What is Karma?

[cosmosdan]

@Hyperelastic

Karma does not result in a simple quid pro quo. That does not stand up to observation - there are endless examples of people who treated others wretchedly their whole lives and never “got their comeuppance”. Even if you buy into reincarnation, your personality obviously doesn’t travel into the next life. There’s never been a case where someone could remember things from a previous life that could not have been known except through reincarnation.
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Isn’t there a belief that says something about our KArma becoming quicker as our consciousness is raised to a higher level. At low consciousness you can’t make the connection of greedy shelifish young man to lonley bitter old man. Comeuppance can be a little subjective can’t it?

[lekatt]

@Lobsang

It seems to be taken for granted on these boards that ‘karma’ means something like - If you do something bad then something bad will happen to you to balance things out.

But some reading I did into Buddhism many years ago suggest that this is not what Karma is about. From the little I remember Karma is about not harming your enemies and not feeling envious of the advantage of others. I admit that this is a very generalised view of it’s meaning, but like I said it was years ago.

Hopefully there are some Buddhist dopers. What is Karma?

Karma has been described in a million ways, but given its simplist form it means:

You will receive from life, what you give, nothing more, nothing less.

[PatriotX]

@lekatt

Karma has been described in a million ways, but given its simplist form it means:

You will receive from life, what you give, nothing more, nothing less.

Oh. You’re back.
I’m glad you ended your exile.

[cosmosdan]

@meara

This will sound silly, but my best understanding of Karma comes from thinking about peeing in a pool. As a child, you think nothing of it. Once you’ve been lectured on it enough, or have thought about it, you start feeling guilty if there are other swimmers around. Finally, you have a moment of enlightenment and realize that you don’t want to swim in your own pee either.

As another example, if I am mean to someone, he’s likely to vent or be mean to someone else who will then spread it to others, etc. That makes my world just a little bit worse. However, every time I smile or do something nice, I can start a chain reaction in the opposite direction, which will make my world a little better.

In the end, it’s realizing that what I think of as “me” is just a small part in a hugely connected system. Parts of me used to be an apple or a cheesesteak. Parts of me will become grass and trees and maybe other people. The only goal that really makes sense in the long run is to try to improve the happiness/goodness of the whole system. Otherwise, I’m just peeing in my own pool.

Simple but effective explanation. Don’t forget “Classes come and go, but the second grade is always the second grade” In other words I believe our positive actions and emotions do influence those around us, but in this world I think there will be evil people who seek to subjugate others.

[Genghis_Bob]

My understanding is very sketchy, ill-informed and derived from a lot of different sources.

HOWEVER . . .

I’ve always understood that there is no “good Karma” or “bad Karma”; there’s just Karma. And to die with Karma means you’re coming back - no escaping the wheel for you.

Karma accrues from consequences of our actions, which come from attachment. If I do evil, I sully myself (because I’m evil, which is what caused me to do evil). If I do good, or am good, and I take pleasure in doing/being good, then I’ve formed an attachment to that image of myself, thus accruing Karma and ensuring myself another trip on the cosmic wheel when I die.

I escape the cycle of re-incarnation when my all my actions are “pure” - that is, unsullied by thought of consequence or desire for effects. In such a state, my actions are in perfect harmony with the universe, and there is no distinction between myself and the cosmos. No Karma accrues (a fancy word for “sticking to me”), and when I die, I pass into oneness.

Or something like that.

[DocCathode]

Genghis Bob IIRC Jainists and some varieties of Hindu (Hinduism comes in many, many varieties) believe that transcendence is achieved by balancing good karma with bad for a net of 0 karma. However, most Hindus believe that good karma causes a higher rebirth in the next life until after many righteous lifetimes, one dies and is reborn into the godhead.

[jeffh3000]

@DMark

I took an Indian Philosophy class when I was in college.

Whatever you do comes back twicefold…

I it has more to do with your outlook on life than it does with any voodoo, cosmic happenstance.

If you try to be a good person, you become one. And good people have good things happen to them.

Laugh if you will, but it has helped me live a charmed life, and I have been doing it for decades now.

Yes but in general the beliefs of karma are that the actions of this life are resolved in future lives. Meaning that “benefits” of good actions in this life are not reaped in this life, but rather in the karma of future ones.