Voluntarily Assuming the Appropriate Karma
By persevering in faith despite hardships and thereby changing our karma, we find deeper meaning in living. In its "Teacher of the Law" chapter, the Lotus Sutra introduces the idea of "voluntarily assuming the appropriate karma." It explains that bodhisattvas voluntarily give up the good karmic rewards due them as a result of their pure actions in past lives. Out of compassion, they choose instead to be born in an evil age so that they can teach people the principles of the Lotus Sutra and save them from suffering.
Such bodhisattvas experience suffering just as those who do so because of bad karma they formed in the past. Viewing ourselves as having made this choice—of voluntarily meeting and overcoming difficulties through faith out of compassion for others—gives us a new perspective on problems and suffering. We can see facing problems as something we do to fulfill our vow as a bodhisattva to save suffering people.
When we change our karma into mission, we transform our destiny from playing a negative role to a positive one.
Only by dealing with hardships in life can we come to understand and empathize with people's suffering. With every problem we overcome through Buddhist faith and practice, we create a model for winning in life, a genuine experience through which we can encourage many others.
SGI President Ikeda expresses this process as "changing karma into mission" and explains: "We all have our own karma or destiny, but when we look it square in the face and grasp its true significance, then any hardship can serve to help us lead richer and more profound lives. Our actions in challenging our destiny become examples and inspirations for countless others.
"In other words, when we change our karma into mission, we transform our destiny from playing a negative role to a positive one. Those who change their karma into their mission have 'voluntarily assumed the appropriate karma.' Therefore, those who keep advancing, while regarding everything as part of their mission, proceed toward the goal of transforming their destiny" (An Introduction to Buddhism, pp. 43–44).
