...INTRODUCTION "Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad. The effects of karma (actions) are inevitable, and in previous lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives. Just as someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will eventually be caught and punished, so we too must face the consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the past, there is no way to be at ease; those actions are irreversible; we must eventually undergo their effects." His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from 'Kindness, Clarity and Insight' The Sanskrit word Karma (or kamma in Pali) literally means action. In Buddhism however, karma mainly refers to one'sintention or motivation while doing an action. The Buddha said: “It is volition that I call karma; for having willed, one acts by body, speech, and mind.” AN 3:415, from In the Buddha’s Words, p. 146. (In the west, the word karma is often used for the results of karma; the Sanskrit words for the effects or results of karma are 'vipaka' or 'phala'. ) The shortest explanation of karma that I know is: 'you get what you give'. In other words; whatever you do intentionally to others, a similar thing will happen to yourself in the future. Causing suffering to others will cause suffering to ourselves, causing happiness to others will result in happiness for oneself. Perhaps our biggest to understanding or even believing in karma may be time. The 're-actions' or results of our actions usually show...
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...Karma From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the Indian religious concept. For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). "Karmic" redirects here. For Ubuntu v9.10 "Karmic Koala", see List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala). For the EP by Nada Surf, see Karmic (EP). "Kharma" redirects here. For the professional wrestler, see Kia Stevens. Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म[1] IPA: [ˈkarmə] ( listen); Pali: kamma) in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called saṃsāra) originating in ancient India and treated in the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh religions.[2] Contents * 1 Origins * 2 Views * 3 In the Indian religions * 3.1 Hinduism * 3.2 Sikhism * 3.3 Buddhism * 3.4 Jainism * 4 In Falun Gong * 5 Western interpretation * 6 Spiritism * 7 New Age and Theosophy * 8 Karma and emotions * 9 See also * 10 References * 11 External links | Origins A concept of karma (along with samsara and moksha) may originate in the shramana tradition of which Buddhism and Jainism are continuations. This tradition influenced the Brahmanic religion in the early Vedantic (Upanishadic) movement of the 1st millennium BC. This worldview was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins wrote the earliest recorded scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads. Until recently, the...
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...CHAPTER – VIII CONCEPTS HARMONY WITH ENVIRONMENT The term can be best described as “Ethico moral reponsiveness of business to all the members of the environment.” Man and nature are deeply interconnected and interdependent. The social responsibility of business must ensure that dealings and transactions with its stakeholders are ethico-moral. Ecology or nature is also an important stakeholder. Hnece there is no such right to exploit nature for purely selfish motives. As some one rightly said, “Man, nature, divine are one, attack one, the other two get the impact. They are part of a grand cycle. Hold a global vision and do not be greedy. Dependence of any business on its social and ecological environment is so complete that the very existence, survival and growth of any enterprise depends upon its acceptance by society and environment (who provide all inputs of resources). If it outlives its utility to the Society and environment it has no place and reason to exist. Today, we insist on the social responsiveness and awareness, the ability to relate the plans, policies and programmes to the social environment in such a way that these are mutually beneficial to the organization, society and ecology. The current trend is an organizations’ involvement in social actions. The mission and vision of any organization must express deep involvement in social actions to improve the quality of life in the society and quality of the environment. SELF CONTROL ...
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...“if you believe in karma and reincarnation, you have more morals than believing in nothing” Personally, I agree with this statement, this is because believing in karma and reincarnation makes a person think in a long term perspective, this means they will think about their actions and positivity and how it may affect them later on or even in another life. The basic idea of karma seems to pop up in a lot of places, for example it doesn’t matter how religious you are or even if you’re not a hindu, it’s the fascinating idea itself . Reincarnation is also a very captivating idea, “You were. You will be” the initiative of the natural process of recycling human energy through birth, growth, decay and death. Reasons for view: People may agree with my belief because if we chose to ignore the workings of karma, we tend to create many problems for ourselves. For example, if we like to have something expensive, but we cannot afford it, it becomes very tempting to steal. If we are smart enough, we may never be caught stealing. However, by stealing, (according to the law of karma) we create problematic situations for ourselves in the future, like poverty, or being the victim of robbers. Therefore, if we chose to ignore karma, the results of our actions will still haunt us. Another reason why I agree with karma is the idea of ultimate justice as everyone will harvest the results of their actions and even if karma would not exist, as long as I try to avoid negative actions, the world...
