The Taoist Version Of KARMA - “Cheng Fu” (承负)


When people learn about "Karma", it is base on the Buddhism's and Hinduism's Perspective.  If You search information online, many articles will mention that Karma will only affect ownself and not onto family members. This is not the same as Taoist Version of Karma.

Over here will reveal the Taoist Version of KARMA , known as “Cheng Fu” (承负) - "Inherited Burden". 

Many Westerners don't know that there is "Karma" in Taoism, because they only know about Philosophy Taoism  from Dao De Jing (道德经).

The Taoist Version Of "KARMA" is found in The Taoist Scripture - Tai Ping Jing (太平经) -  'Scriptures of the Great Peace' or 'Scripture On Great Peace'.

There are 2 Explanations :

The 1st Explanation:  善恶承负 -  The Responsibility of Good and Evil

Volume 39 of the Tai Ping Jing (太平经)  says: "承者为前,负者为后。承者,乃谓先人本承天心而行,小小过失不自知,用日积久,相聚为多,令后生人反无辜蒙其过谪,连传被其灾,故前为承,后为负也。负者,流灾亦不由一人之治,比连不平,前后更相负,故名之为负。负者,乃先人负于后生者也,病更相承负也,言灾害未当能善绝也. - "The inheritor is the front, the one who loses is at the back. The inheritor means that the ancestors acted with the heart of heaven, and made small mistakes without knowing it. Over time, they accumulated the mistakes together. In the future, people will have negative consequences. Innocent descendants are relegated due to their faults, and they suffer disasters due to them. Those who lose are those who have been harmed by the ancestors."

It means that if ancestors accumulate virtues and do good deeds, they will be able to influence their descendants; if their ancestors repeatedly make mistakes and do evil, their descendants will suffer innocent disasters. 

That is what people often say: "Forefathers plant trees, and future generations enjoy the shade; forefathers cause trouble, and future generations suffer."  (前人惹祸,后人遭殃。如果是善的话则是前人种树,后人乘凉). 

The 2nd explanation: 天道循环 - The Cycle Of  Heaven's Way

Volumes 73 to 85 of 《太平经合校》(Tai Ping Jing He Xiao) says: “元气恍惚自然,共凝成一,名为天也;分而生阴而成地,名为二也,因为上天下地,阴阳相合施生人,名为三也。三统共生,长养凡物名为财,财共生欲,欲共生邪,邪共生奸,奸共生猾,猾共生害,而不止则乱败,败而不止,不可复理,因究还反其本,故名承负。-  " The 元气  (Yuan Qi) - 'Vitality Energy' is in a trance and natural, and it condenses into one, which is called heaven; when it divides and produces yin and forms the earth, it is called two, because the yin and yang are combined in the sky and the earth. Giving life to people is called “三” (San)- Three. The "Three systems" coexist, and the cultivation of all things is called ‘财’ (Cai) - Wealth. ‘财’ (Cai) - Wealth coexists with desire, desire coexists with '邪' (Xie) - evil,  '邪' (Xie) - evil coexists with '奸' (Jian) - evil,  '奸' (Jian)  - evil coexists with '猾‘ (Hua) -  Cunning, and '猾‘ (Hua) - cunning coexists with '害’ (Hai) - Harm. If it does  not stop, it will lead to chaos and failure. If the failure does not stop, it cannot be reorganized." , because it goes against its roots, hence the term / name: '承负' (Cheng Fu) - "Inherited Burden".

It means that the three systems of heaven, earth and man coexist and grow and nourish wealth. If there is too much desire, evil will arise, and it will become irreconcilable. Only when the wealth is exhausted will it return to the source of nothingness. 

The first one talks about The Responsibility of Good and Evil (善恶承负), and the second one talks about The Cycle of Heaven's Way (天道循环).

Other related topics from other Taoist Books:

In the Book of Zhou Yi (周易) , which contains 2 parts , Yi Jing (易经) and Yi Zhuan (易传) -  'The Commentary of the Book of Changes' , in the Kun (坤) chapter  - 《易传·文言传·坤文言》 (Yi Zhuan · Wen yan Zhuan ·Kun Wen yan) stated:" 积善之家,必有余庆,积不善之家,必有余殃" -  A family that accumulates good deeds will surely be blessed;  A family that accumulates bad deeds will surely have lingering disasters.. It means: Accumulating virtue and doing good will not only bring good luck to the family, but also bring blessings to the descendants. On the contrary, it will Bring disaster to the family and future generations.

Conclusion: It can be seen from this that the cycle of heaven carries retribution, which is caused by people's evil deeds and desires, and brings great harm to future generations and nature (including society). 

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