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Karmic Effects of Breaking Promise

I would like to share my direct experiences in this kind of karmic effect. Many years ago, I used to be quite impuls ive, often trying to get things done quickly, and without much thoughts to get them over with.

There was a time I made an quick agreement to buy something and then changed my mind a few days later. At that time, I didn’t realize I’ve already breached the precepts and that would bring a bad karmic result.

It had happened twice before I became a serious Vipassana meditator. Although I didn’t intend to lie, when the seller must have been disappointed and discouraged when he received a call from me and learned that I cancelled it.

Years later, I thought that with enormous merits I had accumulated, the Karma would no longer affect me. But the justice of Karma clearly spares noone.

The first strike came when someone wanted to buy the family’s property which was formerly mine. The prospective buyer had put down a deposit, but called it off a few days later. The day before the cancellation, I had a vision of a big pair of scissors, symbolizing an opportunity being cut off. At that moment, I recalled the time I quickly agreed to buy the property only to quickly canceled it. That karma finally took its toll on me.

Later on, a similar incident happened. The night before the deal would be made, a vision of a pair of scissors stuck head down into the ground appeared in my mind, meaning that the chance would be gone again. I also had another vision in which I was stepping up to receive a reward, but fell off all of a sudden and couldn’t get up. The reward was something I was entitled to as a result of the merits I had made, but blocked. Once the potential buyer didn’t get back to us, I realized it was another karmic effect. Earlier, I had confirmed to buy a condo for my daughter. However, after hearing a comment that the location was too far, I canceled it and let the seller keep deposit.

Although I had sincerely apologized to them, the Karma still hit me hard. While I had no intention to take advantage of them or to hurt their feelings, there was no denying that I only thought about myself and was inconsiderate of their feelings. The weight of that Karma was about 20 times of the damage caused. Let’s say, the price promised was 10,000 Thai baht, I had to lose 200,000 Thai baht in retribution. Had the Karma been done on purpose, its effect would have been much heavier. Now that I have trained my mind, I just accepted it without complaining.

There was another promise I used to break, for which the consequence almost destroyed my life. It happened over 30 years ago when I made a vow to the small Buddha statue in my room that I would remain a Buddhist for life. Unfortunately, I didn’t take that promise seriously and later converted to another religion. Since then, my life was in tatters. The karmic force began to ease only after I had returned to Buddhism.

For this reason, we all have to think carefully before making a promise. Once a promise is made, we must keep it. Whenever we are tempted or feel an urge to break it, we have to know that it’s just a test to lure us away from goodness. People who keep their words will find success easier than those who don’t.

We all had made many mistakes in former lives as well as in this life. Dhamma is always fair to us but it’s us who are unfair to karmic results.

Those who are suffering from karmic effects should keep their hopes. Once the lowest point is over, it will eventually rise again. Those living a happy life should also keep in mind that they’re enjoying the fruit of good Karma, and that they need to be prepared for bad times when Karma strikes in the future.

“Because this exists, that exists.” This is the key teaching of the Buddha.

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