The Avatamsaka Sutra states that all dharmas are created by the mind. If our minds change, then causes and conditions also change. Whatever direction our minds move in, so too do causes and conditions. If our attitudes change, then what we perceive also changes. If we do not make an effort to change our lives and minds, then we will be influenced by the course of events we have already set into motion. If we adopt Buddhadharma into our world view, then causes and conditions will shift direction, and events in our lives will change.

STUDENT:

It seems, however, that there are times in our lives when our karma is so bad that we cannot alleviate the suffering in our lives. Is there anything we can do to alleviate the bad karma and change the causes and conditions that influence our lives?

SHIH-FU:

It is true, there are times when your karma is so overpowering that you cannot control yourself, cannot free yourself from the vexations you are trapped in. This can be the result of a build-up of many previous actions that are similar in nature which you performed in the past; and now the causes and conditions have ripened such that the cumulative force of this karma manifests all at once. It might also mean that you created deep, heavy bad karma in one instant, and now the causes and conditions have ripened, and the consequence of this bad action manifests. When it happens, it is like a great flood which swamps you. There is not much you can do other than ride it out.