According to the culture and tradition that coined the word karma and originally expounded upon the laws thereof, there are three types of karma.
- Karma that has been accumulated over many lives
- Present karma created immediately
- Future karma, acts in the present that will cause acts in the future.
In the most simple terms, karma is cause and effect. And karma is not the most pertinent issue here. Samskara is.
Samskara is the impressions that are accumulated on the physical and psychical sheaths of the human being through actions and thoughts. External stimuli create impressions on the psyche. Personal choices create impressions on the psyche. Impressions upon impressions create the personality of the little I. Seeing through the impressions to the original impression-less reality is one of the references to ‘waking up’.
An enlightened one has merged the little ‘I’ with the Supreme ‘I’. External stimuli no longer create impressions. Past impressions melt away quickly.
But choice will continue to reap effect.
There is no need to think in terms of freeing oneself from future karma. Being alive means there is going to be some effect on the external world due to your presence.
An enlightened one will understand the strength of this statement and work accordingly. The Buddha worked. He left a legacy. At the same time, he was unaffected by it.
…is a Saiva Tantrika, Gyana Yogi and founder of Uma Maheshwara Yoga & Ayurveda. David has an MA in Semiotics, lives in Japan with his family and works as a coach in L & D, devoting his time to developing science-based tools and programs that help people reach the fullest potential of the human condition.
