Karma

Well, I've been doing some deep thinking. And with all that thinking, the word Karma came up.



Do you know the concept of karma? It’s kind of like a circle, or cause and effect, like a slow tolling bell you rang maybe a year ago, five years ago, maybe in another life if you believe in that. Karma means that what you do today, and why you do it, makes you who you are forever: as if you were clay, and every thought and action left a mark in that clay, bent it, shaped it, even ruined it. But with karma, there are no excuses, no explanations, no I-didn’t-mean-it-so-can-I-have-more-clay? Karma takes everything you do very, very seriously.



Opinions?

 

I studied karma at great length as part of my Religious studies GCSE. Hindu's believe in the cycle of Samsara which is in other words the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and it's seen as evil. The only way to break out of it and achieve 'Moksha' (freedom from the gorrors of life) is to have good karma and to prove to Brahman (their Deity) that they are worthy of being part of their God. I know Karma isn't restricted to Hindu's beliefs but I do quite like the way they think, however I couldn't live that way as I'd be permenantly living in fear of doing things wrong (which is inevitable) and getting any pain that is the result from it, I also feel that any approach to a good deed is in fact selfish, whatever we do, we do it to either make ourselves feel good or to make others like us more. There is no problem their, it's better than being actually selfish and then you will get whatever you deserve as a result of your actions.

I only slightly believe in Karma, but as a Christian I believe that it's God giving us what we deserve and I do see that those who do nice things in life who get trampled on do get a happy ending and those who cause horror to others lives, live with the pay back. That idea comforts me, the fact that people get what they deserve as in my low times I know that I will get a happy break soon and I just have to be patient, as well as living with the pain that I may have caused to someone else.

 

lolololo my karma ran over my dogma lol
Alright, well I've gotten that out of my system.

I don't believe in karma, although I do believe that good things should happen to good people. It's just not up to some mysterious hidden force, it's up to us. You see someone do something nice, congratulate them, give them a hug or a high-five. Someone does something back, hope it comes back to bite them in the ass someday, or do something yourself. I'm a Christian. However, I don't believe in destiny. Life is yours. You can control your life, and you can affect others. And you should. Be kind, be mean, follow your heart. Your life is up to you.

o lol wow britishism showing his opinions intelligently what even

 

I lost you from the beginning, but it started to get clearer when you said that.

Yes, I agree.

 

This.

"What goes around comes around" is karma in a short sentence (very loosely).

The reason for this is that I used to be very (stupidly even) nice to everyone. However, I got nothing but shit in return. I think that good people deserve good things to happen to them, and bad people deserve bad things happen to them. However, if you look at how many people who are complete jackasses have such a great life and awesome things happen to them, I fail to find Karma to be even remotely evident in the world.

I think that good and bad events happen at random. I'm religious, and though my faith in God is strong, it's impossible to me, due to personal experience, to believe that good things necessarily happen to good people.
I do believe if you work hard, you can achieve things. But I don't think that if you're a good person, good things will happen to you because of this. There are simply too many variables in anyone's life to "blame it on" karma, good or bad.

 

The idea that the universe has a sense has a sense of "good" and "evil/bad" and rewards/punishes people's acts accordingly seems pretty silly to me.

 

i'm sure most people wouldn't agree with me, but from my experience i found that people do get what's coming to them sooner or later (and in some cases MUCH later). i'm not going to say every good intention will lead to a reward or that every sin leads to a punishment. but i do believe doing good things increases the chances of good things happening to you and doing bad things increases the odds of bad things happening to you. i'm sure many people would disagree with me but that's just what i think.

so one last thing i want to say, while i wouldn't go as far to say that life is fair, i do think it's more fair than people give it credit for.

 

I sort of believe in Karma but it's more of the Golden Rule than Karma.
Karma itself is an interesting concept though.
While I don't believe in Reincarnation I do believe in Ancestors but I don't think that their actions can influence mine.

 

I don't believe karma. Just as Gultigargar said, the idea is silly. I mean, when something bad or good happens to someone, they might deserve it, but not because they did something bad or good before. The supposed consequence and the supposed action are more than likely not related to each other at all.

 

If you are a dick to people then people will generally be a dick to you
If you are NOT a dick to people then people will generally NOT be a dick to you
It's not Karma, it's common sense.

 

I see Karma as a selfish concept. Being kind in the hopes of being rewarded, instead of being kind just for the sake of being kind to others. Does my act of kindness count if I didn't mean it? Always ever auditing your actions, maybe even your thoughts, for the approval of some outside force is not my idea of morals.

 

It looks like a lot of people seem to think that Karma means "Whatever goes around comes around" or that the universe rewards you for doing good or punishing you for doing bad. Now this explanation of Karma is most definitely an oversimplification of the concept but it goes something like this:

1. Actions have consequences.
2. All things are one. It is more true that each of us is a piece of the universe than each of us is an individual entity.
3. Acting out of kindness makes the universe a better place, while evil motives degrade it.
4. So when you hurt someone else, you're actually hurting the universe at large, of which you are a part, therefore hurting yourself in the end.

An example of this would be if your typical school bully were to look around and see that everybody hates him for his actions and that the few people he loved and cared for have been been pushed away, leaving him, both directly and/or indirectly, because of his actions. An outside force isn't punishing him for he himself has brought about his own fall.

And I agree with what Evilman said. Not every good deed is going to be rewarded and not every evil action is going to be punished. But people still do good things anyway because it's good xD. And what harm would come from doing something good, no strings attached? I also agree with what Ienzo said earlier.

 

Once again, not enough moral nihilists in this thread. GS had the right idea in the consequences realm, but whether something is good or bad is still very unclear. For example, the bully could wish to be hated and to push people away. Such people do exist. On the flip side, someone might be nice to others and then be displeased when they get attached or grow close to them. The way that the world and people work is the same, the consequences are the same, but whether those are good or bad is very debatable. Depending on your values, you may get what you want from doing an action or you may not. Claiming that the universe dictates good and bad circumstances is ridiculous because good and bad are up to the person. In the end it comes down to treating others as you want to be treated, because the consequences seem to line up with that most of the time, but that is still up to how you want to be treated. You make use of the rules that bind reality and bounce your own reactions off of them instead of the universe conspiring to make things go a certain way for you. It is up to you to decide what is pleasing to you and to manipulate the rules to get that outcome.

 

Good things don't always happen to good people. Life can be a real bitch.
Karma is just an excuse to justify someone's actions.

 

Agreed. Also, it's a way for people to fool themselves into believing "that asshole" gets what's coming to him.

 

I also agree.

That leads me to a question, then. When did the whole karma thing start and what started it?

 

...

Please read the thread, it was gone over a bit. You can look into it more on your own if you are still interested.

 

It originated in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies.
I think it's linked to reincarnation, if you had good karma, you'd go "up" and become a human when you are reborn, while you'll become lesser, like an insect when you're reborn.

Im not certain, but I think that's how it was originally.

 

The Karmic balance is the aim. To the universe a balance is needed otherwise chaos will ensue, so acts are orchestrated by the universe to make a balance occur. Harmony through actions. Not my belief, but it could happen I'm sure.

In the end I believe decisions will occur, actions will happen and repercussions will be felt.
Or as the ancient sages say it: '**** happens'