As seen on the internet….
2012 October 16
Found on tumblr… while searching for a witty photo of a cat meditating or some other such malarkey.
Discuss… because I have no words…
3 Responses
Comments are closed.
Found on tumblr… while searching for a witty photo of a cat meditating or some other such malarkey.
Discuss… because I have no words…
Comments are closed.
Hmmm, that’s… disturbing and ignorant, isn’t it?
I think these are common misconceptions about how religion views things like karma and Divine intention. The photo is just taking a cheap shot and not looking too deeply at all into the subjects. It’s also implying that all Christians and Buddhists (I assume the Chinese god of good fortune is supposed to represent the Buddha) have this kind of ass-backwards view.
But I think a lot of practicing Christians would argue that even though God sometimes deals us a pretty shitty and even cruel hand, the reason for that may not always be readily apparent. There are plenty people who go through terrible experiences (rape, unjust imprisonment, torture, natural disaster) only to come out the other side, stronger, more compassionate, more ready and able to help others who are going through similar tragedies. I think you could argue in this case, that God’s intention is to give us an opportunity to grow in a profound and maybe even, courageous, way.
Besides, who said that God is always supposed to hand us everything we want out of life like a neatly wrapped present?
As for the Eastern view of Karma, it’s extremely complicated. It’s said that only a Buddha (one who has achieved an omniscient mind) can fully perceive the infinite web of actions, their causes and results. But if you think about it, and if it’s true that we are reincarnated lifetime after lifetime, ever reaping the consequences of our actions, then it stands to reason that we’ve all done horrible things to one another. As a result, horrible things will be done to us until we decide we’ve finally had enough and want to make some effort to get ourselves off the ferris wheel.
This view by no means should lead us to closing our hearts to the suffering of others. On the contrary, an ever-deepening understanding of cause and effect can only make us more compassionate. When we see that not only the person being raped in the present is suffering, but that the rapist is also going to suffer in the future, we become more aware of the tragi-comedy of our ridiculous situation.
And that’s what I have to say about that! Please, argue away! This is important
BTW Tanya, I’d like to get you a copy of my book for you to review (if you can/want to). Let me know how to send it to you. P.S. I’ll send you an e-copy even if you can’t do the review.
As soon as karma is used to rationalize misfortune and attribute blame, it is an unskillful dharma. When it is used to check one’s own negative tendencies and cultivate wholesome states, it is not. Simple as that.