FULL NAME: Li Wai Hung

COURSE TITLE: CCHU9062 Buddhist Visions in World

Cinema

ESSAY TITLE: Running on Karma: Shedding light on

Kamma

STUDENT ID NUMBER: 3035944542

TOTAL NUMBER OF WORDS:1795

 Running on Karma: Shedding light on Kamma

Introduction
Running on Karma is a Hong Kong film telling the kamma of Big and Lee Fung-yee
and how they face their kamma. The protagonist of the story, Big, was an ex-Buddhist
monk before the age of 30. His childhood friend was killed by Sun Guo. Being
furious, Big went to the mountains to look for Sun Guo to take revenge and killed a
bird unintentionally. In astonishment, he sat next to the bird and thought for seven
days and nights. After seven days and seven nights, he suddenly gained the power to
see the cause and effect of kamma, giving up being a monk. After returning to
vulgarity, he met a policewoman Lee Fung-Yee who was a Japanese soldier who
killed many people in her past life, but in this life, she is willing to help others and has
a good character. After noticing that Lee Fung-Yee would be suffering and dying, he
hesitated and decided to try to rescue Lee Fung-Yee to change her fate.
This essay is going to investigate how kamma is interpreted in Running on Karma.

Kamma
In Indian religions and philosophies, karma (Pāli. kamma) is portrayed as a universal
causal law by which one's current and future experiences are determined by one's
positive and negative deeds. It is often likened to a seed, and the two words for a
karmic result, vipāka and phala, respectively mean ‘ripening (of kamma)’ and ‘fruit’
(of kamma)(Harvey, 2013). There is not a certain time when the results of kamma are
incurred. Unlike what is always misunderstood, the fruits of kamma may mature in
the present of one, the next life of one or even the subsequent life of one instead of
only in the next life of one. However, what can be confirmed is that the kamma will
be ripened inevitably in a suitable condition. the power of kamma despite time, water
or fire.

Intention matters
Running on Karma has done a great job of emphasizing the importance of intention.
In the scene that Big stopped Inspector Chung from shooting the murderer (38:10),
Big said that ‘Heaven and hell are only within a flash of thought’. At that moment, the
intention of Inspector Chung was to kill the murderer for revenge instead of
protecting citizens or minimizing damage as a policeman. If he had shot the murderer,
he would accumulate unwholesome kamma and suffer in the future.
Also, there is a scene that another Big with ragged clothes appeared to provoke Big’s
anger and lured Big to kill him (01:16:50). It was only dialogue in Big’s thought when
he discovered the head of Lee Yung-Yee. This scene also emphasizes the importance
of intention in accumulating kamma.
Kamma is equated with intentionality, volition (Pāli cetanā) in Buddhism, unlike in
other Indian religious traditions. All deliberate actions, either positive or negative,
count because they leave a trace on the stream consciousness that leads to future
outcomes. If actions are to have karmic consequences, they must be done with
intention. However, thinking about doing anything harmful and destructive is
unwholesome kamma in and of itself, especially when one commits energy to such a
thought rather than letting it pass. Choosing to let go of such thinking is positive
mental kamma.

An action that incurred kamma may not produce an equivalent result in the
future
Although the film has properly introduced the importance of intention, it gives some
misconception to its audience that there must be some direct and obvious connections
and similarities between the cause and effects of kamma. For example, the police dog
whose past life was a little boy beating a dog and in this life died from a stray
bullet(07:24), the woman who was an insect saved in her past life lost her left arm
when saving the murderer (25:23), Lee Fung-Yee died in an extremely painful way
that her head was cut off and hung on a tree just like how she killed many people
cruelly as a Japanese soldier in her past life (01:24:30)
In fact, the effect (vipāka, phala) of a deed is not determined by the deed itself, but
also by many other factors, such as the nature of the person who commits the deed
and the circumstances in which it is committed (Kalupahana, David. 2006). This
means that the connections between causes and effects can be hardly discovered
sometimes. Therefore, physical seeds may not glow physical kamma. Also, verbal
seeds may not glow verbal kamma. Besides, The effects of kamma can be as small
and insignificant that we cannot even notice and feel the outcomes have occurred.

