Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
So there's no karma?
Whether Buddhism is a religion is a subjective thing and is debateable, but it is not a religion under the common understanding of religion as a belief system that worships God(s)/deities/higher powers, or as Beyond Religion said,
Indeed, Buddhism is beyond preaching and scaring people into conversion. Buddhism is beyond claiming that MY God is real and all others are not. Buddhism is beyond surrendering your individuality for the supplication and appeasement of a deity. Buddhism is beyond dividing fellow humans into believers and unbelievers. Buddhism is beyond dogma and faith.
In short, Buddhism is beyond religion.
But does Buddhism deal with the spiritual? Yes.
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity" -- Albert Einstein [1954, from Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, Princeton University Press]
Karma does not work like 'I am rewarded by Buddha for doing this or that'. Therefore karma may not be considered as a religious idea, in a sense.
Buddha has no control over your karma (there are a few things that is not under
a fully enlightened Buddha's power to control, among them is your karma, or to grant people enlightenment and so on...), he can only advise you not to do foolish things, and he can advise you what to do about them. (i.e we can do something about our unwholesome karma through insight, virtuous action, etc). It is rather like a universal, natural law of cause and effect. Karma is action, doing, intent, and Karma constitutes three basic kinds: intentional Action, Speech and Thoughts. These results in karmic potential which ripens on right conditions. In deep meditation one will be able to see the workings of karma. I am only a novice practitioner so I don't know much, but there are others who know much more/are more experienced. True meditators will realise that the power of karma/volition in our conciousness influencing and manifesting in our life cannot be underestimated. When external stimulus (conditions) are present, latent karmic seeds in our consciousness ripen into effect. Karmic patterns can also draw us to specific experiences and things.
Nevertheless there are many things cannot be understood at our level, for example the exact results of karma is one of the four imponderables, often what one can get is a undoubtable glimpse of its workings, but unless one is omniscient not everything can be understood yet... So wait till I attain Buddhahood then I tell you more.
Or if you attain Buddhahood first, tell me.
But one must have confidence and faith in the Triple Gems (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) to lead him to enlightenment, otherwise one would not undertake this spiritual journey to find out for himself. Certain level of healthy doubting is permissable and even necessary in certain case if if certain beliefs hinders seeing our true nature, usually our long held perception and understandings of things which we are deeply attached.
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From a previous post of mine, which I said the 3 requirements for enlightenment:http://www2.bc.cc.ca.us/resperic/science_and_spirituality.htm
“Great faith” in Zen practice refers to a trust in the process, as demonstrated by the many who have gone on before, as well as a firm trust in one’s capabilities to see the essential nature of reality for oneself. In scientific work, “great faith” refers to a trust in the scientific method, successfully applied by scientists of the past, as well as an underlying belief in one’s inherent capability to understand the phenomena being studied.
“Great doubt” in Zen refers to a willingness to profoundly question all of one’s most cherished beliefs, and ultimately to uproot them. Beliefs are but concepts, floating on the surface. The conceptual realm may be useful at times, but compulsive attachment to particular concepts is a hindrance to penetrating to deeper levels of realization of the fundamental nature of reality, which is beyond all concepts. An ancient Chinese saying states that when a wise man points his finger to the moon, the fool sees only his finger. In science, “great doubt” is based on a realization that the model is not the reality. Being too attached to a particular hypothesis or theory can prevent one from arriving at a better theory that reflects a deeper understanding of the phenomena of interest.
“Great determination” in Zen is required in order to not give in to laziness. The process may take some time, and without determination one may never attain deep realization. In fact, there is no deepest realization, and only by great determination will one keep going deeper. Of course the same can be said of scientific research.
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p.s If anyone finds any error in my post please correct me.
