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“What goes around comes around” is not how karma works.

“What goes around comes around” is not how karma works.

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Western culture has a mixed-up view of many things; we’re living in the Kaliyuga, after all. One of the most misunderstood truths from Buddhism is karma. It seems like the teaching of karma has been somehow juxtaposed with the Christian “do unto others” edict, almost as a means of social influence. If the laws of karma supposedly require that whatever action you take on one person will be revisited back on you, then that’s a good motivation to be nice to people. Right?

Well that’s not how it works – though I’m not suggesting that you should be not nice to people, either! “Do unto others” is a fine way to be. It greases the skids of social interactions and makes the outside world a more pleasant place for all of us.

But when I see something like this:

Well that just gets me huffy-puffy.

That tweet makes it sound like you need to buy God’s future generosity towards you. I’m sure that’s not how the guy meant it but personally I don’t think it sends quite the right message.

You should be kind to people in their time of need because they are people.

(You should be kind to them when they’re not in need, too, just FYI.)

That quote above is surely well-intentioned but it’s spiritual pablum. What does it really mean?

It’s also coming from a place of fear: “I’m going to be in pain/trouble/desperation in some future time and I won’t be taken care of; I must take action now to build up an insurance policy against that.” No. Again, that’s not how things work.

The law of karma dictates that every thought, word, and action affects your state of mind. That’s it. There’s no scorecard. It’s not like “God” is sitting there keeping track of every time you’ve been kind to others and then will dole out kindness back to you based on that.

Karma is immediate. You do something, or think something, or act some way towards somebody, and “boom!” there’s a change within you. You’re kind to someone, it affects you NOW. Your attention will brighten. You’re not kind, then the opposite may happen (though you should also realize that sometimes it’s completely appropriate and even “kind” to call someone out or confront them or challenge them or whatever – behaviors that many might not slap the “kind” label on).

The clinging illusion that we’re subject to in the Maya of this world is that there is a past and a future. Most people’s idea of karma only perpetuates that illusion. All there is, is NOW. That’s where karma acts – NOW. In the present. And that’s the place from which you can go beyond your karma.

NOW.

Why “Have a blessed day” doesn’t work for me.

Why “Have a blessed day” doesn’t work for me.

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Call me a stickler for language. Meaning is important. It’s how we communicate.

And yeah, despite being a meditation teacher, I’m anti-New Age.

That’s why I bristle when I hear “Have a blessed day.”

I suppose it’s meant to be some sort of progressive twist on, “Have a good day.”

After all, in the equation of life, blessed > good, right?

It sure seems that should be the case.

But it’s not. The problem, of course, is twofold:

1. Every day is “blessed” — you’re having a day, are you not? That means you’re in a body. Alive. Even if you’re on your deathbed in the hospital, you have a chance to nurture awareness today. The clock is still ticking. There’s opportunity for something on the inside of you, some sort of awakening, or if nothing else, just gratitude.

2. You’re not the one who determines the blessings. “Have a good day” is an instruction, an exhortation. It implies a directive: “Go out and make something of yourself today!” Or “If today hasn’t been good, make it better!” Or “Be productive! Be happy!” Or some other such thing. Whatever your definition of “good” is.

I can’t find any definition of “blessed” that makes this thing come from the individual.

“Blessed” is about the divine. It’s about what is bestowed upon us, not because we deserve it, or worked for it, or are somehow better than someone else. When a blessing happens, it’s due to the nature of the Eternal, not our own. We can’t take credit for it. We don’t have control over it.

So the problem with “Have a blessed day” is that it’s wrong in two ways: It’s an instruction to do something that is impossible for the individual to do, and at the same time, it’s reinforcing an idea that today isn’t already blessed. A double-whammy of inaccuracy, coming at you from both sides.

(Plus, OK, my own bias coming out, I can’t stand the vacant-eyed smile that so often accompanies this phrase.)

A quote from George Patton recently crossed my path:

An examined life leads to a happy life. Even the little things deserve to be examined. Don’t just pick up the latest buzzword or phrase or feel-good saying without checking out its meaning. Try it on to see if it fits before carrying it away and making it a part of your life. The more we say things that are off from Truth, even if just a smidge, the more we go further off from Truth ourselves. Illusion piles up and gets harder to dig out from under.

What I would exhort you to do, is be grateful. Have a grateful day. That will serve you much better than a “good” one or even a “blessed” one ever will, because it comes from within you, and it leads to all kinds of beauty, humility, and light.