Making Sense of Apparent Injustice and the Path to Forgiveness (part 1)

This post is inspired by the teachings of Ajahn Sona...

If you place a spoonful of salt in a glass, the bitterness is overwhelming. But drop that same salt in a vast river, and it is imperceptible.

In the following article, I will be elaborating on the profound wisdom embedded in this statement and how it sheds light into the apparent injustice that some people experience. But before I continue, I invite you to bring to mind any apparent injustice you have experienced in your life: How did you make sense of this? Did you fight back - did you seek to retaliate?

I invite you to reflect on this without judging or condemning yourself, but to consider this:

while the impulse to retaliate is completely natural, it also stems from a narrow view of the larger karmic frame that has resulted in you experiencing the injustice in the first place.

The essential teaching lies in the knowing that no-one experiences injustice arbitrarily. We are simply experiencing the effect of a prior action - even if we don't consciously recall what that action was, we can know the nature of the action by the nature of what we are now experiencing. Bitter seeds result in bitter fruit. A spoon full of salt in water will give you salty water. The current circumstance one finds oneself in is the ripening of that karma from seed to fruit. The fact that we are tasting the bitterness of that fruit is evidence the of the quality of the seed that was planted. We don't need to go searching for answers - they're right here in plane sight. This view helps us to acknowledge the whole truth of the situation at hand, rather than viewing one stage of the process and assuming it represents the whole story.

In absence of the whole truth, we see through the lens of experience. Whatever situation we find ourself in is the window through which we can view the truth.

So let's dive into this further...

The Appearance of Injustice

Some individuals commit minor transgressions and receive harsh consequences, while others seem to walk away from serious harm with little repercussions. These disparities can be difficult to reconcile if we look only at the surface of this life.

The Buddha's teachings invite us to consider a broader law—the law of kamma—the universal principle of cause and effect that governs not only our outer actions but our inner intentions and the quality of mind we come to inhabit. 

The following analogy to help us understand how vipāka, the result or ripening of kamma, is not a fixed punishment or reward, but something deeply influenced by the field of the heart into which it ripens.

Imagine placing a spoonful of salt into a glass of water. The result is immediately obvious—strong, salty, unpalatable. Now imagine placing that same spoonful of salt into a river. The salt is no longer traceable. Here, the salt serves to represent the traces of karmic residue - the quantity of the salt may be the same but its trace is vastly different due to the capacity of the vessel - the capacity of the heart. 

So, what accounts for this difference? Simply said, the kamma is diluted in the river of virtue. If a person has lived a life lacking in virtue, meaning they have not nourished others in a way that a river naturally does, then their vessel becomes small and they end up with the unpleasant task of drinking salty water. However if the person has accumulated merit in their life, then the kamma of unwholesome action takes relatively little effect.

Now, just because we can walk away relatively scot-free, does not mean there are no penalties. We may have accumulated virtue in the past, but if we do not continue to generate virtue in the present, our river will run dry! In astrology, we can view these positive currents of energies as "trines" - the harmonious aspects between planets that can often suggest the results of good karma. But just because we can get away with something easily, does not make it right, and sooner or later, the effects will catch up on us.

Let us return to the glass of salt analogy...

Like the small glass, if the capacity for the heart has become small, narrow, reactive and prone to overwhelm, the bitter taste of even a small unwholesome act is noted strongly. In this way, bitter situations come to pass in the biographical events of one's life. When a person has cultivated sīla—virtue, generosity, patience, compassion—the heart becomes vast and a wide source of nourishment - like the river. Kamma still ripens, but it is met with spaciousness. Its sharpness is diffused.

Its impact is softened.

This understanding can help us make sense of situations in the world that otherwise seem unjust or random. Why does one person face severe legal consequences for a petty offence, while another escapes accountability for great harm?

From a karmic perspective, it is not simply about the act itself, but the accumulation of actions have have happened prior to the situation in view. A single moment is not isolated—it is the crest of a wave formed by countless moments before it.

Karma is Universal Law and Universal Law does not forget. It is not vengeful, it is precise. Every action plants a seed, and that seed ripens when conditions are right. Sometimes immediately. Sometimes lifetimes later. Sometimes in the next life. With this in mind, there is no such thing as getting away scot-free. All actions cannot be escaped.

When we understand this, we are no longer confused by worldly injustice. We see that our task is not to control outcomes, but to purify the causes. To widen our heart. To live virtuously—not out of fear of punishment, but out of love for freedom. Because when we cultivate a noble heart, even difficult karma, when it ripens, will pass through us like salt in a river—barely disturbing our peace.

This is the true meaning of refuge. Not to escape from the ripening of karma, but to meet reality with the right view. We train the heart so that whatever arises—pleasant or painful—we meet it with grace, knowing that we are shaping the future by the quality in which we receive the present.

So let us practice. Let us become rivers. Let us deepen our capacity through generosity, patience, truthfulness, and mindfulness. In this way, the justice of the Dhamma will become clear—not in the eyes of the world, but in the stillness of our own awakened heart.

To read Part 2, click here

Did you know that when you share the Dharma with others, it becomes a blessing? If you know someone who can benefit from these teachings, please share the fruits of clarity with others 🙏🏻