There was an interesting question from a reader last week in a comment on my weekend article. Did the First Nations of the Americas have, like the Tibetans, spiritual tools to purify karma?
The Tibetans of the five Buddhist schools are extraordinary technicians of the spiritual. As we have many connections with this nation and their spirituality being among the highest in the world, like their territory, we find it useful and easy to adopt their teachings and practices. But this question leads me to describe the living conditions and philosophy of our nations.
First, what is karma? It is the law of cause and effect. Every thought, word, gesture and action plants seeds in the fabric of the world. Like an acorn, one day these seeds will ripen and flourish, becoming far greater than the original seed, like the great oak tree. Hence the importance of sowing good seeds that will ripen into conditions and circumstances in our lives that are favourable and pleasant. Thus, the importance of acting with kindness, compassion, equanimity, joy and care toward all beings. Also, the importance of meditating on these virtues in order to root them in our way of life.
The purification of karma stemming from our words and gestures of anger, jealousy, hatred, and even the worst offences, such as taking the life of another human being before these seeds ripen, is possible. For this Tibetans have many practices. One of the simplest has four steps: meditating on the effects linked to causes, that is, being aware of the consequences of our harmful words and actions; then sincere regret for having committed them (and not guilt, which is a negative deviation); the decision to never again commit such thoughts, words or actions; and finally taking concrete steps to make amends—in thought, in word and in action. There are other techniques, of course; this is simply the most basic approach to purifying negative karma. We also practiced this simple method in other ways.
But why was there not as much need for the elaborate techniques we find among the Tibetans in our indigenous nations? Because of our way of life. The importance of community and the responsibility each member of the community had to manifest conditions suited to supporting the community meant that negative words and actions were immediately addressed and corrected.
The most striking example of this attitude is that of the Kogi nation of South America. Every evening the community gathers and each person confesses the thoughts they had during the day that were not in complete, pure and total harmony with the well-being of the community and world. It is thus very rare that these thoughts translated into offensive words or even more into negative acts toward anyone. For what precedes all our words and actions is thought. In this way, these people purified—before they could even be expressed as words or actions—the thoughts that might have created negative karma.
It was the same in the way of life of all nations, though they did not express it in as powerful a way as the Kogis. A life within nature places us directly in front of the laws of the universe. Our nations lived in greater harmony and unity with nature than most peoples of this world. Thus, the methods of karmic purification were woven into the way of life.
Everything is interrelated in nature. All beings, even stones, have their place and their role. Thus, one sees directly that a deviant expression does not endure and that it disappears from the world. One sees karma acting directly and spontaneously around us, and so one understands our responsibilities much more quickly. One understands more easily and immediately how we are responsible for each of our thoughts, words and actions. The responsibility of each person within a natural community mirrors nature itself.
Another example of this attitude, very different from the approach of other peoples, is that physical punishment did not exist—and especially not toward children. The First Nations were, in fact, horrified to see the first European colonizers physically punish their children. Such practices did not exist for many reasons. First, there was simply no need for them. There were far better ways to educate children. I will leave you with one of these methods, which was truly delightful.
In certain nations, there were periodic evenings of great pleasure where people would improvise as theatre actors. They performed short sketches to make the community laugh. They imitated the words and actions of certain members who were not entirely in harmony with community life—the disruptive habits, the brusque or offensive way of speaking, or other mannerisms that needed correcting. These sketches were genuinely funny because through imitation, the people being portrayed were immediately recognizable. Everyone had been subject at one point or another to the unpleasant ways of these members of their community. It was only fair to bring these things to light and laugh about them. For the person being portrayed, since it was all play, all laughter, with no attacks, no accusations, and no blame, they too had to laugh—even if it was a somewhat uneasy laugh! How then could that person continue to act that way afterward? They would immediately see themselves as others saw them, instantly understand how others perceived them, and thus find it very difficult to continue such ways. The lesson was delivered in good humour, in respect, and in unity. No pain, no blame, no shame.
This does not mean the communities were perfect. There were sometimes genuinely evil individuals. Restorative justice was then applied—an intelligent form of consequence that took the victims into account. The harshest punishment was ostracism and exile. But this was extremely rare.
This is a brief and succinct answer to a fundamental question. We no longer have these conditions today. Communities have been replaced by societies governed by money. Sharing is not a given—it is every person, every family for themselves. But it is possible to bring back these ways of life. It requires the spirit of family and community. And in the meantime, other techniques exist, like those of Tibetan Buddhism.
There is also a state of being where karma no longer exists. The pure and total consciousness of being. The state of being where there is no longer any duality, no subject and object, where there is no difference between what I see and what I am. It is the fundamental unity with the whole, that which creates all that exists. This is called Illumination, Awakening, Liberation, Omniscience, the mastery of the elements—it is in this state that miracles become daily occurrences. This is the destination we are all seeking, even if we are not aware of it. When we become this state of being—for we will all arrive there one day—we will see that, in fact, we never left it, that we were always there, that it was and is, from the very beginning, our natural state.
Be well, be good and do good.
Love and Light !