Karma = universally accepted?

Is the general principle of karma accepted across culture and belief? Reap what you sow? You get out of life what you put into it? What goes around comes around?

Where does the agreement stops and the disagreements begin? Or is karma NOT universally accepted generally? On that note, why do intelligent and gorgeous people like Mister_T identify as a pirate? Does karma have anything to do with that?

MysticSang'ha said:

Is the general principle of karma accepted across culture and belief? Reap what you sow? You get out of life what you put into it? What goes around comes around?

Where does the agreement stops and the disagreements begin? Or is karma NOT universally accepted generally? On that note, why do intelligent and gorgeous people like Mister_T identify as a pirate? Does karma have anything to do with that?

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I think the root of concepts like karma, that the actions you take will affect what reactions you receive, has to be accepted on a common-sense level. However, when more esoteric, mystical qualities get applied to it, it certainly loses acceptance among some people. In the end, I think most people still accept it on the vague notion that there is some kind of nebulous, universal justice - although they only seem to accept this from the viewpoint that they're always on the righteous end of that equation.

As to why someone chooses to identify as a pirate, I can only surmise that everyone loves booty - some more than others.

I don't know if karma is universally accepted...but I do have a sticker on my bike that reads Bicycle theft = Bad Karma... nobody has tried to steal it yet!

As already stated, I too believe it to be a common-sense concept that most people recognize on a basic level: If you do good things and treat people fairly, then you are somewhat more likely to receive similar treatment. Conversely, if you're a douche, you are somewhat more likely to get treated that way.

There are some doctrines, however, that completely ignore this sensible perspective. For example, some Christian doctrines hold that it's possible to be a douche your entire life, then if you are lucky enough to accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior just before dying, you still get rewarded with a golden ticket to heaven.

I happen to have been lucky enough when I was younger to have a real-life fortune teller from a traveling carnival tell me that I could look forward to living a long life right up to the age of 97, and I am holding out as a drug-addled, drunken, irreverent agnostic jerk until the age of 96. So, I got that going for me.

MysticSang'ha said:

Is the general principle of karma accepted across culture and belief? Reap what you sow? You get out of life what you put into it? What goes around comes around?

Click to expand...

I don't accept it. IMO, in the sense you're using it, it implies a sort of intrinsic justice to the universe that I think just isn't there. The universe sometimes (often?) is not a fair place.

However, we live in a society that is based on reciprocity in many ways, so I suppose what you describe is a useful concept a lot of the time.

However, AFAIK, that's not the whole story of karma. I thought that it isn't just the idea "what goes around comes around", but that all suffering or unpleasantness is the result of someone's wrong action... kinda "your crops won't grow because your neighbour's been bad" - I completely reject that notion of karma.

9-10ths_Penguin said:

I don't accept it. IMO, in the sense you're using it, it implies a sort of intrinsic justice to the universe that I think just isn't there. The universe sometimes (often?) is not a fair place.

However, we live in a society that is based on reciprocity in many ways, so I suppose what you describe is a useful concept a lot of the time.

However, AFAIK, that's not the whole story of karma. I thought that it isn't just the idea "what goes around comes around", but that all suffering or unpleasantness is the result of someone's wrong action... kinda "your crops won't grow because your neighbour's been bad" - I completely reject that notion of karma.

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Yeah, I don't agree with that bit, either.

So, is the concept of reciprocity (or karma) more or less cultural?

MysticSang'ha said:

Is the general principle of karma accepted across culture and belief? Reap what you sow? You get out of life what you put into it? What goes around comes around?

Click to expand...

Well, that's not karma in the Buddhist sense, but more of the common notion of karma.

Buddha explained karma by saying "there are deeds and the continued effect of deeds."

-- Name And Form


And he explained what the wrong perceptions of karma are:

1. Pubbekatahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering, including all future happiness and suffering, arise from previous karma, and human beings can exercise no volition to affect future results (Past-action determinism).
2. Issaranimmanahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are caused by the directives of a Supreme Being (Theistic determinism).
3. Ahetu-appaccaya-vaada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are random, having no cause (Indeterminism or Accidentalism).

-- Karma in Buddhism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



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MysticSang'ha said:

Is the general principle of karma accepted across culture and belief? Reap what you sow? You get out of life what you put into it? What goes around comes around?

Where does the agreement stops and the disagreements begin? Or is karma NOT universally accepted generally? On that note, why do intelligent and gorgeous people like Mister_T identify as a pirate? Does karma have anything to do with that?

Click to expand...

Hey, you like Carson Daly, too?

MysticSang'ha said:

On that note, why do intelligent and gorgeous people like Mister_T identify as a pirate? Does karma have anything to do with that?

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No, of course not. It's all about the accents. If ninjas had cool accents like pirates, instead of just bad overdub jobs, Mister_T'd be all over it!