What is Karma?
-
Hi,
The question of What is Karma?
This topics posted at http://www.buddhism4u.com
Thank you
Regards,
kekwei -
what is the cause of being reborn as handsome as a guy or pretty as a lady?
I read that offering flowers to the statue of Buddha will cause one to be reborn as handsome or pretty in next life isn't it.
As for causes for being reborn as ugliness, being bad and hot tempered will cause one to be ugly in next life, like asura being. the male asuras are hideous looking, but female asuras are said to be beautiful, dunno why.
Is there a reason why same species, but different gender are reborn as ugly and beautiful?
being a vegetarian will cause one to be intelligent and healthy in your next life.
being miser will cause one to be poor in next life and being generous will cause one to be well off in next life. stealing is also one of the causes of being poor. -
dont make a forum if u got no one knowledgeable inside
-
Originally posted by marcteng:what is the cause of being reborn as handsome as a guy or pretty as a lady?
I read that offering flowers to the statue of Buddha will cause one to be reborn as handsome or pretty in next life isn't it.
As for causes for being reborn as ugliness, being bad and hot tempered will cause one to be ugly in next life, like asura being. the male asuras are hideous looking, but female asuras are said to be beautiful, dunno why.
Is there a reason why same species, but different gender are reborn as ugly and beautiful?
being a vegetarian will cause one to be intelligent and healthy in your next life.
being miser will cause one to be poor in next life and being generous will cause one to be well off in next life. stealing is also one of the causes of being poor.
o.0 ic -
The cause and effects of one's actions?
-
dun make a post if you got nothing better to say lol...Originally posted by Cenarious:dont make a forum if u got no one knowledgeable inside -
In your view,Originally posted by Cenarious:dont make a forum if u got no one knowledgeable inside
is Buddhism so dogmatic? Dont Buddhist continue to learn instead of comparing who is more knowledgeable than others?
I hope this is not the path towards enlightenment that you are on. -
Kamma is simply action. Within animate organisms there is a power or force which is given different names such as instinctive tendencies, consciousness, etc. This innate propensity forces every conscious being to move. He moves mentally or physically. His motion is action. The repetition of actions is habit and habit becomes his character. In Buddhism, this process is called kamma. ‘Kamma is volition,’ says the Buddha. In its ultimate sense, kamma means both good and bad, mental action or volition..Originally posted by kekwei:Hi,
The question of What is Karma?
This topics posted at http://www.buddhism4u.com
Thank you
Regards,
kekwei
Thus kamma is not an entity but a process, action, energy and force. Some interpret this force as “action-influence.” It is our own doings reacting on ourselves. The pain and happiness man experiences are the results of his own deeds, words and thoughts reacting on themselves. Our deeds, words and thoughts produce our prosperity, failure, happiness and misery. Kamma is an impersonal, natural law operating in its own field without the intervention of external, independent ruling agencies.
Since there is no hidden agent directing or administering rewards and punishments, Buddhist do not rely on prayer to supernatural forces to influence karmic results. According to the Buddha, kamma is nether predestination nor some sort of determinism imposed on us by some mysterious, unknown powers or forces to which we must helplessly submit ourselves. Buddhists believe that man will reap what he has sown; we are the result of what we were, and we will be the result of what we are. In other words, man is not one who will absolutely remain what he was, and he will not continue to remain as what he is.
This simply means that kamma is not complete determinism. The Buddha pointed out that if everything were determined, then there would be no free will and no moral or spiritual life. We would merely be the slaves of our past and that which has already been decided. There would be no cultivation of moral and spiritual growth. Therefore, the Buddha accepted neither strict determinism nor strict undeterminism.
Btw here are some common MISCONCEPTION regarding Kamma:
1. The belief that everything is a result of acts in previous lives;
2. The belief that all is the result of creation by a Supreme Ruler; and
3. The belief that everything arises without reason or cause.
-
Even within Asia, where the concept of karma has a long history and has been incorporated in a wide range of cultures, it is often misunderstood. Viewed from a negative, backward-looking perspective, karma has been used to encourage the disadvantaged members of society to accept their situation in life as being of their own making. Present suffering is attributed to negative causes made in the past.
Considering themselves to blame for their situation, some people have fallen prey to a sense of powerlessness. This is, however, a distortion of the original meaning of karma as it is used in the Buddhist tradition. To accept the idea of karma does not mean to live under a cloud of guilt and vague anxiety, not knowing what bad causes we may have made in the past. Rather, it means to be confident that our destiny is in our own hands and that we have the power to transform it for the better at any moment.
