Inequality of Human Beings

A long time ago, a young man in India was surprised to see inequality of human beings. Some people are rich and have many treasures while others are so poor and have nothing to eat. Some are healthy, while others are always sick. Some are strong, and others are weak. Why are they not equal if a god created everyone equal?

He sought answers from a priest of Brahmans. The priest said, "Almighty god created men in his will. The rich or the poor are the god's will. We cannot do anything about it." The young man was not satisfied with the answer. Then he went to the Buddha Sakyamuni to ask the same question.

The Buddha said, "Inequality of human beings is not the work of a god, rather the result of one's karma in the past. One who has had good karma in the past has a good life, but one who has had bad karma has an unhappy life in this world.

In Buddhism, karma is a general term for one's actions, thoughts, and words. All karmas are recorded in ones' mind like a black box in an airplane. We, human beings, also have a similar recording device in our minds. It records all actions, thoughts, and what we did or said or thought, the subconscious mind keeps the memory. Therefore, sometimes hypnosis is used to recall one's forgotten memory.

After one's death, a body of a human being will dissolve into soil, water, heat, and gas. The body itself disappears; however, a soul that records all karma will start a new life again. We are often surprised to see a child's excellent talent in art or music. It is because the child has learned the skill in his or her previous lives and been able to recall the memory.

Therefore, even if one is dying this evening, a lesson that he or she has learned today is recorded in his or her mind. Since it records everything good or bad, let us try to do something good.

May 1, 1988