still, as a cockcroach. Of course if you've been a really good boy or girl, concentrated on your meditation, yoga, Bodhi Tree trances and all that, you'll get Enlightened, become a Buddha, and free yourself from this painful rollercoaster of Rebirth.
And so I beg your indulgence for alittle creative and spiritual license in this very flippant interpretation of the Dharma.
But someone please tell me. If and when, one does become a dirty, disgusting, 6-legged insect that inhabits garbage, how would you get yourself back on the path to Nirvana? You start by not flying into someone's hair? And making her (or him in this day and age of girly metrosexuals) scream for the Dalai Lama to come swat you with a Lotus leaf?
The concept of Karma, its principles of Cause and Effect, coexist with our understanding of Time. Time gives Karma its good or bad face. But the ironic thing is, given more of it (time), there's an equal chance of accumulating either good or bad Karma. Which then decides whether you really become a Bodhisattva or ancient Arthropod.
So what you really need is someone. Someone on the path to Enlightenment who will give you that little nudge in the right direction. Someone who would help you ensure your next life will be better than your last. And that you don't scurry in dark and dank corners using feelers twice the length of your body.
At some point or another, in this life or the next, we're all looking for that Someone. Because deep down, we all want to believe that things will get better in time.
Closet Optimists perhaps.
Although we don't say it.
Labels: Musings