This comment was sent in by Memo, one of our Pelican Bay Mahayana students. He is asking for the class’s opinion on karmic connections. Referring to page 56 of Everything is Mind, Memo writes, “It says of the great Lord of yogis, Milarepa, that his worst enemies were his uncle and his aunt. The uncle passed away early, but his aunt also became a student in the end.”

My question is whether it is possible for two individuals who were enemies to find each other again here in this realm of desire of human beings. It would seem that it would be almost impossible for this to occur, but can it happen or not? Like some people in the dharma meet again, as they say through a ‘karmic connection”, can there also be ‘enemies’ who have a “karmic connection”? For example, how often do people say things like, “Oh, this person rubs me the wrong way, I don’t have to talk to him/her.” In my opinion, this feeling suggests a karmic connection — that those people knew each other in a past life and have come into contact again.

Buddhism has a story about what we are REALLY like in our most basic nature which contrasts in important ways from the story told in the Judeo/Christian Garden of Eden myth about who we really are — and why our world is full of suffering and toil. Yet, there are some interesting similarities between the Judeo/Christian creation myth as depicted in the story of The Garden of Eden and the story about Basic Goodness (Buddha Nature) and the 3 kayas.

Be prepared to discuss some of these similarities and differenences in class Tuesday. You can also post some comments here in this blog by way of response.

Thank you!

This blog was set up so that you can post comments or questions about our readings or class discussions. I hope that you find this medium useful and enjoyable.

Julia