The ancient scriptures never intended karma to be a tool in human hands. They described it as a natural law of the universe, as intrinsic and impartial as gravity. Just as gravity pulls without needing our consent, karma unfolds without requiring human execution. The moment we attempt to step in as arbiters of karmic justice, we do not resolve imbalance—we deepen it.

Karma as a Law of Nature

Karma is not a moral judgment handed down by a cosmic judge. It is the intrinsic pattern of cause and effect woven into the fabric of existence. Every thought, word, and deed carries energy that ripples into the world, eventually circling back in some form. It is not about punishment or reward; it is about balance.

This is why the scriptures liken karma to an eye for an eye. When something is put into motion, a corresponding consequence arises—not because someone enforces it, but because the universe itself sustains equilibrium.

The Human Misstep: Playing Executor of Karma

The great misunderstanding arises when people assume that they are responsible for delivering karma to others. Someone wrongs us, and instead of letting the natural flow of cause and effect unfold, we feel compelled to punish, expose, or strike back. In doing so, we assume the role of executioner of the universal law.

But here lies the paradox: the moment we try to enforce karma, we generate fresh karma for ourselves. Our retaliation may feel justified, even righteous, yet it becomes another cause that must yield another effect. Rather than restoring balance, we weave new cycles of imbalance.

It is as though we try to push the wheel of karma forward with our own hands, forgetting that it already turns on its own. In forcing its movement, we end up entangled in its spin.

The Universe Does Not Forget

A key truth to remember is that karma does not require our management. The universe remembers every action; nothing is overlooked. Just as seeds inevitably sprout when the season is right, actions inevitably bear fruit in their own time. This process may be slow or invisible to our limited perspective, but it is infallible.

When we release the urge to control karma, we allow the universe to administer it with precision far beyond human judgment. What may look like injustice to us in the short term may be part of a longer arc of rebalancing that we cannot yet perceive.

Liberation Through Trust

The beauty of this teaching lies in the liberation it offers. If karma is the domain of the universe, then our task is not to police others, but to tend to our own actions and intentions. We are responsible only for what we plant, not for how or when the harvest comes to others.

This frees us from the exhausting burden of vengeance, bitterness, and retribution. Instead of being consumed by the need to see someone “get what they deserve,” we can release, forgive, and focus on cultivating peace within ourselves. Trusting the universe to handle the balance allows us to step out of cycles of pain and into cycles of growth.

The True Wisdom of Karma

The misunderstanding of karma has fueled centuries of conflict, where individuals and communities justify cruelty in the name of justice. Yet the scriptures never asked us to become executors of cosmic law. They asked us to recognize that such law already exists, and to align ourselves with it by living mindfully and compassionately.

The true wisdom of karma is not about ensuring others “pay” for what they have done. It is about ensuring we remain free from entanglement by not adding to the cycle. It is about recognizing that the universe handles balance, and our role is to contribute harmony rather than discord.

In the end, karma is not a weapon in our hands but a rhythm in the cosmos. When we stop trying to direct it, we begin to live in peace with it—trusting that every action finds its echo, every seed its season, and every imbalance its correction.

Beyond Karma: Awakening to Rigpa

In the first part, we explored how karma is often misunderstood—not as something to be executed by human hands, but as a natural law of the universe. Karma is the ceaseless interplay of cause and effect, the balance that arises when one action gives birth to another. Yet as profound and mysterious as this law is, it too has its limits.

Karma governs the dualistic world of cause and effect, but it does not extend into the realm of Rigpa—the awakened recognition of nonduality.

Karma as a Dualistic Pattern

Karma, by its very definition, is dualistic. There is an actor and an action, a cause and an effect, a doer and a receiver. These pairs—subject and object, sowing and reaping—are the scaffolding of karma’s operation. Without duality, there is no framework for karma to unfold.

In our ordinary, unawakened state, we live enmeshed in these dualities. We see ourselves as separate from others, our deeds as separate from their outcomes, and the world as divided into fragments of “me” and “not-me.” In this condition, karma governs every movement of our lives, weaving the web of experience in which we wander.

Rigpa: The Field Beyond Cause and Effect

Rigpa, in Dzogchen teachings, is the direct recognition of the mind’s true nature—pure, timeless awareness. It is the unconditioned ground from which all appearances arise. Rigpa is nondual; it does not split the world into subject and object, doer and done-to.

In Rigpa, the distinctions that sustain karma dissolve. There is no “actor” to commit an action, no “other” to receive its consequence, no chain of causes to give birth to effects. All appearances are recognized as expressions of the same luminous awareness. The wheel of karma, which depends upon duality, finds no soil in which to turn.