In the simplest terms, karma, which means actions, indicates the universal operation of a principle of causation, similar to that upheld by modern science. Science assures us that everything in the universe exists within the framework of cause and effect. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction," is a familiar principle. The difference between the materialistic causality of science and the Buddhist principle of karma is that the latter is not limited to those things that can be seen or measured. Rather, it includes the unseen or spiritual aspects of life, such as the sensation or experience of happiness or misery, kindness or cruelty. In an address delivered in 1993, SGI President Ikeda described these different approaches. The Buddhist concept of causal relations, he wrote:
. . . differs fundamentally from the kind of mechanistic causation which, according to modern science, holds sway over the objective natural world--a world divorced from subjective human concerns. Causation, in the Buddhist view, spans a more broadly defined nature, one that embraces human existence. To illustrate, let us assume that an accident or disaster has occurred. A mechanistic theory of causation can be used to pursue and identify how the accident occurred, but is silent regarding the question of why certain individuals should find themselves caught up in the tragic event. Indeed, the mechanistic view of nature requires the deliberate forestalling of such existential questionings.
In contrast, the Buddhist understanding of causation seeks to directly address these poignant "whys?"
Originally, the Sanskrit word karma meant work or office, and was related to verbs that mean simply "do" or "make." According to Buddhism, we create karma on three levels: through thoughts, words and actions. Acts of course have a greater impact than mere words. Likewise, when we verbalize our ideas, this creates more karma than merely thinking them. However, since both words and deeds originate in thoughts, the contents of our hearts--our thoughts--are also of crucial importance.
Karma can be thought of as our core personality, the profound tendencies that have been impressed into the deepest levels of our lives. The deepest cycles of cause and effect extend beyond the present existence; they shape the manner in which we start this life--our particular circumstances from the moment of birth--and will continue beyond our deaths. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to transform our basic life tendency in order to realize our total human potential in this lifetime and beyond.
As one of the ancient Buddhist texts states: "If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present."
Karma is thus, like everything, in constant flux. We create our own present and future by the choices we make in each moment. Understood in this light, the teaching of karma does not encourage resignation, but empowers us to become the protagonists in the unfolding drama of our lives. -
Originally posted by Spirit of Fire:Even within Asia, where the concept of karma has a long history and has been incorporated in a wide range of cultures, it is often misunderstood. Viewed from a negative, backward-looking perspective, karma has been used to encourage the disadvantaged members of society to accept their situation in life as being of their own making. Present suffering is attributed to negative causes made in the past.
Considering themselves to blame for their situation, some people have fallen prey to a sense of powerlessness. This is, however, a distortion of the original meaning of karma as it is used in the Buddhist tradition. To accept the idea of karma does not mean to live under a cloud of guilt and vague anxiety, not knowing what bad causes we may have made in the past. Rather, it means to be confident that our destiny is in our own hands and that we have the power to transform it for the better at any moment.
In the simplest terms, karma, which means actions, indicates the universal operation of a principle of causation, similar to that upheld by modern science. Science assures us that everything in the universe exists within the framework of cause and effect. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction," is a familiar principle. The difference between the materialistic causality of science and the Buddhist principle of karma is that the latter is not limited to those things that can be seen or measured. Rather, it includes the unseen or spiritual aspects of life, such as the sensation or experience of happiness or misery, kindness or cruelty. In an address delivered in 1993, SGI President Ikeda described these different approaches. The Buddhist concept of causal relations, he wrote:
. . . differs fundamentally from the kind of mechanistic causation which, according to modern science, holds sway over the objective natural world--a world divorced from subjective human concerns. Causation, in the Buddhist view, spans a more broadly defined nature, one that embraces human existence. To illustrate, let us assume that an accident or disaster has occurred. A mechanistic theory of causation can be used to pursue and identify how the accident occurred, but is silent regarding the question of why certain individuals should find themselves caught up in the tragic event. Indeed, the mechanistic view of nature requires the deliberate forestalling of such existential questionings.
In contrast, the Buddhist understanding of causation seeks to directly address these poignant "whys?"
