What is Karma?

[DarkRange55]

I've mentioned on this thread before that there does seem to be something to karma - "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." And to some extent, I would still say thats true. But I've been thinking, maybe all these different concepts are all just different spins/flavors/whatever of looking at the same idea: some call it karma, some call it providence, some call it fate, cosmic synchronicity, determinism, some call it etc., etc. And in Western secular terms, we call it cause-and-effect. Maybe it's not mysterious or spiritual or… even sacred. There seems to be a strong reverence for the principle of, "what goes around, comes around." But maybe thats just it - Things happen that lead to other things. And that particular "karmic" event is just one of them. Not a design, just an outcome, a consequence. Choices have consequences just like every action has a reaction/consequence. Maybe it's all just coincidence (theory of randomness). Things happen that lead to other things.

At a minimum, people who live by the sword also tend to hang out where there are swords, and people who tend to hang out where there are swords tend to die by the sword.
Add up enough similar links and you start to get karma.

This is not to disprespect the principle. Just a discussion of perspectives.


Any thoughts?

 

[The Morningstar]

I think you summed it up nicely.
"You get what you put in."
But not always. Sometimes luck gets in the way. Chaotic nature of the Universe, after all: entropy.
Getting what you "deserve," though? "Deserve"? On whose authority?
I have decided it is better to take accountability for my screw ups. Learn from them. Grow with them.

 

[R. A.]

I was thinking of maybe making a snide half-assed comment suggesting Wikipedia (for starters) could tell you better than any of us, but you know what? The one thing I thought I knew about the Hindu concept of karma - that it plays out over several lifetimes - has been hotly debated among Hindu scholars since antiquity.

 

[Pluto]

 

[bankai]

Let's ask one of the experts,@Bad Karma

 

[Carrot]

I have not seen the thread you mentioned.

Karma. I think an easy way to explain it is by imaging it as a number.

Our good actions and intentions increase that number, some increase it by a bigger value than others.
Our bad actions and intentions decrease that number, some decrease it by a bigger value than others.

In some reincarnation religions there is the idea that better score will lead to better rebirths, whatever that means. If you score is very low you might be born into some war zone or as a different, "worse", person/being/animal. That's karma, you should have been good, but you were not, so now it bites you back.

What I don't like about it is that it works on a "trust me bro" basis. There is no evidence that this is real, it is made up. This made up thing might help people get through life, hoping that they will be rewarded, while those evil people will be somehow punished after reincarnation, even if we will have never witnessed or confirmed it. Just be obedient, submissive, good and you will be rewarded. Trust me. Meanwhile evil people do whatever they want.

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Cause and effect is different. It says nothing about afterlife. If you smoke, you have a higher chance to get lung cancer. You are not guaranteed to get it, but the chance is higher. If you smoke a lot and end up getting lung cancer, that's "karma", some could say, but they say so colloquially. If you smuggle dangerous animals and die from some animal biting or mauling you, that's "karma", again colloquially.

Somebody might never get rewarded for their good actions, or punished for their bad actions. But the chance increases or decreases based on our actions. Cause and effect.

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I could say the same about fate and especially about determinism. Those are different words with different meanings, there might be some similarities, but I don't think that grouping them together is correct.

 

[JealousOfTheElderly]

I do believe in Karma - the western definition of it. It is what has kept me from CTBing up until now.
I am afraid that Karma will make it such that if I CTB, I will have to reincarnate back to a very similar life (or the same life) with similar challenges until I am able to overcome them. It is my understanding that the universe never gives you a challenge that you cannot overcome - no matter how painful the lesson is. This is part of the Karmic Debt we all pay.
So it leaves me in a very difficult situation... if I CTB, I don't want to come back to my life!

 

[noname223]

I think she lost the election against Trump. (because of karma)

Karma can be a real thing because of multiple reasons. Your own principles affect which people surround you. It affacts who you marry, it affects your friendships. Moreover, there are legal punishments for some actions which are considered evil.

I don't fully believe in karma though. The history's lesson is that good always prevails. In capitalism many manipulative actions give you advantages. Dark triade traites are more often prevelant in CEOs.

I think there are many examples of people on here who committed suicide who did nothing wrong. They have not deserved so much suffering. This is why believing in karma seems cynical for me. How many priests who abused children lived comfortable lives with no consequences. Sometimes having no conscience gives you an advantage. And the victims suffer the most.

The afterlife? Who knows but I think we should not rely on this gamble for punishments.