Sharon Stone On Chinese Earthquake: "I Thought, Is That Karma?"

Last week in Cannes at the annual amFAR fundraiser for which she annually plays auctioneer, Sharon Stone chatted her way down the red carpet. Stopping to talk to a cluster of microphones, she was asked about the Chinese earthquake, the death toll for which tops 67,000 with over 20,000 still missing.
As seen below (on a Chinese broadcast, so excuse the Chinese introduction), Stone was asked her thoughts about the quake, wondered aloud if it was karma, and said the following:

"Well, you know, it was very interesting, because at first I am not happy about the way Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anybody should be unkind to anybody else... Then I've been concerned about how should we deal with the Olympics because they're not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who's a good friend of mine. And then all this earthquake, and all this stuff happened, I thought, is that karma? When you are not nice, the bad things happen to you. And then I got a letter from the Tibetan foundation that they wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry... That was a big lesson to me."

Watch the whole clip here:

Comments

[bobbyvassallo]

Opinions are like Sharon Stone. Everyone has one... It is a shame the focus is not on loss of life in the tens of thousands, or the 5 million left homeless. Flippant comments have absolutely no place, when faced with the dilemma affecting an entire population on our planet.

This recent earthquake is hopefully a signal to prepare here in the US. Northridge Quake was awful, but nothing compared to the scope of the Chinese quake. The US' largest quake was centered in Missouri some almost 200 years ago. One today, centered at the same spot would have a similar result as the one seen in china. www.recentearthquakes.net can give you ideas on how to prepare as well as information on recent earthquakes. Get ready. Prepare...
Bobby Vassallo

[carlgt1]

just goes to show that the touchy/feely supernatural new-age crap is as ridiculous and useless and can be as unfeeling as the old religions

[dredge]

Well, Sharon losing that contract is irony, not Karma. It ISN'T dead! Oh joy!

[Opheux]

typical westerners aka white people acting like you have some moral authority even do you are the only ones who rapes and preach at the same time

so my question is when is Europe's and america's time to pay your dues

[bakersdozen]

Oh, for fuck's sake! They had an earthquake. It was a natural phenomenon. There's nothing fucking supernatural, paranormal or "spiritual" about it. It's not retribution, punishment or some cosmic tit-for-tat. All this blathering on about "karma." Please. Those people - who are NOT their government - are enduring egregious suffering. Having to watch the privileged, comfortable, well-groomed and botoxed Stone in her designer duds at a black-tie affair pontificate about it is intolerable.

[swingler]

During 911, some ignorant Chinese believe that is Karma of US policy to middle east. Now comes US remark of Chinese earthquake.

When one nation is in heartbreak, there are always some indifference, even when little angels die with pencils at hands, when mothers/teachers sacrifice their lives for the lovely kids. As a Chinese, there is nothing to judge about the remark of Sharon.

She was warmly welcome last year when she stayed in Shanghai, God bless her NEVER come to China any more.

[watchingthings]

Well Sharon, they are assesing the tremendous amount of damage done to alot of infrastructure over a large area in China. This will take a tremendous amount of money......to replace many bridges, dams, etc. When they call in a large chunk of the loans they made to the Us......then you can really get mad at them. Incidentally Sharon......where do you think alot of this administration's war funding is comming from. If you say......loans from China......I say give the lady a cigar!

[quintus]

Karma from a Buddhist perspective is considered a "hidden phenomenon" because it is not "seen" by ordinary beings, i.e., it takes one much further along on the path to see it's complex unfoldings. The appropriate response to the suffering of sentient beings should ideally be, "how can I alleviate their suffering?" It shouldn't matter whether that person is your friend, your enemy, or someone you're indifferent about.

There is nothing wrong, per se, with Ms. Stone wondering about the cause of all this suffering in China. To tie it to how the Tibetans have been treated by the Chinese is not clear. What is clear is that those who have been responsible for Tibet's suffering over the decades will definitely reap the fruits some day. Moreover, even those Chinese who have had no direct hand in Tibet's suffering will nevertheless share this unfortunate negative karma in the future. This is referred to as "collective karma."

[ResidentChimp]

If one looks far enough back in history when Tibet was an aggressive force terrorizing the neighboring countries, you might think that Karma had come back to Tibet. I definitely think quintus is correct in saying that Karma is beyond normal human beings, and although Sharon would never be considered normal, She isn't an expert on Karma. Unless you count the Karma her ex-husband got for marrying her. I believe his feet have healed since them.

[quintus]

Yes, Tibet collectively has clearly created the causes for the the occupation of their country, but to the extent that they have mostly managed to deal with it non-violently, means that they are not creating yet more negative karma in the future. This nonviolent approach allows for the "purification" or exhaustion of their negative karma eventually.

The Chinese, of course, have created a tremendous amount of negative karma for themselves by invading Tibet and forcefully occupying it for over fifty years. The ongoing mistreatment of the Tibetans ("cultural genocide" is an apt description of what is happening there) heaps negative karma on top of negative karma. The Chinese will, at some point, begin to suffer (if not already) the fruits of their non-virtuous actions.

