Karma and the Law of Attraction
Another way that Buddhism differs from the Law of Attraction is that Buddhism includes Karma–that difficulties in this lifetime may be the result of actions and decisions in past lives. The colorful image below is a 19th century painting showing the 10 avatars or incarnations of Vishnu, one of which was Buddha. Vishnu is the supreme god in the ancient Hindu Vedic sacred texts.
Vishnu with his 10 avatars (incarnations): Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, Dwarf, Rama with the Ax, King Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalkin. Painting from Jaipur, India, 19th century; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. From Wikipedia Commons
According to the Law of Attraction, as popularized in such books at The Secret by Rhonda S. Byrne and The Key by Joe Vitale, difficulties are supposed to result from wrong thought. If a person sustains positive thoughts and visualizes good results that lead to happiness, the person will attract good things in their life.
Some people say that when the Law of Attraction doesn’t work, it is because the person did not visualize properly, or they did not believe enough, or they were not positive enough. Unfortunately, sometime when people do not get the results they were promised, they feel like they are greater failures than before they tried the Law of Attraction.
On the other hand, Buddhism does not promise quick results. Instead, to quote an excerpt from the Talking Spoon blog site:
In my experience of 28 years as a Buddhist, to become truly and deeply happy is indeed a matter of faith, blood, sweat, patience and tears. Of confronting head-on the harsh realities of daily life and creating value and beauty from them. We call this process ‘Human Revolution’ in Nichiren Buddhism and when you’re changing a really deep aspect of karma (for example mental health, career or relationships) it can feel like every day produces new and bigger obstacles. Nichiren himself said that obstacles are an inevitable sign of progress and that when faced with challenges, “The wise rejoice and the foolish retreat.”
The Secret and the Law of Attraction–good stuff but Buddhism says they’re only half the story…
Now, that sounds encouraging! And, it also makes sense–that it would take more than a positive thought and visualization to change long-standing beliefs, especially those carried forward from previous lives.
