Does a kind, positive person encountering disaster mean their energy is poor?

We cannot judge it that way. From the perspective of practice, I believe positive energy can help people move toward good fortune and avoid harm. But encountering disaster does not mean that person must have more negative energy. People live within a broader environment. We cannot see someone harmed and conclude that they are bad.

Large disasters affect a wide area. I understand this through collective karma and combined energy. When that influence is very strong, positive people may also be caught in it. People’s fortune also rises and falls, and many factors intersect. We need several perspectives rather than looking only at the individual.

Imagine having one hundred points of positive energy while the surroundings contain ten thousand points of negative energy. Even striving to maintain yourself, you may still be affected. Remaining kind and positive can coexist with acknowledging powerful outside influences. Someone’s suffering does not require us to believe they must have done wrong.

When seeing people calmly report a disaster and do their best to rescue others, I also understand this through aspirations. I regard them as resembling Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have come to help, perhaps having vowed in a previous life to accompany and assist others at critical moments. I believe deities are with them in such giving. Even if they ultimately do not escape the danger, the spirit of rescuing and helping leaves a deep positive influence.

A compassionate intention and whether events finally develop as we hope need to be considered separately. I have discussed practitioners who wished to conduct rites for unclaimed spirits. Their intention was good, yet in our religious experience they could still be affected. Helping animals is similar: willingness to assist does not remove harmful energetic influences or other risks. This does not make kindness worthless. Besides intention, we need to consider our strength, the environment and the method used.

When help succeeds and we feel happy, I understand that as increasing positive energy. If outside influences are not strong, perhaps it can offset some negativity. But degrees and conditions remain. Happiness and good deeds do not make us invulnerable. Causes within an accident still need to be understood individually. We cannot reverse the reasoning and blame unfortunate people for insufficient kindness.

Fraud likewise cannot be judged solely as proof of greed. Some actors simply accepted what looked like a normal job invitation, only to discover on arrival that they had been taken to a scam compound. Discussing that news, I specifically explained that social traps can still arise even without greed and even when someone has cared for their own condition.

So both caring for our minds and verifying the situation before us are needed. If a work arrangement seems strange, continue checking with the actual producer and relevant people, rather than only asking another person introduced by the same party. When doubtful, also hear the views of trusted friends and relatives. Intuition can remind us to pause; afterwards, wisdom is still needed to clarify the facts.