by Mark de Jong

Created on: February 12, 2007   Last Updated: March 25, 2010

Karma, as it occurs to me, can be seen in one of two different lights. The first is the mystic, religious side, where we attribute a spiritual element to the reciprocation of a type of interraction that a person has with the world. The second is a more epistomolgical approach, in which one can examine things as they appear to be, and try to attribute some logical insight to it. In that sense, karma becomes either a confidence in the human character, or a denunciation of it.

History is cyclical. There have been countless historical iterations of this basic model: man conceives a novel idea, and implements it. Next, over the course of time, this concept falters, is disregarded, or is somehow misappropriated. Then, when things reach a low enough nadir, the general population is awakened, or enlightened. Thus, the people stand up for their rights and start the system over, hoping to fare better in the ensuing highpoint, and minimize potential anticipated problems in the future. Its progres in stagnation; the fundamental human cycle.

From this point, two conclusions can be veraciously drawn. The first is that because of the inherent goodness of the human spirit, people will always rise up to overcome the extreme adversities; the karma, the good that is sown by the people is reaped by the people, and so what goes around comes around-cycle, cycle. The opposite conclusion is that the fundamental flaws, the evil, the dark side of the human character perpetually corrupts this good, and it also comes around as the opposite side of the coin in this cylical existence.

It is this realization that forges the understanding in Taoism of the yin and yang; the good and bad that is circulated is not absolute and polar, and that is what is represented by this apparent human somersault. The good can be slightly tainted by bad elements, just as the bad can have the enticing appeal of some good elements. Night is dark, but is offset by the moonlight; day is bright, but offset by the shadows. This metaphor articulates the fundamental need for balance. The goal is not to vanquish either entity, but rather to gain harmony in their balance. This is a much more practical way of viewing the human struggle, and certainly a more productive one. After all, if it were not for the bad times, the good times wouldn't be seen as good.

Learn more about this author, Mark de Jong.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.