Is There Karma 因果有無 from Collection of Rain Blossoms

Does karma truly exist? To the unawakened it feels solid and real, but in the light of awakening it is seen as only a passing dream. Image: Shutterstock.

Someone once asked this old monk, “Does karma truly exist?”

This is not a question that can be answered quickly. From the side of guiding and warning ordinary people, the answer must be yes. For the sake of restraining the human heart, karma and retribution are certainly spoken of as real.

Karma: Both Real and Unreal

And yet, in the deeper teaching of Mahayana, karma and retribution are seen as illusions—like shadows in a dream. To those who have not yet awakened, they appear completely real. For them, good and bad results show up plainly—how could we deny that? Because people cling to false distinctions, to right and wrong, and to life and death, karmic retribution never misses, not even by a hair’s breadth. In the eyes of the unawakened, it is truly real. But for one who can let go of life and death, everything is seen differently. Life itself appears like a dream—empty, passing, and without substance. In the eyes of the awakened, retribution is only a phantom of the mind’s distinctions. So then, how can karma be called completely real?

The Buddha said: “For those who awaken, retribution clears away on its own; for those still unawakened, karmic debts must be repaid.”

In this way, we can understand: in a dream, things are unreal yet not wholly unreal, real yet not wholly real. When we wake, all is found to be empty; when we have not yet awakened, everything feels real. Life is just like a dream—before awakening, every matter seems solid and true; but once there is great enlightenment, what was ever truly real? Therefore retribution cannot be fixed as either real or unreal. To say it exists is not fully correct, and to say it does not exist is not fully correct.

The Way to Awaken

So then, how can one truly awaken? By letting go of conditions.

And what does it mean to let go of conditions? It means not clinging to joy or to sorrow, not clinging to having or not having. Though joy and sorrow may still appear, though worries about gain or loss may still arise, one does not give rise to attachment or contention. Sorrow is simply sorrow, joy is simply joy; having is just having, not having is just not having. In this way, when no discriminating mind arises, and all conditions are laid down, then suffering is no longer felt as suffering, and joy is no longer grasped as joy. Decades slip by in a flash, coming as they come, going as they go—so where can karmic retribution be found?

For example, when illness is present in the body, if one regards it as though there is no illness, then suffering is not felt. When hardship arises, one should understand: this is the fruit of karma, a debt from former lives that must be repaid. Once it is cleared, the body and heart feel light. Seen in this way, what real retribution is there to speak of?

Nothing to Attain

As for myself, my own awakening came from three simple words: “Nothing to attain.”

Why is this so? Because the Buddha’s teaching is not a fixed teaching. The moment one insists, “This is the teaching,” it is already no longer the true teaching. The same is true of the Buddha—he cannot be confined to form, nor to the idea of possession. Thus, one must see that the teaching is not bound to cleverness or dullness. To know is also not to know, and not to know is also to know. This is the state of true thusness. Therefore, realizing “nothing to attain” is to enter the realm of thusness—and that is the way to become a Buddha.

因果有無

  雨花集

濟公活佛 

或有問於老衲者曰﹕因果報應，到底是有是無？此一問題，余一時頗為遽答。因為報應兩字，依照儆惕俗世人心，當然為有。

但根據大乘學理，則為幻為虛。所謂有者，為未悟者始有之，確確實實，善報惡報，均現目前，何得云無？此皆為未悟者報虛取捨，有是有非，執於生死，因此報應無差分毫。苟能不執生死，不增不減，人生實如一夢，空虛幻有而已，何得云實。

佛說﹕「悟者報應自然清，不悟還須償業債」。由此可以明白。夢中似幻非幻，似真不真。醒來時一切皆虛，未醒時一切是實。人生如夢，未完之前，做人件件皆是事實，一到大徹大悟，又何嘗是真？所以報應，云有非有，云無亦無。

到底如何才能得悟？能「放下因緣」就可以得悟。何謂放下因緣？不執於苦樂，不執於有無，雖有苦樂之見，有無之憂，但不生苦樂，有無之諍。苦亦如是，樂亦如是，有亦如是，無亦如是，絕不起分別心，將一切因緣放下，能如是，苦亦不知其苦，樂亦不知其樂，忽忽數十年，來也如如，去也如如，何有報應？

有病在身者，以無病視之，便不覺苦。有苦時亦應自明，此乃前生果報，應償之債，清償之後，便得身輕，如此視之，報應何有哉？

我之得悟，乃是「無所得」三字而來，其理何在？因為佛法不法，說佛法者，便不是佛法。法也如是，佛也如是，不能執相，不能執有。要明白佛法不執明頑，知亦不知，不知亦知，是為真正如如。所以無所得就是達到如如境界，便可成佛。

This translated text is a chapter from Collection of Rain Blossoms, a scripture written by JiGong Living Buddha in the 1900s through spirit writing. Here the link to the original Chinese source.

If you are interested in other chapters of this book, here is the link to the table of contents.