Karma’s Reign Ends at Awakening

This does not mean that karma is unreal. It governs the realm of dualistic experience with perfect precision. But its domain is limited. Karma reigns until awakening, until the moment we see through the illusion of separateness and recognize Rigpa.

From the perspective of Rigpa, karma is seen for what it truly is: a relative law within the dream of duality. It operates flawlessly within that dream, but when the dreamer awakens, its hold dissolves. Just as the laws of a dream no longer bind us once we wake, so too the laws of karma no longer define the awakened state.

Living With This Understanding

Recognizing that karma persists until awakening changes how we live. On one hand, it deepens our respect for karma’s law—we understand that until we awaken, every thought and deed continues to ripple outward with consequence. On the other hand, it invites us toward liberation, reminding us that there is a way beyond the endless weaving of causes and effects.

To taste Rigpa, even for a moment, is to glimpse freedom from the karmic cycle. To abide in Rigpa is to live in a state where duality falls away, and with it, the endless accounting of actions and reactions. In Rigpa, there is no sowing, no reaping—only the radiant clarity of awareness itself.

The Final Insight

Karma and Rigpa are not enemies; they are layers of the same reality. Karma is the law of the relative, Rigpa the truth of the absolute. As long as we remain within duality, karma shapes our path. When we awaken to Rigpa, karma has no foothold.

This is the deepest liberation: not escaping karma through avoidance or manipulation, but transcending it entirely by awakening into the nondual nature of mind.

Thus, karma is both real and unreal—real within the dream, unreal from the view of Rigpa. To live wisely is to respect karma while seeking Rigpa, where even karma itself dissolves into the boundless sky of awareness.

Would you like me to make a Part Three that explores how to live skillfully knowing both karma and Rigpa—practical guidance on navigating life before awakening while holding the view of Rigpa?

Living Between Karma and Rigpa: The Path of Skillful Presence

In the first part, we saw how karma is a natural law of cause and effect, never meant to be executed by human hands. In the second, we discovered that karma’s domain ends when one awakens to Rigpa—the nondual recognition of awareness itself. But most of us live in the in-between: not fully bound by karma’s illusions, yet not stably abiding in Rigpa. The question arises: How, then, should we live?

Walking With Respect for Karma

Until awakening is fully realized, karma remains our teacher. Every action of body, speech, and mind sends ripples into the fabric of reality. To live with awareness of karma is to take responsibility for these ripples—to sow seeds of compassion, patience, and wisdom, rather than those of anger, greed, and ignorance.

This does not mean becoming rigid or fearful, forever calculating outcomes. It means living with gentleness, understanding that what we plant today, we will inevitably meet tomorrow. Karma invites us to treat each moment with reverence, each interaction with care.

Looking Through Karma Toward Rigpa

Yet even as we respect karma, we need not be trapped by it. Every moment of mindfulness is a doorway to Rigpa. When we rest, even briefly, in pure awareness—before labeling, before judging—we taste the freedom that lies beyond karma’s dualities.

This is the paradox of the path: we live skillfully within karma while continually training ourselves to recognize the nondual nature that transcends it. It is like walking through a dream while gradually realizing we are dreaming.

Practicing the Middle Way

To live skillfully between karma and Rigpa is to embrace a middle way:

Responsibility without rigidity. We honor the law of cause and effect without becoming obsessed with policing ourselves or others.

Compassion without attachment. We act kindly not to accumulate “good karma” but because compassion flows naturally when we touch awareness.

Wisdom without escape. We recognize that Rigpa transcends karma, but we do not use this truth to dismiss the reality of suffering in the relative world.

In this balance, life becomes both a practice and a play. We engage fully with the dance of karma, yet we never forget that the stage itself is Rigpa—unborn, unchanging, free.

Living as a Bridge

Those who recognize Rigpa, even in glimpses, often find themselves becoming bridges for others. They move gracefully in the world of cause and effect, but they embody a spaciousness that reveals something beyond it. Their actions generate harmony not because they enforce karma, but because they act from the natural compassion of awakened awareness.

This is how we live skillfully: not by trying to control karma, and not by bypassing it, but by letting every moment become an expression of Rigpa shining through the play of cause and effect.

The Path Forward

Until awakening is complete, we live with one foot in each world. We respect karma as long as duality seems real, and we turn toward Rigpa again and again, training the mind to rest in awareness. Slowly, the weight of karma loosens, and the light of Rigpa shines more clearly.

One day, the balance tips fully. Karma’s wheel spins no longer, and only Rigpa remains—vast, luminous, boundless. But until then, we walk gently, sowing kindness, living mindfully, and remembering that beneath the flow of causes and effects, the ground is always Rigpa.

To live wisely is to respect the dream without forgetting the dreamer. Karma shapes our path, but Rigpa is our true home.