Karma Takes Time: Stories of Yin Keng and Ha Jiu

Alex Chen
40 minutes ago
6 min read

In the first article of this karma series, we looked at five basic rules of karma. This second article will provide a couple stories to illustrate the rule that cause and effect happen at different times.

Most of us have probably heard about the Law of Karma (Causality): What goes around comes around. In theory, this sounds great. If we do good, we get good rewards. Those who do evil should get punished. But have you ever noticed that sometimes, good people don't get good rewards, and bad people seem to get away with committing evil? Does that mean the Law of Karma is false?

I had this doubt for a while until I learned that karma is not instantaneous. It usually takes time.

The Law of Karma is analogous to planting a fruit tree. When we treat someone nice, we plant the seed for a kind reward. When we treat others badly, we plant the seed for others to treat us badly. The seed needs conditions to ripen before it grows into a tree and fruits.

Below are a couple real stories to illustrate the Law of Karma.

Story 1: A Generous Cup of Wine

During the Six Dynasties period of ancient China (220–589), there was a man named Yin Keng (陰鏗). He was well-read in history and talented in poetry. He was very famous and heavily praised by Emperor Chen Wen at the time.

One time, he held a banquet with many friends and guests at a restaurant, and they enjoyed many rounds of drinks. He noticed that the waiter had come and served them wine many times. Seeing him work so hard, he felt sympathy for him, so he decided to treat the waiter to some wine and food.

His friends all looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Why would you treat the waiter to our wine and food?"

Yin replied, "Our waiter has worked very hard all night serving us fine wine countless times, and perhaps he's never tasted such delicacies. Giving him a taste is the least I can do."

The waiter was thoroughly touched by Yin's respect towards a waiter like him.

Later, during the Hou Jing Rebellion (548–552), the country underwent turmoil. Yin got captured by bandits and faced the risk of losing his life. Suddenly, a man charged in out of nowhere, fierce and unafraid of death, and saved Yin from the bandits.

Yin asked, "Who are you, and why did you save me?"

The man replied, "I'm the waiter that you offered wine and food to that night."

(Story Source)

Story 2: An Honest Return of Lost Money

During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), there was a restaurant owner named Ha Jiu (哈九) from Hanximen, Jiangning. One time, a customer from Jiangpu came, and he accidently left a bag with fifty taels of silver (a lot of money!) in the restaurant.

When Ha Jiu noticed the bag of silver, he thought, "The customer must have accidentally left his money here. Also, there's a chance he might not remember where he lost the money." Thus, he chased after the customer and found him near the river. The customer thanked him dearly for returning his lost money to him.

Later, the man from Jiangpu returned to his hometown. He safely got off the boat, but there were strong winds at the time, and he saw that a boat had just capsized. There were probably twenty or so people in need of rescue. This man thought to himself, "If it weren't for Ha Jiu, I wouldn't even have this bag of silver right now. I may as well use it for good."

He then shouted to all the fishermen nearby, "For every person you save, I will reward you with five taels of silver!"

All the fishermen rushed into action and tried to save the drowning people. But due to the severe weather, they were only able to save one person. That person just happened to be Ha Jiu's son.

(Story Source)

Commentary

From the stories above, we see that what goes around will definitely come around. We just have to wait until the conditions ripen. Usually, it takes time, like in the case with Yin Keng. He planted a seed of kindness during the banquet, and many years later, the conditions ripened: there was turmoil in the country, Yin encountered bandits, and the waiter happened to be there and able to help. Naturally, the waiter saved him. But even before that, when his friends saw him treat a waiter so nicely, they already respected him more, and that is also part of his karmic reward.

Very rarely, the conditions ripen very fast, like in the case with Ha Jiu. He planted a seed of goodness when he returned the money to the customer, and shortly after, the customer encountered a situation to save his son. What's more, the customer didn't even know the son was on the boat. We might think it's pure coincidence that the only person who was saved was Ha Jiu's son, but when we understand karma, we know that this isn't a coincidence. If Ha Jiu didn't return the money, his son would not have survived either. And if he didn't have such a strong thought of kindness to chase after the customer to return the money, he might not have made it in time. Thus, if we want good fortune in the future, we need to plant good karmic seeds now.

There's a Chinese proverb that goes,

"Only focus on planting. Don't worry about the harvest."

In the context of karma, it means only focus on planting good karmic seeds, and don't worry about the karmic rewards. When the conditions are ripe, the rewards will come naturally. But if we are always selfish and calculative about doing good deeds, then our kindness will be limited, and we will miss out on a lot of good fortune in the future. And if we don't want a bad future, we need to avoid planting bad karmic seeds now. Once karmic seeds are planted, they will never vanish, and they will definitely fruit once the conditions are ripe.

For example, there are some wealthy people who earn money using unscrupulous ways. Later, they suddenly contract a grave illness or die in some strange accident. Or their children squander all their money. This is also the result of their negative karma. Another example is when people mistreat their parents. Later, when they have children of their own, their children also mistreat them. What goes around comes around.

I don't think it's a coincidence that all religions and philosophies emphasize the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. When we understand karma, we realize it's not only to be nice to the other person, it's also for our own future fortune.

Guest Commentary

Recently, I read an email newsletter titled "Past, Present, and Future" from Victor Cheng, who is a very successful management consultant that I admire. Although he didn't mention the word "karma" in his email, his admonishment is exactly about karma. He wrote:

"The choices you make today persist. If you build good relationships today, they help you five, ten, and 15 years down the road. In my 20s, I couldn’t even conceive of life that far in advance, beyond theoretical terms. In my 40s, I have been SO glad that I treated people fairly and well years ago.

I’m glad that I put in the extra effort in -- two, five, ten, fifteen-plus years ago -- to make my work as strong as possible. The people who encountered my work in those years have come back into my life and career, and brought more people and more opportunities with them. Those efforts make this year’s and the next decade's worth of opportunities possible.

Here’s the thing. In all those examples from the past, nobody was really watching. I could have very easily cut corners in areas of my career. Nobody would have noticed. The things that become assets in your career are often created years earlier when nobody else is watching. You could very easily cut corners, dismiss that person, or add less value. Nobody would ever know. When you make those extra efforts (even when you don’t have to... or especially when you don’t have to), they add up over time. You can choose to do the bare minimum to not offend anyone.

Or...You can choose to do the maximum possible, given your skills and availability. In the week following in either case, there’s no material difference in outcome. However, in the decade that follows, the outcome difference is night and day.

Which approach are you using? What future are you creating (or not creating) for yourself today?"