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Do You Believe in Karma?

Do You Believe in Karma?

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Kali

Kali

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Do You Believe in Karma? Why or Why Not?
 
Karma simply means action. Actions that have reactions. Every action has a consequence.

If you often tend to do bad things to others, then you will attract the same negativity towards yourself; same goes for if you do good deeds.

Even though our superficial ego dies once we die, our subtle mind, or the soul, continues onward. Every action you take in this life makes a subtle imprint on the soul. Upon death, your soul will unconsciously move to the next life, and the karma you have attained (whether good or bad) will ripen at that time and determine the nature of your next birth.
 
No.
Good things happen when you do bad things, and bad things happen when you do good things.

Why would I believe in something so ridiculous?
 
No, I don't believe in it. I believe that your actions (positive or negative) have consequences, but I don't believe in some mystical force that tries to keep the universe in balance.
 
When I look at the world and consider the bad things that happen to good people and good things that happen to bad people, I find it impossible to believe in a concept such as Karma. In fact, its pretty depressing since it is hard for me to believe that even basic justice exists in this world.
 
Karma keeps account of the good and bad that you have done. A bad person may have "good" things happen, but the accounts will always be true. Likewise, a good person will have bad things happen to him.

To more fully understand, you have to include the concept of reincarnation. With reincarnation, a good person in this life may have been a bad person in a previous life, thus bad things will happen to them. Also, a bad thing can be a good thing, teaching humility for example, which is much more valuable than wealth.

So with the accounts of good and bad from karma, combined with the try again approach of reincarnation, we humans must relive our lives until the accounts are balanced. This takes many, many lives to accomplish. Once you do accomplish this, you can become enlightened.

"you shall reap what you sow"
 
reefedjib said:
Karma keeps account of the good and bad that you have done. A bad person may have "good" things happen, but the accounts will always be true. Likewise, a good person will have bad things happen to him.

To more fully understand, you have to include the concept of reincarnation. With reincarnation, a good person in this life may have been a bad person in a previous life, thus bad things will happen to them. Also, a bad thing can be a good thing, teaching humility for example, which is much more valuable than wealth.

So with the accounts of good and bad from karma, combined with the try again approach of reincarnation, we humans must relive our lives until the accounts are balanced. This takes many, many lives to accomplish. Once you do accomplish this, you can become enlightened.

"you shall reap what you sow"
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Or one can take the quick road to enlightenment and sacrifice his virgin sister to the volcano god.
 
Kali said:
Do You Believe in Karma? Why or Why Not?
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Unsure. There are times when it is very easy to see Karma and then you can happily just say 'instant karma'.

There are other times when the concept is used really badly like in people suggesting that people with handicap are born like that because of previous bad karma, when if rebirth were indeed true they may just as easily have chosen this to benefit from the experience or to give someone else the ability to learn from interacting with them.

Likewise if someone is accepting and learning from all their experiences, why would karma necessarily come into it at all. It is just accepting and learning.

Generally speaking though I do believe we give to others what we give to ourselves. So if we do not respect ourselves we will not respect others that then will come back onto us making us more unhappy.

On the level of Nations there is often an easier way to see cause and effect at work. That often takes quite a long time to come to fruition though. I think it gets a bit interesting if we think in terms of us all being One.
 
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megaprogman said:
When I look at the world and consider the bad things that happen to good people and good things that happen to bad people, I find it impossible to believe in a concept such as Karma.
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A belief in karma requires looking at the big picture over eons of time and is not something that is usually consciously apparent in one lifetime.

Actually, karma could be a very good explanation for why sometimes, good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people.
 
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lizzie said:
A belief in karma requires looking at the big picture over eons of time and is not something that is usually consciously apparent in one lifetime.
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If that is true, than I see it as useless. Of course I don't believe in reincarnation.
 
megaprogman said:
If that is true, than I see it as useless. Of course I don't believe in reincarnation.
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It's useless if one only perceives physical incarnation as what is real and lasting, and identifies only with life while in physical form.
 
lizzie said:
I'm not certain that I do either, but it's certainly an interesting subject, and one worthy of consideration imo.
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It would be a mammoth thing to discuss even with people who believed in it to any extent.

On one level it can be seen as simply a way to get people to act in a moral fashion for fear of the consequences.

Then it is seen as not working because people do not get their just deserts, good or bad.

Then it is made even more difficult by people like Buddhists who believe that it is a person's intention on which they should be judged not the results of their actions.

I think where it can be seen to most clearly have an affect is in us having a choice in how we deal with situations and that that choice affects how they affect us.

But even there things can be blown apart. People can suffer from such severe head injury or psychological trauma that they are no longer able to access the person they previously knew as themselves. :doh
 
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lizzie said:
It's useless if one only perceives physical incarnation as what is real and lasting, and identifies only with life while in physical form.
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I have little interest in metaphysics or what ifs. 99% of what my life is composed of is right here and right now.
 
megaprogman said:
I have little interest in metaphysics or what ifs. 99% of what my life is composed of is right here and right now.
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And that's the way it should be.

