Good or Bad Karma?

What does Karma mean? If you do good, good things will happen to you? Or the same with the bad things?

Let me ask you this. What does it mean for something to be “good” or “bad?”

Well, when you think about it, nothing is intrinsically good OR bad. What if the “bad” thing that happened to you is what was necessary to get you what you wanted in the long run? If you knew that ahead of time would you be so upset about it?

This reminds me of a Taoist story about a man with a horse that was stolen by thieves. His neighbor had come to him and gave his condolences. “What bad news,” the neighbor said. The man said, “how can you know?” The following day, the horse ran away from the thieves and joined a pack of wild horses, brining them all back to the man.

The neighbor walked by again and this time said, “What great news!” Again the man replied, “how can you know?” A few days passed after that, when the man’s son was trying to break in one of the horses. He fell from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbor explained, “What terrible news!” to which the man again replies, “how can you know?”

Later that week the army came and were enlisting young men for the draft. But since the man’s son had broken his leg, he did not have to go. The neighbor again praised the good news, with the same reply. This is when the neighbor realized that the man must be a Taoist.

When we superimpose these subjective categorical labels on the idea of karma, it becomes misunderstood. One is looking at it from the point of view of the ego.

When you realize that you are an inseparable part of the universe, it becomes obvious that the energy projecting from you will be reciprocated. Like the waves in a lake when the water is disturbed, it will bounce back to you. Whether you consider the effect good or bad is up to you.

In fact I’d challenge you to look at “bad” karma as a good sign from the universe of what you may need to change within yourself