Instant Karma

"Why doesn't everyone believe in karma?" Lama Tashi repeated the question with a mischievous twinkle. "The answer is very simple."

He gazed at where his students relaxed on their meditation cushions in the candle-lit room. "It's because karma isn't instant. If cause was followed immediately by effect, there would be no question, no doubt."

A wave of recognition passed, palpably through the room. And along with it, a surge of possibilities.

"Imagine if karma went instant?" said Anton. "How crazy would that be?"

What if we all woke one day to discover that every act of generosity was followed, soon after, by an unexpected windfall? If theft or betrayal led to rapid calamity? Within minutes, the effects of instant karma would be felt by each one of us. Within hours it wouldn't just be ordinary folks trying to figure out the new order—it would be everyone from the President down.

Instant Karma is the story of that...