Karma and Conditioning are related and can’t exist without each other.  The act of conditioning produces our Karma as Karma is nothing more than “Cause and Effect.”  But what is conditioning?  Conditioning is simply the process of modifying behavior by applying “rewards” or “punishments” each time a given action is performed.  This can cover a wide range of activities such training, forming habits, or even enforcing laws in our criminal justice system.   

 

Tesshin’s talk the week focused quite a bit on our personal conditioning and how it can be used as a tool for transformation.  We normally think conditioning is a “bad” thing and something we need to eliminate through practice.  Tesshin wanted us to reconsider this and look at conditioning as a tool for how we shape our day to day existence.

 

A few examples may help.  For instance, what happens when you go grocery shopping?  Hopefully you “condition” yourself to only visit those parts of the store which hold nutritious foods!  We all know the “dangerous parts” of the store! Having a ritual conditions us to avoid the temptation of the cookie aisle.   Tesshin also talked about how athletes and even the military use conditioning to meet expected challenges.  Athletes train and practice their sport or game and the military practices scenarios to be prepared for potential future conflicts.

 

So is conditioning bad?  Like everything it depends.  What happens if the game the athlete is practicing for changes drastically?  What happens if our military is practicing for the “last war” instead of the conflicts we will face in the future?  What happens when the grocery store changes the placements of products so you suddenly find the cookies where you expected the kale?

 

It is said that “practice makes permanent.”  This is what conditioning is about.  It is about consciously aiming towards specific behaviors.  Our practice, however, is also about seeing reality as it really is so we can adjust when things suddenly change.  We need both in order to succeed!  It is blind un-thinking conditioning which our practice warns us against.  We must always understand the WHY.  This is why mental training is so important.  This is why we sit on the cushion and attempt to get control of the delusional mind.

 

Tesshin wrapped up by asking if we can straighten out our karma?  Can you change your conditioning and setup yourself up for success?