For
instance, we know that some criminals are imprisoned. The government's
original intention in doing so was to teach them a lesson and give
them a chance to repent, rectify their lives and become benevolent.
However, they get worse in prison. Out of wrath, some try to escape
and seek revenge when they succeed. They commit more crimes and it
becomes increasingly difficult for them to pull themselves out of
the situation. They may encounter unpleasant situations in prison
and may misinterpret other people's good intentions. Sometimes their
inferiority complex may mislead them into believing that they've been
ill-treated though the police treat everyone equally. This feeling
may intensify in their heart and they may seek vengeance when they
get out by commit more serious crimes, thus end up receiving a harsher
punishment. This harsh punishment in turn evokes greater hatred in
them, which causes them to fall further until they finally become
truly difficult or impossible to reform.
When
we're fierce beasts, we're steeped in karma. Should we fall into such
a situation, if we fail to reform or repent and continue to commit
more vicious acts, we'll remain permanently at the animal level and
have much difficulty rising to the human level again. Even if we wanted
to become humans, it would take many, many lifetimes before we could
succeed.
When
we're tigers, we collect a tiger's qualities, vicious actions and
habits. Our magnetic field becomes a vicious aura. And when we become
human, this magnetic field is registered in our so-called Alaya consciousness,
where the good and bad thoughts and deeds of our past lives are recorded.
With its massive recordings, it reacts spontaneously to similar situations.
This means that if a person or situation stimulates us, that quality
immediately emerges because we forget that we're now humans, not tigers.
If
we humans want to avoid such situations, we should check for the animal-like
qualities that we possess. And then we'll know that we have very heavy
karma. But what is karma? In the past we collected many habits. As
we transmigrate, we collect and record far too many vicious actions,
just as on a recording tape. When the button is pressed, it plays
back. And what's this button? It's the opportunities or occasions
we encounter that turn the recordings on automatically.
So
sometimes we're very fierce to people, but we don't know why. It's
because the button has been pressed. A particular person happens to
say something that we'd heard in the past when those words upset us.
Now when we hear something similar, we immediately get upset. Or perhaps
in previous lives when we were humans or animals, someone set traps
for us. Now, whenever we see something that resembles such traps,
just in appearance, we become afraid. We have no idea why a particular
kind of box terrifies us. Some boxes look similar to the traps that
we encountered in our past lives so we dread and abhor them. That's
why some people prefer round furniture, or hate square furniture or
like triangular furniture. This is all related to past life impressions.
The
conditions that we like, dislike, abhor or love constitute what's
called the ego. "I" only like it this way; this suits "my"
taste- this is called "ego." The "ego" means the
personality. Such and such is "my" habit; this is what "I"
think; "I" can't change; "I" don't want to change,
or this is what "I" am and "I" can't change! This
is called the ego, but in fact, the ego is the personality; it's nothing
mysterious or incomprehensible.
