Karma

12-04-2005, 03:06 AM

We should all be familiar with the idea of karma. The belief that "for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful."

Basically, the universe making things just.

Anyhow, I was wondering who here believes that Karma really exists. If so, a few things:

1) Where do you think you stand as far as karma goes? Take a good look at what you do in your day to day life, the way you treat others and the world around you. Do you think that you have it coming, or that you should be rewarded?

2) Do you have any stories about how Karma got you, either in a good way or in a bad way?

Lastly,

3)Has your belief in Karma tailored your life in anyway?

For myself, I'm a strong believer in Karma. I watch it take place around me everyday, and personally to me.

Karma has definitely tailored my life. When I first learned about it, I took a good, long look at my life. I wasn't the nicest person to people, always being haughty and being a bitch. I would take so much in my life for granted, like the fact that I had a nice place to stay, I had a car, I wasn't poor. And at the point in my life that I learned about Karma, I realized that everything that was going bad for me, I had brought on myself. So I changed my attitude. I changed myself and now, I am living an awesome life. And I never forget to be grateful for it.

So what about anyone else?

Sanctus Dei · 12-04-2005, 03:17 AM

I believe in karma, fate, and destiny.
Everything will happen as it should, specific examples?? Well I left my signif for another in San Fran.. broke it off before left, it was a sad and hurtful thing to do. When i got to SF I realized what I had left behind and how worthless the current choice was... Destiny: I was suppose to go and have a luke warm experience to fully understand what I had left behind.
Fate: I am suoppose to love the one I do.
Karma: My methods and reasons were shady, and I'm still paying for the mistake (financially and mentally)

Scythan · 12-04-2005, 11:34 AM

I do not believe in karma. At all. I think that if someone believes in something like that, they will look for examples that seem to prove that it exists, and discount ones that don't. I believe that karma is used the same way that religion is: it provides understanding or the illusion of it, and it lets a person think that they have some sort of control over things that happen.

Circle V · 12-04-2005, 03:45 PM

I believe that karma is real to an extent. Generally speaking, harmful or malicious acts have negative long-term consequences and generous or kind acts ensure future benefit. There are often exceptions, of course, but bad people generally have poor lives. You constantly hear about some horrible people getting rich or achieving whatever goals make them happy, but what you don't hear about is what happens to the rest of them.

--Rh, · 12-05-2005, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xnguela

I don't believe that Karma's neccessarily real, because I know plenty of good people that have bad things happen to them, but I think overall if you do mostly good, mostly good things will happen to you and vice versa. It's not a religious thing for me, it just kind of makes sense.

The way of explaining bad things happening with good people is that ignorant as we are , most of the time we only learn and grow by suffering . Also , for many people , karma doesn't come only of the present life , otherwise , everyone would be born rich , with an awesome life . That as we all know , doesn't happen .

It's obviously that if you make good , you'll receive good , there's no mystery in that . Sometimes you make good things and receive bad because you need to learn how to give without wanting a reward .

When doing something bad , we unconsciously want something bad happening to us because it give us the sensation of ' it's paid ' and we feel free again .

-Desideratum .

LightPollution07 · 12-05-2005, 07:53 AM

I think if you look for it you will believe it, but its not real. its a mind trick

sensuous0mar · 12-05-2005, 07:53 AM

i'm a good person that does some bad things...
I used to shoplift and I think I'm being bitten in the ass by karma right now for that in the form of a huge weight struggle
I'm like the nicest person in the world...but sometimes I talk behind people's backs. But hey, who doesn't, right? I don't spread vicious rumors or anything like that, just express my opinions....such as "I didn't think sarah did very well on her solo at the concert last night. In my opinion she's done better" Like so. Is that bad? I don't want to lie!

--Rh, · 12-05-2005, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sensuous0mar

i'm a good person that does some bad things...
I used to shoplift and I think I'm being bitten in the ass by karma right now for that in the form of a huge weight struggle
I'm like the nicest person in the world...but sometimes I talk behind people's backs. But hey, who doesn't, right? I don't spread vicious rumors or anything like that, just express my opinions....such as "I didn't think sarah did very well on her solo at the concert last night. In my opinion she's done better" Like so. Is that bad? I don't want to lie!

We're no one to judge other people's , try to keep your thoughts to yourself , you might feel better .

insane_lover44 · 12-05-2005, 03:08 PM

i believe in karma.
when i was in grade school, i acted like a spoiled little brat sometimes took everything for grated like, where we lived, where i shopped, and even the people i loved. then in fifth grade my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer and died within a few weeks. that changed my entire attitude toward life. i started being nice to everyone and i really started to appreciate not only my life, but life in general.

MrMaelstrom · 12-08-2005, 12:12 PM

My KARma ran over your DOGma.

endemonidia · 12-08-2005, 02:17 PM

Whether or not karma truly exists (in a measurable form) is impossible to say, because of that wonderful little thing called chaos. But, whether you believe in its existance or not, it provides a focus. Once I started trying to be nice to people, for example, it really was amazing how many little things swung my way. Like, the bus arriving on a rainy evening just as I arrived at the stop, or getting back an A on some piece of work that I hadn't been too confident about. Now, if you'd noted my average waiting time for the bus, or average marks, there would generally be no difference at all - but it *feels* like there is. It feels like the world you're living in today is a bit better than the world yesterday. It's a self-fufilling prophecy, as Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen put it in The Science of Discworld II:

"What about the gypsy who prophesisies that a tall, dark man will come into your life, thus making you receptive to all those future tall dark men? (if tall dark men interest you, of course; it's up to you.) This could be a self-fufilling prophecy, the opposite of the stories told by Biblical prophets. It's a story that the recipient is sympathetic to, wants to happen . . . We wouldn't have thought, going down the stairs to get a train to work, "I wonder if I'm going to meet a tall dark guy today?" But once it's been put into our minds, we smile at all the dark men, even some quite short ones. And so our lives are changed (perhaps in quite major ways, if you're a man doing the smiling) as are the stories that we ourselves proposed for our futures."

It's complex, because of course karma is a belief, and generally the more unprovable beliefs are, the more we believe in them.

Sanctus Dei · 12-08-2005, 07:22 PM

What a beautifully erudite way to put that Endemonidia. (Not to mention your non-judgemental respect for the ideals of others is commendable)

Auriane · 12-09-2005, 04:39 AM

I don't believe in karma, but there's a Dutch proverb I do believe in: "Who does the good thing, meets good things".
(It's actually cooler in Dutch, because it rhymes.)
The difference is that I don't think there's a cosmic force (of that kind, I do believe in others), but when other people see you are a good person they will often treat you in the same way.

Bloodybible · 12-09-2005, 06:00 AM

Perhaps there is a "karma". But I think it's by no means the cosmic mystery that some may say is the cause of everything good and bad. I believe in
karma only when I understand it as an individual's free will. Your rewards
can be nothing but the result of your own efforts. If what you get is no more
than suffering, it should be reward in a different form. After all life is a process rather than an outcome.

Blushing Heliophobe · 12-09-2005, 06:56 AM

I believe in Karma as a principle but not as an entity.

I think it's more or less along the lines of how the world works and 'Karma' was a name somebody gave to that concept.

As in, I personally try not to engage in revenge. The one time I broke my rule and went headlong for revenge really screwed up my life for a long time.

The idea is, that if a person that mistreated me is such an a-hole, eventually they will make enough bad decisions that they will cause themselves their own punishment.

I have found it to be true.

It is interesting to note how many cultures and religions have their own view of 'Karma'.