Making Sense of Apparent Injustice and the Path to Forgiveness (part 2)

In part 1 of this article, I introduced the analogy of salt in a cup of water to describe how the salty residue from past life karma can leave us with a bitter taste in our mouth. This was then compared to the same quantity of salt placed into a flowing river. Do we detect the salt anymore? Of course not. In the river, the salt is diluted, leaving no trace.

If we are not careful, the flowing river we find ourselves in can be reduced to a cup. In part 2 of this 3 part series, I will be speaking into the reduction of the river into a cup, and what this process looks like so we can avoid taking this path.

Firstly, let me acknowledge that the river can become a cup of water in one of two ways:

1.) if we choose to respond to injustice in an unwise manner - through retaliation or vengeful means, we will come to taste the bitterness of this.

2.) If we mistakenly assume that getting away with injustice is something that can be overlooked - we will also suffer. It may not be today, or tomorrow, but eventually the ripening of fruit will fall.

A final disclaimer that if you identify as someone who has sought out justice through retaliation, this article is not meant to discourage or frighten you. It is never too late to begin again with right motivation. We may not be able to change the past, but we can change the future by how we respond in the present.

So let us begin with the teachings...

An Eye for an Eye Leaves the Whole World Blind

From a karmic perspective, when we seek vengeance, we are not correcting a wrong—we are perpetuating a cycle. The pain that was passed to us becomes the pain we now pass on. This is the turning of saṃsāra—the wheel of conditioned existence, driven by craving, aversion, and delusion.

The desire for revenge often arises from a sense of righteousness: “I was hurt, so they must hurt too.” But beneath this, there is often something more vulnerable—a wounded longing to restore a sense of power, safety, or justice. Vengeance offers the illusion of closure, but karmically, it is just another action rooted in aversion, one that binds us tighter to the very suffering we hope to escape.

This phrase speaks to the endless reciprocity of harm. When we retaliate, even in the name of justice, we strengthen karmic impressions of hatred and separation.

We may feel temporary satisfaction, but from the wider karmic view, we are:

• Reinforcing the identity of “the harmed one” and “the enemy.”

• Generating future causes for similar situations to arise.

• Entangling ourselves in the same ignorance that caused the original harm.

  
  

Vengeance mirrors the ignorance it seeks to correct. It says: “Because I was treated as less than human, I will now treat you the same.” And so the chain continues.

What Are We Really Doing?

When we strike back—through words, actions, or even festering resentment—we are:

• Acting from a mind contracted by pain, not expanded by wisdom.

• Mistaking the desire for balance with the urge to harm.

• Often recreating the very karmic conditions we wish to destroy.

  
  

🧘🏽 The Wider Lens: Karma and Liberation

From the Buddhist view, freedom doesn't come from “getting even.” It comes from stepping out of the cycle altogether.

This doesn't mean passivity or ignoring injustice. It means we respond from discernment, not vengeance. We take wise action—driven by compassion, not hatred. This might look like:

• Speaking truth without dehumanizing the oppressor.

• Seeking justice without poisoning our own hearts.

• Choosing to repair instead of retaliate.

  
  

This is not weakness. It is radical strength—to not be ruled by the very energies that harmed us.

🕊️ Freeing Ourselves from Retaliation

To stop generating karmic knots, we begin by looking inward. We ask:

• What part of me is still burning to make them feel what I felt?

• Can I tend to that pain directly, without projecting it outward?

• What would true healing look like—not just for me, but for all beings?

  
  

Forgiveness, in this sense, is not forgetting. It is a release of the inner chain that binds us to our wound. It is saying: “I will not carry this any further. I will not pass on the fire.”

When we refrain from revenge, we do not let others off the hook—we unhook ourselves. We step out of the cycle. We plant a different seed...

🌱 Choosing a Different Response

The Buddha did not teach us to be passive in the face of harm, but to be wise and courageous in our response. Anger burns hot and fast; wisdom burns steady.

When we act from clear seeing, our actions are still strong—but they do not carry the poison of vengeance.

The Poison of Hatred

The Buddha said,

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law." (Dhammapada 5)

From a Buddhist perspective, justice is not retribution. Justice is the restoration of balance, the recognition of truth, and the protection of what leads to liberation. When we are harmed or witness harm, we are called to respond—not with blind reaction, but with the fullness of our humanity, informed by compassion, discernment, and integrity.

When we let hatred or resentment drive our pursuit of justice, we may appear righteous on the outside, but inside, we’re reinforcing the same delusions that gave rise to the harm. Our minds contract. We become attached to the identity of the wronged one. We may even begin to resemble the oppressor in our tactics and tone. Justice without mindfulness risks becoming revenge in disguise.

To seek justice skillfully means we continue to speak the truth, protect the vulnerable and challenge harmful systems—but we do so from a place of upholding dignity, avoiding the temptation to dehumanize the person we hold accountable for the injustice.

It may mean walking away from systems that do not change. Or it may mean standing fiercely within them. But always, the inquiry is: “Am I coming from wisdom, or from wounding?” Am I speaking from a wound or advocating for my wound?

🧘🏽 Anchoring in the Brahmavihāras

The four divine abodes—loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—are not passive emotions. They are inner postures that give us the power to respond without poisoning ourselves. They help us to:

• Love without enabling.

• Feel pain without drowning in it.

• Rejoice in others’ goodness, even when we suffer.

• Remain balanced amidst the storm.

  
  

With these as our ground, we can seek justice not as revenge, but as a sacred act of rebalancing what has fallen out of harmony.

As you walk this path, ask yourself:

• Is my heart still open, even when it hurts?

• Am I seeking justice, or am I seeking to make someone pay?

• Can I respond in a way that ends a cycle, rather than deepens it?

• Can I hold my pain without needing to transfer it?

• What kind of world am I helping to shape through my words and actions?

To seek vengeance is to keep our hands full of the past. To let go is to walk forward—not forgetting, but freeing. And in doing so, we don’t just free ourselves. We become a bridge between suffering and its end.

To continue reading the final segment of this article, 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 🙏🏻