[Pema]

I think the horrors that the Tibetans have faced under chinese occupation would have anyone wrech. Nuns raped, culture destroyed, lamas impriosned with "thumb cuffs' to keep them from perfroming proper prayers. Are you going to blame the Jews for the holocuast next?

[vginger]

I had thought that also, is this Karma? and then I was forced to go further in that thought...if this is how the power of cause and effect works...dear God...what will become of us? Do we not, as a nation, collectively, have much to answer for also? V

[quintus]

vginger,

I believe we DO share collectively in the negative karma our country has created, for example, by going to war in Iraq. Strictly speaking, any violence perpetrated on others results in the creation of negative karma, but the karma created by going into Iraq is especially egregious because it was not at all connected to "the war on terror," it was preemptive, illegal and totally unnecessary. We are all mourning the loss of our soldiers, but how many completely innocent Iraqis have died so far? All of us as American citizens will at some point experience the negative karma from this; even those who have opposed the war from the very beginning. That's collective karma. Those who actively pushed the United States into this war clearly have more negative karma coming their way than those who weren't in a position to make those decisions.

[longnow]

A Thai girl I know said the same thing "Good for them"
meaning ...they deserved it and more. We don't have to ask why
China is hated, but I didn't think the animosity was that bad.
I told her about Grace Wang and the "human flesh eating search
engine @#&%*" shit they did on her and her family. She wasn't surprised.
Take note: there is only one country that exceeds the US in being universally hated.
I said her country was the next Tibet in about 5 years. Water, biofuels and whatever
else they can get their hands on.

[heretical eggs]

Karma is action and reaction. It's not some Intelligent force. It is like Newton's Law: for every action there is an equal opposite reaction. BUT Karma is not a simple thing.

There is an infinite number of actions and reactions happening every moment. It was said that the Buddha was aware of the workings of karma and could see its dance. Most people cannot begin to fathom its complexity.

Karma is said to be either immediate or must "ripen." A man kills another man then crosses a road where he is hit by a car and killed. That is immediate karma. A young man uses a friend for his own purposes and in the process hurts his friend emotionally. Maybe this is to make money. When the man becomes older, he may find he is alone and bereft of any friends or family. That is an example of karma "ripening."

"What goes around comes back around" is an accurate phrase. BUT we as normal, deluded and unaware humans really cannot see the complexities of karmic actions. Certainly Ms. Stone was wrong in her questions about karma and that earthquake being related to Tibet.

[chazbern]

Very good explanation of Karma. However it seemed Ms. Stone is saying her first
take of wondering if this was karma was incorrect, and that service and compassion to those in need was the teaching.

Often we go with the more sensationalistic possibility, like most of the readers here. She seemed to be stating a personal paradox.

[heretical eggs]

My apologies. I made the mistake of not watching the video or finding a FULL text of her commentary. You are right. She was wondering if the earthquake could have been karma, but she received advice in a letter from a Tibetan foundation stating that compassion and helpfulness even in the face of cruelty are more important than wondering if karma was becoming ripe for China. Thank you for pointing that out.

[Jules1]

Clinton, ( Both ), Trotta, Stone, Fox News, Dobbs, Ferraro, all need to think before they speak, seems like ego's are very large and take over without thought of the damage they inflict!!

[terril]

Actually Chinese Buddhist monks living in the disaster area said something similar - not about any specific political situation or any regime or karma, but rather that the earthquake (and other natural disasters) reflect a spiritual imbalance. Also, whether it is karma or some other form of divine retribution, it does not mean that those who suffer are not necessarily (in fact they rarely are) the ones who are at fault, so in no way should such statements diminish the suffering of the Chinese people. It is always the innocent who sacrifice their lives.

[ALMjr]

To all the innocent Chinese men, women and children who are affected by the terrible earthquake on your home, WE apologize for Sharon Stone's ignorant and sick comments.

[mulegino]

Why a person whose line of work involves memorizing scripted dialogue (and Hollywood scripted dialogue, no less!) is considered some kind of Delphic Oracle has always mystified me. I guess it must be "the big screen effect" that worked its' way into the star struck American Psyche, and isincarnated in the entertainment section of Drudge and Huffington Post.
I don't mean to imply that an actor or actress can't opine on a matter just like anybody else. But the measure for taking their comments seriously must be in inverse proportion to the stupidity of such comments.
I would wager that Sharon Stone knows virtually nothing about "Karma" other than the fact that, like ice cream or champagne, some of it is "good" and some of it is "bad."

[Pema]

The christioan bible says as yea sow, so shall yea reap. I feel terrible for the tragity in China, but you must admit, every nation faces tragity, and what is the reason? some cruel god? or our own actions? Karma is a complex matter. it isnt easy to see or understand, the best thing we can do is to treat each other with kindness. nuff said

[nimblehuman]

What ignorant words out of such a pretty mouth...

Disappointing.

[soulriter]

She's obviously drunk.