DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Your views on the subject of kamma/karma?

**Nesskissabe** · 03-13-2011, 02:13 PM

I think it's also always important to understand that karma isn't some kind of cosmic punishment system and that the Buddha said in the suttas that we shouldn't speculate about the precise working out of kamma.

Worth remembering when we hear comments such as "Oh its his/her karma!"

Right, I agree completely! Karma is our (chosen/intentional) actions, not the consequences, and not everything that happens in our lives is the result of _our_ past actions. The world we're born into has come to be the way it is through the actions of many humans throughout history and beyond, and even more so the rhythms of nature and the Earth itself. If someone sees an ugly person and says "well they were vain in a past life, they deserve it, it's their karma!", that is more in line with the Hindu concept of karma than the Buddhist one. However if a stingy billionaire goes bankrupt and then suffers greatly and people say "he was greedy, his karma was born of possessiveness, and look at him now!" then this would be a better picture of karma.

The best way to think of karma, IMHO, is in the way it helps us now (how we can directly observe it working, if we practice). Karma teaches us that if we choose wisely how we think of life, how we speak or interact with others, and our physical actions... this will lead the mind away from greed, aversion and delusion. It will lead the mind toward generosity, good-will and wisdom. We will begin to detach from a world of self-clinging, of seeking temporary happiness where we can find it, and begin to see the bigger picture of which we are just a transient piece.

03-13-2011, 02:13 PM	#40
Nesskissabe Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 446 Senior Member	I think it's also always important to understand that karma isn't some kind of cosmic punishment system and that the Buddha said in the suttas that we shouldn't speculate about the precise working out of kamma. Worth remembering when we hear comments such as "Oh its his/her karma!" Right, I agree completely! Karma is our (chosen/intentional) actions, not the consequences, and not everything that happens in our lives is the result of _our_ past actions. The world we're born into has come to be the way it is through the actions of many humans throughout history and beyond, and even more so the rhythms of nature and the Earth itself. If someone sees an ugly person and says "well they were vain in a past life, they deserve it, it's their karma!", that is more in line with the Hindu concept of karma than the Buddhist one. However if a stingy billionaire goes bankrupt and then suffers greatly and people say "he was greedy, his karma was born of possessiveness, and look at him now!" then this would be a better picture of karma. The best way to think of karma, IMHO, is in the way it helps us now (how we can directly observe it working, if we practice). Karma teaches us that if we choose wisely how we think of life, how we speak or interact with others, and our physical actions... this will lead the mind away from greed, aversion and delusion. It will lead the mind toward generosity, good-will and wisdom. We will begin to detach from a world of self-clinging, of seeking temporary happiness where we can find it, and begin to see the bigger picture of which we are just a transient piece.
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