Burden and Onus is a term that comes from the Buddhist scriptures and represents the two opposite sides of existence. In Buddhism, the two sides of life are Nirvana (Sanskrit) and Karma (Hindi).
Karma represents the action or the result of a previous action. For example, if you have done something wrong and now realize what you have done, it will be Karma. On the other hand, if you have done something right, and now realize this, it will be Burden.
In the scriptures, Burden is described as the thing or the act which has brought about the end of life. This could be caused by wrong doing or evil intentions, or a combination of both. This will be the cause of the punishment of the Buddha.
Karmic Burden is described as the reason behind our actions or the effect of our actions. For example, we can have good Karma for our actions but bad karma for our actions if we did something wrong the first time and caused the Karma to be created in our lives.
In Tibet, the Burden and Onus refer to the three basic needs, which are spiritual, physical and mental. When we do not fulfill these needs, our spiritual, physical and mental well being is affected. The spiritual Burden of not having the basic spiritual, physical and mental need is the main cause of our Karmic Burden.
Spiritual Burden and Onus, the two sides of life, are saying to balance each other. If we have not fulfilled the basic spiritual, physical and mental need, it can cause our karma to affect our spiritual, physical and mental well being and make us have a negative effect of our karma.
On the other hand, if we have fulfilled all the basic spiritual, physical and mental need, it can also cause bad karma if we had not fulfilled the other basic needs as well. Our lack of good karma can bring about a bad effect of our karma on the other side of life.
The purpose of Buddhism is to make all people happy by giving them the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of their lives. So, when we fulfill the basic spiritual, physical and mental needs, we make ourselves free from the Karmic Burden and Onus, thus making ourselves happy.
So, we can see that the goal of Buddhism is to free all beings, including humans, from the two sides of life, the Karmic Burden and Onus. to live in a state of happiness.