The Interfaith Center of New York’s Matthew Weiner Reflects on Karma for The Huffington Post
Matthew Weiner, program director for the Interfaith Center of New York, is inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to our country to reflect on Buddhist notions of karma for The Huffington Post. He places perhaps too much emphasis on the metaphysical side of things, and I might make a few tweaks here and there, but, for the most part, Weiner certainly offers a more nuanced presentation of karma than what normally finds its way into the public consciousness. Here’s a snippet:
- Buddhists who take Karma seriously do not believe that other moral choices, which may be socially or personally legitimate, neutralize the karmic reality of the universe. Karma is a physical law, in this way. For example, in the 17th Century a Korean Buddhist monk led his monks into battle against the invading Japanese army. Afterwards he thanked them, but made it clear that they would still suffer the karmic consequences of their actions. In another case that demonstrates the same belief, I once knew two Tibetan women who lived in a cockroach infested apartment, but they refused to use roach traps for deadly fear of the karmic response.
What are your thoughts about the piece?