cultivating positive kamma

The case of Lee Fung-Yee in Running on Karma is not about reducing negative
kamma but cultivating positive kamma. The four factors, which make it possible to
overcome the effects of any negative deeds one has committed are not demonstrated
in the film. These four are the action of repentance, which involves feeling remorse;
antidotal action, which is to practice virtue as a remedy to non-virtue; the power of
restraint, which involves vowing not to repeat a negative act; and the power of
support, which means taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and never
forsaking the mind of awakening (Adam Pearcey,2019). There are not any clues that
Lee Fung-Yee is practising these factors. What saved her life from the murderer and
falling from height was the wholesome kamma accumulated by her in her present life.
For a case in point, Lee Fung-Yee didn’t want Big to be beaten and harmed anymore,
standing out and defending Big(10:07). As mentioned before, the fruits of kamma
may mature in the present life. It can be witnessed that the extension of Lee Yung-
Yee is due to wholesome kamma instead of reduction of unwholesome kamma.

Cessation of kamma
From the cessation of contact is the cessation of kamma; and just this noble eightfold
path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right
effort, right mindfulness, right concentration — is the path of practice leading to the
cessation of kamma(Access to Insight,2013). The right view stands in the first order
of the eightfold path. Only with the right understanding can one has the right
intention, which is the basic foundation of wholesome kamma. There are three
attitudes which are escaping the kamma, attempting to change the kamma and
accepting the kamma, presented in Running on Karma. Within these attitudes, the
correct one is accepting our kamma. For Sun Guo, his attitude was escaping his
kamma from killing people. As a result, he hid in a mountain, living in constant fear.
He had a headache and was in a miserable state of hell. For Big, although he can see
the law of kamma and know that there is nothing that can be done to destruct
unwholesome kamma, he still carved to change kamma. This attitude led him to a
hopeless life. Even if he kept practising, his life would be doomed, and everything in
the universe would operate fairly in the context of a causal cycle. As for Lee Fung-
Yee, despite feeling sad and unfair, she quickly accepted her kamma and recovered
from pain. Instead of craving to change her unwholesome kamma, she decided to
sacrifice her life to help Big find out Sun Guo. Only with this right view and intention
can we put an end to kamma instead of continuing to produce unwholesome kamma.

Kamma is in our hands

In the movie, Big became a black market labourer, a beggar, a Baoyao Party
scammer, and even a male prostitute and stripper in the five years following his return
to vulgarity. The shift from taking refuge in sangha to prostituting oneself must be the
outcome of a profound impact on one's mentality. Whatever is done, that little bird
will die. Everything is determined, and good or bad deeds afterwards will affect the
outcome of kamma. Even if he kept practising, his life would be doomed, and
everything in the universe would operate fairly in the context of a causal cycle.
However, destiny can be changed. Kind-hearted Lee Fung-Yee has been doing good
deeds. She is working hard to change her destiny. The destiny was changed. For
example, she was supposed to be killed by the murderer and fall from heights. Big
saved her twice because of her kindness. That is already proof that we can control our
destiny to a certain extent. If we act with full awareness, if we are truly awake, we
will stop creating kamma. The ripple of unconscious behaviour will come to an end.
However, somewhere between here and there, between our daydream world and being
completely awake, we do have the ability to act in a more "enlightened" manner
regularly. We can truly create a more welcoming environment for ourselves and
everyone around us by not sowing bad seeds through negative acts. The teachings are
not so much about repressing our bad habits as they are about changing our attitudes
and behaviours to favour better and more productive ones. The first step is to
recognize where we are without attempting to ignore or change our patterns. Then we
may gradually retrain our minds and actions to produce more positive
outcomes( Nichtern, David. 2016).

Summary
In conclusion, Running on Karma provided the audience with a better understanding
of kamma. It presents the importance of intention and the basic description of kamma.
On top of these, it provides the audience with the right view that although we cannot
compete with the power of kamma, we can adjust ourselves to face it. Unwillingness,
anger, and venting can only sow more negative seeds. The wise approach is to accept
our kamma, cultivate positive kamma and prevent the unwholesome kamma from
rising.
Reference

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