Karma And Reincarnation - A 1983 Michio Kushi Lecture

Main Ideas / Lessons (Karma, Reincarnation, and “Self”)

The “self” evolves across stages of consciousness

• The “self” is described as evolving through stages of consciousness in a cycle:
  • Infinity → materialization/physicalization → spiritualization → back toward Infinity
• As the stages progress, consciousness becomes more individualized:
  • From pure, undifferentiated infinity-consciousness toward more concrete, personalized awareness.

Karma is not punishment—it’s balance-making

• Karma is presented as the universe’s ongoing process of harmony and equilibrium, not as:
  • simple punishment, or
  • straightforward cause-and-effect.
• What appears as “taking in vs. giving out” is treated as one underlying force expressed in opposite directions (with the “duality” shaped by relative perspective).

Karma operates across time through maintaining balance

• Actions create imbalances, and later actions restore equilibrium.
• A present life is portrayed as ongoing balancing of earlier causes, including:
  • “yesterday,”
  • “last year,” and even
  • previous life.
• New initiatives immediately generate complementary factors:
  • Example: expressing an opinion can provoke opposing opinions, functioning as balancing.

Life is cyclical and “cannot be escaped”

• The described pattern is cyclical—like driving with continuous correction:
  • everything moves up/down, right/left, and adjustment follows.
• Pairs of opposites are presented as balancing counterparts that coexist:
  • love and hate
  • optimism and pessimism
  • hot and cold
  • etc.

Karma creates chain reactions and networks

• Seemingly unrelated choices can trigger large structures:
  • Example: running a business creates expanding obligations and rights beyond the initial idea.
• Relationship choices can create complex “karma networks” that occupy an entire lifetime.
• Even attempting to avoid karma (e.g., isolation in a monastery) is said to still involve karma—just of a different type.
• Suicide is described as still creating karma, not removing it.

Reincarnation is continuous and universal

• The idea is that every phenomenon reincarnates, using examples like:
  • water evaporating/condensing,
  • nitrogen-like transformations.
• Reincarnation is not limited to human bodies:
  • consciousness may reincarnate between humans, plants, nature, and other vibrational spheres.
• After death, the process is framed as departure of consciousness moving through stages/spheres.

Post-death orientation depends on “quality of thinking”

• A seven-day period is described as a departure/adaptation phase.
• Around 49 days, an orientation/turning is described:
  • you may move “upward” toward brighter spheres, or
  • “downward” toward seducing lower spheres.

• What you carry mentally—such as:

  • wild thinking,
  • money-seeking,
  • egocentrism,
  • or a peaceful mind— influences where you go.

• You can return to this world if you seek escape from the sphere you entered.

What happens in the next life is shaped by consciousness quality and ongoing balance

• This life balances previous-life karma and also generates conditions for future-life karma.
• Examples of moral balancing are given, such as:
  • materialistic past-life → spiritualistic future-life
  • harm to others → later suffering
• Reincarnation may become less purely compelled over time:
  • as understanding increases, “you understand I choose” becomes more accurate than “you feel compelled.”

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Practical Guidance

The “big dream + self-reflection + limits/center” approach

A simple method to reduce entanglement in small karma webs:

• Create one biggest/broadest dream

  • Orient it toward everyone’s happiness, health, and peace.
  • Pursue it with maximum ability.

• Self-reflection (“self handling”)

  • Continuously re-check yourself.
  • Correct excess and chaos—realign your direction when you feel “out of order.”

• Know your limits (“capacity”)

  • Excess in areas such as:

    • eating,
    • drinking,
    • partying,
    • sexual/romantic behavior can exhaust clear mind and health.

  • Limits differ by person—find yours.

  • Capacity may be trainable, but there is also a natural ceiling based on constitution (noted as connected to prior life/body traits).

• Find and maintain the “center” (balance point)

  • “Center” is linked to stability in:
    • body,
    • consciousness,
    • posture,
    • breathing,
    • thinking,
    • even diet.
  • Losing the center leads to collapse/chaos; keeping it supports harmony and clearer functioning.

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Methodology / Instructions (as Presented)

1) Karma as balance—how to understand life dynamics

• Treat karma as the mechanism of balance within an infinite, harmony-seeking universe.
• Interpret events as:
  • imbalance created by your action, followed by
  • complementary factors that restore equilibrium.
• Apply it to thinking/opinion:
  • If you initiate or express a view, expect opposing views to arise as balancing.
• View relationships/conditions as networked consequences:
  • falling in love → cohabitation → children → long-term responsibilities and ripple effects
  • business ventures similarly expand rights/obligations and create chain reactions

2) The “big dream” strategy to reduce entanglement in karma networks

• Choose a dream that is:
  • biggest, broad, and oriented toward everyone’s happiness/health/peace (not only personal goals).
• Pursue it with daily, step-by-step action.
• Continue even during sickness or difficulty:
  • maintain supportive efforts like writing, speaking, studying, or spiritual practice.
• Avoid constant tracking:
  • don’t focus on “What was my previous life?” or “What will be my future life?”
• Rely on the direction principle:
  • if you follow a big current/direction, ups and downs continue naturally without needing constant worry about karma details.

3) Self-reflection protocol (ongoing)

• Periodically check whether you are:
  • excessive or off-center in behavior,
  • chaotic or unclear in thinking.
• Reorient your “direction” by observing yourself through different angles (e.g., “karma way,” “reincarnation way,” and other “dimensional ways”) and correcting excess until clarity returns.
• Treat self-reflection as taking responsibility:
  • be the “master” of your life, rather than being driven unconsciously.

4) Practical “limits” instruction (avoid excess)

• Determine personal limits for:
  • food/drinks (e.g., coffee, beer),
  • parties/late nights,
  • sexual/romantic behavior (including number/type and intensity).
• Stop when approaching your limit:
  • exceeding limits can lead to:
    • loss of clear mind,
    • reduced happiness/health,
    • diminished ability to pursue your dream or help others effectively.
• Capacity can be trained, but there is a natural ceiling tied to constitution.

5) Maintain the “center” across life domains

• Define “center” as the balance point that remains steady while other parts move.
• Apply center to:
  • Physical posture and movement (stability prevents collapse)
  • Navigation/trajectory (center of balance determines stability)
  • Consciousness (inner gathering point; if center is off, chaos returns)
  • Posture types/martial posture (different forms still revolve around a central ideal)
• Breathing:
  • use “central breathing” (nasal-based core breathing; other breathing styles are framed as variations).
• Thinking:
  • keep thought centered so evaluation is accurate (avoid extremes such as “too wild,” “too conservative,” “too idealistic,” “too practical,” etc.).
• Food/diet:
  • identify a central taste:
    • “central sweetness” is framed as well-chewed, pressure-cooked whole brown rice (within limits).
  • use central taste as the baseline for judging other foods (too sweet/salty/sour, etc.).
  • similar center-based judgments are applied to:
    • vegetable side dishes,
    • cooking methods,
    • beans,
    • pickles, categorizing by “central” versions.

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Speakers / Sources Featured

• Michio Kushi (speaker; referenced in the video title as a 1983 lecture)