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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 17

of us are brought to practice as a way to come to retreats or while driving or in the supermarket checkout
terms with the power of suffering in our life. Some are line. If we practice kindness, then spontaneously we
inspired to seek understanding through a practice of start to experience more and more kindness within us
discovery and inquiry, while some intuitively sense a and from the world around us.
connection with the divine or are inspired to practice
as a way to open the heart more fully. Whatever brings There’s a story of the Sufi figure Mullah Nasruddin, who
us to spiritual practice can become a flame in our is both a fool and a wise man. He was out one day in his
heart that guides and protects us and brings us to true garden sprinkling breadcrumbs around the flowerbeds.
understanding. A neighbor came by and asked, ‘‘Mullah, why are you
doing that?’’
Right understanding also requires from us a recognition
and understanding of the law of karma. Karma is not Nasruddin answered, ‘‘Oh, I do it to keep the tigers away.’’
just a mystical idea about something esoteric like past
lives in Tibet. The term karma refers to the law of cause The neighbor said, ‘‘But there aren’t any tigers within
and effect. It means that what we do and how we act thousands of miles of here.’’
create our future experiences. If we are angry at many
people, we start to live in a climate of hate. People will Nasruddin replied, ‘‘Effective, isn’t it?’’
get angry at us in return. If we cultivate love, it returns
to us. It’s simply how the law works in our lives. Spiritual practice is not a mindless repetition of ritual or
Someone asked a vipassana teacher, Ruth Dennison, if prayer. It works through consciously realizing the law of
she could explain karma very simply. She said, ‘‘Sure. cause and effect and aligning our lives to it. Perhaps we
Karma means you don’t get away with nothing!’’ can sense the potential of awakening in ourselves, but
Whatever we do, however we act, creates how we we must also see that it doesn’t happen by itself. There
become, how we will be, and how the world will be are laws that we can follow to actualize this potential.
around us. To understand karma is wonderful because How we act, how we relate to ourselves, to our bodies,
within this law there are possibilities of changing the to the people around us, to our work, creates the kind of
direction of our lives. We can actually train ourselves world we live in, creates our very freedom or suffering.
and transform the climate in which we live. We
can practice being more loving, more aware, more Source: Joseph Goldstein & Jack Kornfield, Seeking the
conscious, or whatever we want. We can practice in Heart of Wisdom, Boston: Shambhala, 1987, pp 3-5 EH