KARMA

Once we see the Tao as the oneness that includes all of us, we can also see that karma must be the energy exchanges in this metaphysical medium. Just as there are actions and reactions in the physical world, karmic energies must also go back and forth along the connections of the Tao. Loving kindness toward others may come back as helpful assistance; hatred and abuse toward others will also come back as equivalent negative consequences.

This is why sages have always taught that the movement of the Tao is circular. What goes around will always come around, regardless of its positive or negative characteristics. This movement takes place in the timeless Tao, so it is not constrained by the passage of years or even lifetimes. Sooner or later, all accounts will be balanced; karma has all of eternity to see to this.

The Tao Today

Look at your every action in a new light; not as a single, isolated event, but as a stone cast into an invisible pool of metaphysical water. Visualize a karmic ripple spreading outward from you, affecting more and more people as its circle expands. You know this is the beginning of an exchange of karmic energy. You also know that, before too long, you will see ripples being reflected back at you.

The Tao of Joy Every Day

~ Derek Lin