Karma

I thought I had done a previous blog on the concept of Karma -one of my earliest ones maybe -but having looked for it I can only find things that are similar but do not directly address this concept.

There are 2 versions of Karma -Eastern and Western.

Western:

This is the West's version of the original version of Karma. You're probably familiar with this one. My mom uses it sometimes. She'll say things like, "That jerk cut me off in traffic earlier -he'll pay for it later though. What goes around comes around. Karma". This concept implies that if someone does something wrong/ immoral they will be punished by "the universe" immediately in this life sometime soon. For instance a friend told me a mean old man tried ramming his bike into the bike of a young kid who was going too slow in front of him, but instead lost control of his bike, hit his head on concrete, and died. This fits the Westernized version of Karma. Somebody does something wrong and is punished for it.

The original, Eastern version of Karma was a little different. In Hinduism and Buddhism Karma means, if you do wrongful/immoral things in this life you will pay for it in the next life. Now this I know I've talked about in other blogs though I may have forgotten to mention this notion came from Karma. The universe or God doesn't punish you, you condemn yourself. Your actions become your habits become your character become You. If you act violently you become a violent person. Hate and immorality weigh you down, so you go Down. When you come back to your next life you have less say in it and will wind up suffering more than you would of had you led a better, more enlightened life.

Now there are 2 important interpretations of the Eastern Karma concept. The consequences of the first interpretation -founded in Hinduism- are what actually led the second interpretation -founded in Buddhism.

The first way people interpreted Karma was to adopt the notion that if someone is suffering in this life it is because of wrong doings they did in a past life and therefore are being cosmically punished for. We should not pity them or seek to help these people being punished for their immoral behavior. This led to a tragic social environment where people treated the sick, dying, and homeless people living in the streets without pity or compassion. The wealthy were praised for leading good former lives while the suffering were condemned for their past wrongs. The Caste System was put in place to mark this.

But then Buddha reinterpreted this understanding of Karma to correct this social injustice. Buddha said that although someone may have done wrong in their past life, this new one is a clean slate. They may suffer more in this life than they would have had they done good in their past life, but if we are cruel or unsympathetic to these people we ourselves become cruel and unsympathetic. We should act out of love for those that suffer to attain the ultimate goal to end suffering all together. Buddha condemned The Caste System.

I'm with Buddha.


 A friend said, "karma has no defining line of good vs evil therby leaving it a relative idea". This is wrong. Buddhism says do as you please, but know that there are consequences for your actions, for to hurt others is to hurt yourself. It may not state directly what defines good and what defines evil, but it certainly suggests that excesses in violence, drugs/alcohol, sex, greed, and other "sins" will lead to a life of suffering and distraction from Serenity and Truth.