Actions based on love..

In these past couple of months, I have been busy being attached to a school for my practicum to satisfy my Masters graduating requirement for counseling. I have learned something new from my numerous encounters with teachers and students in school.  Different intentions where actions are based out of can have different consequences/effect.  It is common knowledge that the energy of "Love" is one that is very gentle and soothing, however the actions based out of "Love" may not be.  I suppose, one can say that its the intention behind the action that counts.  I had the opportunity to work with 2 teachers with 2 very different methods of approach towards students, but they both achieve similar results, with regards to the student's well being.
    The first a school counselor (my immediate supervisor in the school) who takes the positive gentle approach to help students with their mental well-being.  Students respond very positively to him, and of course from as far as I can tell, the universe takes good care of such gentle caring souls who give much of themselves to the service of others.
   The other a teacher who is also a volleyball coach, who's approach is often the total opposite of the former in most instances.  She would scream/shout/scold her students on the court into submission.  Her students still come back after graduation to thank her for all she has done.  And surprisingly, many of the student's parents support her actions.  Even more surprisingly, the universe takes care of her to make her wishes and life smooth. Both of them are disciples of the Lord (if you know what I mean).
    At first, I was a little puzzled, but gradually I came to see what is happening.  Although for one of them the action may seem harsh and counter to the feeling of what "love" is, her actions are still based on "love".  She spares no thought for herself but treats the charges under her like it was her own children (going by this, she would have close to 40 sons then).  She is very devoted to the Lord, and she is very devoted to her students as well.  Both teachers, in my dictionary can be seen as Great Boddhisattva's in action (according to Buddhist teachings).  They have both shown me that it is not how the action/method present that counts, but the basis/intention of the action.  They were actions based on pure "love" to see their students become better than who they are - selfless actions. I have been truly touched by what I have seen and experienced.
    Conversely, when an action is based on the benefit of the self, is is a selfish action.  That act, can be as gentle as you can imagine it to be, or as harsh as the torturous acts in the abyss of hell.  The actions are still based on the selfish gains, whether if it is to satisfy the wimps of the unconscious personal ego, or deriving pleasure from the performance of the act, ultimately it is a selfish act.
    In short, judge not the action/situation that presents itself to you, or to others, for we may not know what was the original intention of scene that has been presented.  It is the intention that counts MOST!!!!

About Karma

On a few previous occasions, I have mentioned the concept known as Karma. Unfortunately, that concept has not been explained. I shall now attempt to elaborate a little more about the concept of Karma.

To many of us, Karma has been commonly associated with the practice of Buddhism. Contrary to this, Karma is not an exclusive concept to Buddhism. The concept of Karma predates Buddhism, to some ancient religion with Hindu origin. Therefore, Karma has its place in many Indian religions.

What is Karma then? The term "karma" has its roots in Sanskrit, which means action, or performance. Thus, Karma as a concept, refers to the actions, or deeds, that causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. Simply, it is the consequence that results from the performance of an action, or deed. Sadly, such simple reactions rarely do happen. In reality though, the consequence/s resulting from action/s can cause further consequences, and so on and so forth; becoming a chain reaction.

I am quite sure many of us know by default what the cycle of cause and effect is. It could have been mentioned in different religions in their own ways, or explained to us by our close relatives, and family members, from their own perspective. All of which drill down to one common line of thought, "you reap what you sow." That line of thought has given birth to many more well known quotes such as, "do unto others as you would have others do unto you", "revenge is a bitch", "hell hath no wrath like a woman's scorn", "before you begin on the journey of revenge, dig two graves", "Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our deeds", "Sin makes its own hell, and goodness its own heaven", "Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity", to quote just a few.

From my own personal perspective, I view Karma as a bank account. This Karma bank account records all the good deeds and all the bad ones as well, and keeps a running total of both. As far as I understand, they both do not cancel each other off, which means having equal amounts of both good and bad deeds does not mean one has NO karma. Meritorious deeds begets good karma, and hence rewards. Devious deeds begets bad karma and thus punishment, or suffering. If one has equal amounts of both good and bad karma, then he/she will benefit and suffer equally. As a result, because of the enjoyments reaped from the benefits, the suffering may not be as bad.

To illustrate this with a real world example, lets assume that such a person exist. Lets assume that he/she is fated to have a near fatal accident in a deserted part of town where rarely anyone goes there (middle of no where). He/she suffers the accident, but will be saved by a passerby calling for help.

On the other hand, lets assume that his/her good karma account was lower then the bad karma debt. The result of such a situation could be that he/she would have the accident, but could die as a result of the accident, or may have to agonize over his near fatal injuries for hours before being saved. Each outcome depends on the amount of amount of good and bad karma accrued.

In short, we each receive the payout from each account accordingly. None of us may escape the effects of karma. However, having an overly positive karma account would not hurt anyone. But how do we differentiate between a deed that would produce good karma, from one that would produce bad karma?

I am quoting what a very respectable monk said once - as a rule of thumb, if the deed was done not to gain personal benefit, but solely for the benefit of others then it is a great meritorious deed and will gain good karma. If a deed was done for the sole benefit of oneself, then it is most likely a deed that will accrue bad karma.