Originally, the Sanskrit word karma meant work or office, and was related to verbs that mean simply "do" or "make." According to Buddhism, we create karma on three levels: through thoughts, words and actions. Acts of course have a greater impact than mere words. Likewise, when we verbalize our ideas, this creates more karma than merely thinking them. However, since both words and deeds originate in thoughts, the contents of our hearts--our thoughts--are also of crucial importance.
Karma can be thought of as our core personality, the profound tendencies that have been impressed into the deepest levels of our lives. The deepest cycles of cause and effect extend beyond the present existence; they shape the manner in which we start this life--our particular circumstances from the moment of birth--and will continue beyond our deaths. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to transform our basic life tendency in order to realize our total human potential in this lifetime and beyond.
As one of the ancient Buddhist texts states: "If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present."
Karma is thus, like everything, in constant flux. We create our own present and future by the choices we make in each moment. Understood in this light, the teaching of karma does not encourage resignation, but empowers us to become the protagonists in the unfolding drama of our lives.
-
karma??? my frenz told me is retribution. Last time Frenz A caused Frenz B computer to hang,the next moment, Frenz A computer hang.
-
To understand the law of kamma is to realize that we ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and our own misery. We are the architects of our kamma. Buddhism explains that man has every possibility to mould his own kamma and thereby influence the direction of his life. On the other hand, a man is not a complete prisoner for his own actions; he is not a slave of his kamma. Nor is man mere machine that automatically releases instinctive forces that enslave him. Nor is man mere a product of nature.Originally posted by Darkness_hacker99:karma??? my frenz told me is retribution. Last time Frenz A caused Frenz B computer to hang,the next moment, Frenz A computer hang.
Man has within himself the strength and the ability to change his kamma. His mind is mightier than his kamma and so the law of kamma can be made to serve him. Man does not have to give up his hope and effort in order to surrender himself to his own kammic force. To off-set the reaction of his bad kamma that he has accumulated previously, he has to do more meritorious deeds and to purify his mind rather than by praying, worshipping, performing rites or torturing his physical body in order to overcome his karmic effects.
Therefore, man can overcome the effect of his evil deeds if he acts wisely by leading a noble life. Man must use the material with which he is endowed to promote his ideal. The cards in the game of life are within us. We do not select them. They are traced to our past kamma; but we can call as we please, do what suits us and as we play, we either gain or lose. Kamma is equated to the action of men. This action also creates some karmic results.
But each and every action carried out without any purposeful intention, cannot become a Kusala-Kamma (skillful action) or Akusala-Kamma (unskillful action). That is why the Buddha interprets kamma as volitional activites. That means, whatever good and bad deeds we commit ourselves without any purposeful intention, are not strong enough to be carried forward to our next life. However, ignorance of the nature of the good and bad effect of the kamma is not an excuse to justify or avoid the karmic results if they were committed intentionally. -
From Buddhist Society of Western Australia
Kamma means 'action'. The Law of Kamma means that there are inescapable results of our actions. There are deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' harm, one's own harm, or to the harm of both. Such deeds are called bad (or 'unwholesome') Kamma. They are usually motivated by greed, hatred or delusion. Because they bring painful results, they should not be done.
There are also deeds of body, speech or mind that lead to others' well being, one's own well being, or to the well being of both. Such deeds are called good (or 'wholesome') Kamma. They are usually motivated by generosity, compassion or wisdom. Because they bring happy results, they should be done as often as possible.
Thus much of what one experiences is the result of one's own previous Kamma. When misfortune occurs, instead of blaming someone else, one can look for any fault in one's own past conduct. If a fault is found, the experience of its consequences will make one more careful in the future. When happiness occurs, instead of taking it for granted, one can look to see if it is the result of good Kamma. If so, the experience of its pleasant results will encourage more good Kamma in the future.
The Buddha pointed out that no being whatsoever, divine or otherwise, has any power to stop the consequences of good and bad Kamma. The fact that one reaps just what one sows gives to the Buddhist a greater incentive to avoid all forms of bad Kamma while doing as much good Kamma as possible.
Though one cannot escape the results of bad Kamma, one can lessen their effect. A spoon of salt mixed in a glass of pure water makes the whole very salty, whereas the same spoon of salt mixed in a freshwater lake hardly changes the taste of the water. Similarly, the result of a bad Kamma in a person habitually doing only a small amount of good Kamma is painful indeed, whereas the result of the same bad Kamma in a person habitually doing a great deal of good Kamma is only mildly felt.
This natural Law of Kamma becomes the force behind, and reason for, the practice of morality and compassion in our society.