Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00190)

--- In theos-talk@y..., "Gerald Schueler" <gschueler@e...> wrote:
findings of modern science, accept that our human collective karma is 
probablistic, and move on.
> 
This reminds me of Adelasie's remark that she assumes that any 
suffering is deserved, as this applies to being misunderstood or 
falsely accused or whatever. That seems to be a lineal kind of 
causality, whereas I'd look at it more probabilistically.

Not that this is something I've ever complained about, but when I 
look at the reception of my books I see a whole lot of *personally* 
unearned *positive* karma as well as unearned negative. In other 
words, an equal number of sources have made rather blanket 
endorsements, taken my hypotheses as proven facts, accepted my 
theories more uncritically than I do-- as have made blanket 
condemnations, claimed that all my hypotheses rest on no evidence 
whatsoever, descended into ugly personal criticism. Given more 
credit than due on one hand, given an equal amount less than due on 
the other. It all balances out.

Similarly, in this life there are far more people who have been kind, 
generous, helpful, educational, etc. for no reason, not because I've 
earned it but out of their own goodness, than have been unkind, 
unhelpful, etc. with no justification but just out of their own 
meanness. Maybe individuals have been one way or the other because 
of past life mutual histories but since that's unknowable I don't 
think it worth dwelling on.

So rather than assume that every cruelty suffered is punishment, and 
ever kindness experienced is a reward for something, I assume that 
it's the big picture that counts. The overall balance of good and 
bad, pleasure and pain, joy and suffering (which are not the same as 
pleasure and pain) is karmically determined by our behavior. But 
looking for one-to-one tit-for-tat explanations of why specific, 
individual things happen to us is IMO trying to find a pattern at the 
wrong level. The pattern is in the overall life, you get what you 
deserve. But the life you deserve is made up of thousands of 
individual moments of undeserved joy and pain.

Which seems to parallel a more quantum approach.

>From one who is scientifically semi-literate and would like to know 
if this makes any sense to those who aren't (Jerry?)

PJ