Thank you, this is a very good question. In Buddhism we believe in the law of Karma. This is also known as cause and effect. According to Buddhist cosmology, each and every one of us has had countless previous lives. In these lives, we have engaged in either positive or negative actions. Positive actions mean those that benefit others, and negative actions means those that harm others, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. These previous actions are the cause, and the results are the circumstances we go through in this life and in future lives. Therefore Buddhism places a lot of emphasis on teachings of karma. That is why people undergo so much suffering, even those that are good people. The difference is that those who are good, do not engage in negative actions so do not create more negative karma to suffer from in the future. However, both good and bad people have negative karma.
In Buddhism a lot of emphasis is placed on the purification of negative karma so that we do not suffer from its effects. This is necessarily included in all Buddhist meditation practices that focus on the Buddhas. Within Buddhism there are also practices centred on Dharma protectors such as Dorje Shugden. These practices help to purify this negative karma and create conducive conditions for our spiritual practice. You can read more about the role of Dharma protectors here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/overview/what-is-a-dharma-protector.
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Answer from Pastors
Pastors
August 14, 2016 #1 AuthorDear Brehanna Walker,
Thank you, this is a very good question. In Buddhism we believe in the law of Karma. This is also known as cause and effect. According to Buddhist cosmology, each and every one of us has had countless previous lives. In these lives, we have engaged in either positive or negative actions. Positive actions mean those that benefit others, and negative actions means those that harm others, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. These previous actions are the cause, and the results are the circumstances we go through in this life and in future lives. Therefore Buddhism places a lot of emphasis on teachings of karma. That is why people undergo so much suffering, even those that are good people. The difference is that those who are good, do not engage in negative actions so do not create more negative karma to suffer from in the future. However, both good and bad people have negative karma.
In Buddhism a lot of emphasis is placed on the purification of negative karma so that we do not suffer from its effects. This is necessarily included in all Buddhist meditation practices that focus on the Buddhas. Within Buddhism there are also practices centred on Dharma protectors such as Dorje Shugden. These practices help to purify this negative karma and create conducive conditions for our spiritual practice. You can read more about the role of Dharma protectors here: http://www.dorjeshugden.org/overview/what-is-a-dharma-protector.
You can also watch a very good teaching on karma here: http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/discovering-yourself-a-teaching-on-karma-mindstream.html. I hope this helps.
Thank you.