One must live his life as if he only gets to live it once - since that is also the logical and sane conclusion.
 
alexa said:
On one level it can be seen as simply a way to get people to act in a moral fashion for fear of the consequences.

Then it is seen as not working because people do not get their just deserts, good or bad.
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True- it could be seen as a way to get people to act in a moral fashion, but fear of the consequences is not as much of an issue, based on my understanding, because it seems that the reincarnation and karma "theory"(for lack of a better word;)) is more about balancing, and not so much punishment-based. At least that is my rudimentary understanding of all things karma.;)
 
lizzie said:
True- it could be seen as a way to get people to act in a moral fashion, but fear of the consequences is not as much of an issue, based on my understanding, because it seems that the reincarnation and karma "theory"(for lack of a better word;)) is more about balancing, and not so much punishment-based. At least that is my rudimentary understanding of all things karma.;)
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well you make a very good point because I do not think the meaning has been touched upon and I am not sure I understand what it is myself.

I guess my best guess would be that if you intentionally harm people, chances are it will come back at you, though I also see it as going further towards our common humanity.

It does as far as I am aware in this life at least have an element of morality in it, does it not.

Clearly it will not stop you from being killed or from having your belongings stolen, but it will affect your equilibrium, your own state of consciousness, which arguably is the most important things about your life.
 
alexa said:
It does as far as I am aware in this life at least have an element of morality in it, does it not.

Clearly it will not stop you from being killed or from having your belongings stolen, but it will affect your equilibrium, your own state of consciousness, which arguably is the most important things about your life.
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Well, it does seem to have an element of morality in it, but it seems to be more accepting of human nature and less inclined to a harsh sense of retribution-based morality based on fear of punishment. Overall (imo) it encourages people to become more centered and conscious, but also seems to facilitate a more realistic pracitce of ethical behavior than some of the other religious practices.
 
lizzie said:
Well, it does seem to have an element of morality in it, but it seems to be more accepting of human nature and less inclined to a harsh sense of retribution-based morality based on fear of punishment. Overall (imo) it encourages people to become more centered and conscious, but also seems to facilitate a more realistic pracitce of ethical behavior than some of the other religious practices.
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I would agree with that to some extent. I think that in a Buddhist context this would be the truth as the idea is more about healing than retribution so in that sense what you say is true but at the same time within Buddhism you have people living in the hell realms because of past actions.

I think talking of karma inevitably leads to talking about consciousness because to some extent, I do not see the relevance of karma apart from when one has not moved into a position where the concept of harming is no longer of one's nature and there as an aid in moving towards a good moral choice - which ought to improve the quality of one's life.

What do you mean it is about accepting of human nature? In what way does the concept of Karma help people to become more centred?
 
lizzie said:
A belief in karma requires looking at the big picture over eons of time and is not something that is usually consciously apparent in one lifetime.

Actually, karma could be a very good explanation for why sometimes, good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people.
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Actually, sacrificing that young virgin to the Volcano god has exactly the same amount of evidence karma, reincarnation, the soul, undying subconscious and all of the other religious nuttery that humans create to comfort their fear of the unknown.
 
alexa said:
What do you mean it is about accepting of human nature? In what way does the concept of Karma help people to become more centred?
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Well, it's difficult to explain what my pov is, but I'll try. In the realm of human consciousness and action, there tends to be black and white thinking. Things are considered good or bad, not just "there". The human way of thinking and feeling is to wish for good, and hate bad. It seems to me that the concept of karma encourages a more balanced approach. Sure there's a concept of "hell", but it seems to be understood that hell is not an eternal damnation, and that one's actions and attitudes not only cause it, but are also the remedy. It allows for imperfection in a more non-judgemental way than some of the other religions, and it places the responsibility for one's "soul" or affairs on the individual, and gives the individual the power to determine the direction of life and destiny.
 
lizzie said:
Well, it's difficult to explain what my pov is, but I'll try. In the realm of human consciousness and action, there tends to be black and white thinking. Things are considered good or bad, not just "there". The human way of thinking and feeling is to wish for good, and hate bad. It seems to me that the concept of karma encourages a more balanced approach. Sure there's a concept of "hell", but it seems to be understood that hell is not an eternal damnation, and that one's actions and attitudes not only cause it, but are also the remedy. It allows for imperfection in a more non-judgemental way than some of the other religions, and it places the responsibility for one's "soul" or affairs on the individual, and gives the individual the power to determine the direction of life and destiny.
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I am not sure that karma is all that much to do with not black and white thinking.

I think you will find people capable of being multi dimensional who have no interest in Karma at all. I would hope many people who have no interest in karma may have been taught that things are rarely so black and white.

I do agree that karma does not mean you have had it for ever as it tends to belong to religions which believe in rebirth.

However a RC can go and do a few Hail Mary's and be forgiven for all manner of crimes. I have heard gangland criminals speaking of how they did this, so I think it is not true that most religions do not have ways out.

I believe it is true to an enormous extent that we receive back what we give and to a large extent that is probably because a lot of what we receive stems from how we treat others and our own projections.

The concept of Karma has a use - to help people understand that. Being brought up with love, care and understanding will probably do the same.
 
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