This month in Buddhism class, we are talking about the Jataka (Stories about the Buddha’s prior lives). When the Buddha encounters a situation, he relates it to one of his prior lives and in telling the story, if one pays attention, one can see how mistakes made in prior lives are made again in the current life OR how they are corrected.

KARMA SCARES ME. Like the biblical verse of the old testament “An eye for an eye”, Karma can punish you for many many lives. When I laugh at someone or am mean to my son, I wonder how many lifetimes (or when in my current life) will I be punished for what I did. I read a story about one of the Buddha’s great disciples, Mogallana, who understood that you cannot fight karma and allowed himself to be killed, knowing that it was because he killed before.

In the Buddhism class, LP Anan spoke about Jataka 11 – Lakkhana Jataka. In the story, Devadatta wanted to create a newer and better Sangha with more rules to follow, so he gathered 500 of the Buddha’s followers and went off to start his new Sangha. After a while, the Buddha sent Sariputta to visit the 500 followers of Devadatta and give them a sermon. The Buddha said the 500 followers who were perverted by Devadatta’s teaching and went off with him, have now come to a riper knowledge. After the sermon, the 500 followers left Devadatta and went back to be with the Buddha. The Buddha then related this story to a prior life where Devadatta was a deer named Blackie, Sariputta was a deer named Luckie, and the Buddha was the leader of the herd of deer. The leader had to get the deers away from the place they were living because it was planting season for the farmers and they did not like the deer because they ate the farmer’s plant, so the farmers wanted to kill them. Half the herd went with Blackie and half went with Luckie. Blackie didn’t take precautions when leaving the area and half his herd was killed by farmers when they left. When they returned after the harvest, the other half of the herd was killed. Luckie on the other hand planned his exit and return from the area and his herd was safe.

Devadatta made a mistake in his prior life as a deer. He thought he knew better and he didn’t and lost his half of the herd. In the current life with the Buddha, Devadatta thought he knew a better way to practice Buddhism, and again lost his followers. However, the 500 followers of Devadatta died when they were his herd, but in the current life, they saw their mistake and returned to the Buddha.

Since attending Wat San Fran, I have learned to look for the good in the bad. One day while I was walking it dawned on me that Karma can be good. Yes we have to be reborn and we have to pay for what we have done (like Mogallana), but in reading some of the Jataka stories, I see that Karma gives us a second chance (Devadatta was in the “same” situation in two different lives). If we make a mistake, it will come back and haunt us in the current or future life, but we can chose to repeat the same mistake or change our ways (like Devadatta’s 500 followers). How great is that?

For me, one of the things I think about how I “teach” my son. I have a lot to learn and I can be strict and controlling at times. I’m generating bad karma because sometimes I lash out in anger, but knowing about karma keeps me some what in check because I am scared of the effect, but on the other hand, I also know I will get another chance to correct my incorrect behavior. I have hope that one day I can be a good father (or correct any other aspect of my life/behavior), if I continue to work at it.

Also in my current life, when I encounter situations, rather than react, I have to consider why I am in the situation and seriously consider how my perception is wrong and correct it.  I like to view this as a situation which I encountered in a past life and now karma is giving me a second chance to correct my wrong perception.  For example, when I argue with my wife about money, rather than think I am right, I have to consider why I am wrong.  In a prior life, I was probably greedy which is why I have issue with money and now karma is giving me a second chance to correct my view.