Section – 1

What is karma? How it is created?

Karma is a sanskrit word that means 'action'. Buddhism teaches that karma is created
through words, thoughts and deeds. Karma can be either good or bad.

We experience different situations in life, sometimes joy and sometimes sufferings. We

also see that these situations keep on changing. Some sufferings vanish within a short span
of time while some others last for a longer period. We also realize that we face certain
hardships because of decision/action we made in this life. But for some sufferings, we can't
find any reason; these make us think, I have done nothing wrong, so why is this happening
to me?

From the perspective of Nichiren Buddhism, we understand that life is not just a matter of
the present; it is a cycle of cause and effect that span beyond the boundaries of life and
death in the three existences of past, present and future. The causes created in the past
can remain hidden as "latent effects" in the current and can manifest in future lifetimes.

Nichiren Daishonin, the founder of this philosophy explains, - ‘If you want to understand the
causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And
if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes
that exist in the present’. So, simply put, the sufferings/happiness we experience in this life
time are the results or effects of the causes which we have created either in the present or
in the past.

Section 2

We just heard what is karma and how it is created or manifested.

So, we also understand that we are all born with different karmas which are manifested in
the form of our circumstances/situations. But we, who are practising Nichiren Buddhism,
are not born into a karma or suffer with a problem just by chance. In the past, we
deliberately chose a particular karma and vowed to transform it. That particular karma is an
opportunity for us to show actual proof in our lives and lead others to happiness. This is
how the problems help us lead richer and more meaningful lives. This change in
perspective makes us consider our karma as our mission.

President Ikeda says “To simply view your sufferings as karma is backward looking. We
should have the attitude - ‘These are sufferings I took on for the sake of my mission. I vowed
to overcome these problems through faith.’”

Section – 3

Now, let’s understand how we can deal with the karma and expiate it.
What is the actual proof we are talking about? How many of us will believe if I say that by
putting red color and blue color in a beaker of water will result in purple water? A very few
may agree with me. So, to believe it, you have to experiment it by actually doing it.
Nichiren Daishonin says, by chanting Nam Myo-ho Renge Kyo with conviction one can
expiate all negative karmas or experience them in a much lesser degree. So, to believe in
Daishonin’s words, we have to actually chant apply the concepts of Nichiren Buddhism in
our daily lives and show that we have been able to transform our sufferings into joy. That is,
show to others around that this Mystic Law works in our lives, that is the actual proof we
are talking about. How can we do that? So, to initiate such an action, we can make use of
the problems as an opportunity to change our karma. Change the poison of karma into
medicine, the actual proof.

Ikeda Sensei says - the potential to change our karma is enormously increased by our
Buddhist practice. Think, for example, of a water pipe. If it is not used for a long time, it will
rust and the water which first runs through it will become dirty. In this example the dirty
water is compared to the unhappy life condition of the human beings which is bound by
negative karma. However as you continue chanting to the Gohonzon everyday with strong
faith, sending clean water into the water pipe, that is your life, you will eventually change
your karma fundamentally without fail just as the water becomes clear.

Conclusion by Narrator: Now, we all understand what is karma and how it is created and
manifested. Normally people view Karma as negative. Actually, it can be seen as our
inability to deal with a particular situation. We don't know how to handle the situation
when it hits us and we end up doing the wrong thing. We end up creating more negative
causes for ourselves. So, the important thing is to cut this cycle of accumulating karma.

As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, once we understand the true aspect of karma, we

have the wisdom and compassion to embrace all occurrences and all people that appear in
our environment. We don’t need to blame other people anymore. Because we now know
how to turn around our situation through this Buddhism, we are motivated to muster a
strong life force with which to face our difficulties head on.

Our wisdom is powerful only when accompanied by the correct action. Well, we understand
karma. But how do we eradicate karma so that we can move on to a brand new life? We
may work through two channels: through our Buddhist practice and through working in the
real world. Let’s talk about eradicating karma through Buddhist practice.

Swati will share how she eradicated her financial karma.

Mamta will share how she eradicated her health karma.

Raj will share how she eradicated her relationship karma.