Karma

[Geoff-Allen]

Do you believe in karma?

If you do, how would you explain it in simple terms?

Is it different from the Golden Rule?

Does it work even if you refuse to belive in it?

I may be persuaded 2 share my own humble thoughts on the matter if you all behave yourselves ...

Enjoy!

 

[Aupmanyav]

Karma works even if one refuses to believe in it.

 

[Vinayaka]

Yes. Very difficult to explain it in simple terms, but I'll try. Every action has an opposite action or actions equal to the same force of the first action. Whatever action a soul does, has it's returning consequence(s) of equal force, in due time, which may well be over several lifetimes.

Belief in anything is just that ... belief. Doesn't mean it is or it isn't.

 

[sayak83]

Do you believe in karma?

If you do, how would you explain it in simple terms?

Is it different from the Golden Rule?

Does it work even if you refuse to belive in it?

I may be persuaded 2 share my own humble thoughts on the matter if you all behave yourselves ...

Enjoy!

Karma is action. What Westerners call Karma is actually Karma-fala, the idea that every action driven by motive or desire have consequences on the actor. The consequences can be in this life and (if you are a believer) in future lives as well. Rebirth is considered to happen because of the consequences of actions in the previous lives that have yet to fructify. At the mundane level, formation of habits and being imprisoned in certain modes of thinking or emotional affect also occurs because actions create consequences that drive the mind-body in a certain way, closing off other possibilities. Developing an ego-less state of being with desire free activities is considered a way to get out of these limitations.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Do you believe in karma?

Yes

If you do, how would you explain it in simple terms?

It's the laws of cause and effect. It's an action. I don't know if Hinduism is similar but here it is from a Buddhist perspective on Kamma.

and

the evil-doer who goes to hell (or some other low state of birth),
the evil-doer who goes to heaven,
the good man who goes to heaven, and
the good man who goes to hell (or other low birth).
Majjhima Nikaya Sutta

Is it different from the Golden Rule?

Yes. The golden rule is "do to others as they would do to you." Karma says "when you commit an action there will be a benefit or consequence of that action."

If you speak harshly of someone else (and you wouldn't do that of yourself), kamma would say there is a benefit or consequence of that action without regards to whether you would say the same thing to yourself or not.

Does it work even if you refuse to believe in it?

Yes. It's the law of life. We can deny it. Say, if I deny that the cause of my father's drinking his whole life will not effect him by internal bleeding and liver problems. My belief does not make it true or not true. He does have liver issues and he is bleeding internally outside of my belief.

Hopefully, I explained this right. I'm still learning more deeply about it.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Cause and effect. It's no more difficult to understand than that.

 

[crossfire]

Do you believe in karma?

If you do, how would you explain it in simple terms?

There are many types of Karma.
"Habitual thought patterns you fall back on when you are unmindful" is the type you are probably referring to, no?

Is it different from the Golden Rule?

Yes, the Golden Rule requires mindfulness and self-reflection. It could be used to propagate favorable habits/karma, however.

Does it work even if you refuse to belive in it?

It is a rare person, indeed, who is 100% mindful all of the time with no habitual though patterns they fall back on.

 

[MonkeyFire]

If karma gives consequences does it get consequences, or is it passive to hell?

 

[SalixIncendium]

If you do, how would you explain it in simple terms?

Causality.

Sorry for the lengthy post.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

It is a rare person, indeed, who is 100% mindful all of the time with no habitual though patterns they fall back on.

Yes - there have been very few fully enlightened beings so far in human histroy.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Cause and effect. It's no more difficult to understand than that.

Sometimes the "cause" of the "effect" is more obvious than other times - if that makes any sense - I am about to go to bed so my brain may not be functioning at its optimum ...

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Okay, for what it's worth ... here is my "take" on karma:

Unless you cultivate genuine compassion you are going to have very difficult & stressful relationships with your fellow human beings.

May not be conventional, but it works for me

Off to bed ...

 

[sayak83]

If karma gives consequences does it get consequences, or is it passive to hell?

Replace Karma by its correct English translation "Action". Now does your question makes sense?

 

[Valjean]

It's all mechanical. No judgement or intention involved. "Wrong action" has negative consequences. If i hold a hammer over my foot and release it, I'll have an injured foot -- karma. If i cheat my neighbor in a business deal, same thing. All just physics.

Remember, your actions are not as they appear, nor are the consequences. You may perceive yourself pouring a cup of tea, or strangling your wife -- or smashing your foot -- but these are just illusions; abstract, mind-generated hallucinations. You're dreaming it all.

Shooting bad guys in a video game doesn't really kill anyone. In actual fact it's all just an illusion. It's all just electronic inputs and outputs. It's just a computer algorithm of 1s and 0s.

Our lives are no different. It's all an illusion; a dream. We dream we're robbing a bank, but behind the scenes it's all just electrical switches and quantum perturbations. There is no real bank, and there is no real us.

Karma and karmic consequences are all just physics algorithms filtered through a virtual reality generating brain.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Karma works even for atheists. Physical, social, legal and emotional rebound of our action. It does not require God, judgment, heaven or hell.

 

[Jainarayan]

I believe in karma, but not in the western sense. I think the word karma is thrown around fast and loose, far removed from its true meaning. There are three main categories of karma, with several sub-categories. It's far more intricate than "paybacks are a *****". Believe it or not Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it.

 

[MonkeyFire]

Replace Karma by its correct English translation "Action". Now does your question makes sense?

Now idk. How I know karma is this for that virtue for pleasure.

 

[sun rise]

A bit more expansion of what @sayak83 noted about motive. To me, motive is key in determining consequences. If I punch someone out of anger, the consequences are different than if I punch someone to stop him from struggling so I can rescue him, for example.

And while karma is often used in the negative sense, it's equally true that there is positive karma - the kinder I am to others, the kinder they will be to me.

 

[sayak83]

A bit more expansion of what @sayak83 noted about motive. To me, motive is key in determining consequences. If I punch someone out of anger, the consequences are different than if I punch someone to stop him from struggling so I can rescue him, for example.

And while karma is often used in the negative sense, it's equally true that there is positive karma - the kinder I am to others, the kinder they will be to me.

Correct.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Thanks 4 all the responses!

I had one more thought occur to me ...

Does karma adequately "explain" why some people are luckier than others? Some people seem to get a REALLY raw deal in this world.

There certainly appears to be a HUGE gap between the most & the least fortunate individuals!

Cheers.