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...Karma is the belief that the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences; basically, it is an effect, the cause being the actions of a person. In Buddhism, karma is viewed as a moral principal. In Jainism, karma is viewed as a way of moving up or down in status. Being prevalent in both Jainism and Buddhism, karma’s role in Jainism is a way to make life better mentally and spiritually, therefore, is considered more important in Jainism. First, I’d like to discuss karma in Buddhism and why it has a significance. Buddhism, like Jainism, recognizes inequalities in mankind. Being a religion and a way of life, they feel there is a way to explain these inequalities and that it is not purely accidental; karma being one of those explanations. The other three reason Buddhism gives for these inequalities are heredity, environment, and “nature and nurture.” Karma in the Pali term means action or doing. Any kind of intentional act is regarded as karma as intentional means there has to be thought put into it. Karma can be either good or bad, depending on the action taken by the person. If the action is unintentional or involuntary, then there is no karma present. The whole idea of karma is that a choice, whether good or bad, is being made, causing a reaction. Being good and making good choices will lead you to be happy while being bad and making bad choices will lead you to be unhappy. ("Basic Buddhism: The Theory...
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...I found karma to be a very intriguing topic within Buddhism and how they believe something such as intent of actions determine such a major part in the reincarnation of a soul and ultimately liberation from rebirth. Willful intentions, whether good or bad, create a cycle of the soul. While most people feel that karma is “what goes around comes around,” I do not feel like that saying is truly karma in the Buddhist sense. Rebirth seems to be an integral idea of karma and someone’s reality is a reflection of their thoughts and actions, not just doing one thing wrong and getting reprimanded or chastised for it. The substance of the unconscious mind and pressures of desires unfulfilled, dreams unrealized, and incompletion of the soul’s mission to the ultimate afterlife are the keys to karma. The human potential for spiritual and personal growth aids in making karma into wisdom, understanding and virtue. It seems that a Buddhist’s life and character were created by karma and that shaped by imagination and intelligence. I believe they think it is paramount for individuals to achieve a clearer understanding of their personal karma to find out what triggers it and what resolves it so they may actualize their potential and become finally free. In the good sense, karma can inspire change and it spreads good since the belief that everything a person does actively contributes to their past, present and future experiences. It isn’t necessarily about what is good or bad, but the cause...
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...In the Buddhist faith there are two challenges that could be raised against the doctrines of karma and rebirth. Firstly, how can there be no-self, when rebirth and karma imply a self due to moral responsibility and consequences? Secondly, If the Buddhist faith upholds determinism, why does it punish people for actions and results that cannot be avoided? Buddhist people may respond to these challenges by declaring karma and rebirth as conventional truths, but this would change the way many Buddhist people see good deeds. The notion of the no-self seems to be negated by the karmic laws and rebirth because if a person commits wrongful acts, that person will be punished by the laws of karma for those wrongful actions. However, in order for this to happen there needs to be “identity and distinction” (Gowans, 76). These two things are denied by the doctrine of the no-self. This leads to the question posed by Gowans, “If there is no self, then what is reborn and what bears the future karmic consequences of a person’s actions?” (Gowans, 76). Unless karma and rebirth are conventional truths, this question will potentially be left unanswered. If it is made public that karma and rebirth...
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...The Nature of Karma in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism People of all religions partake in traditional ceremonies, have special symbols to represent what they worship, peruse different sacred writings and hold diverse theological beliefs. One tradition that is very common among Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, is the law of karma. The religious tradition is defined as the “universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future modes of an individual’s existence (Olivelle). This tradition has inimitable meaning in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, with slight differences. Hindus believe that people are reborn into another life after this one and that the law of karma suggests that a person’s mental and physical actions are binding to the cycle of birth and death. The idea of karma states that actions in one’s present life will determine the condition of the next life. When people begin their current life, karma accumulates because of their actions. And when they die, they will be reborn into another life, as either a human again or in another form, depending on the quality of the former life. The ultimate goal of Hindus is to attain liberation by escaping what is known as samsara, through a process called moksha (Frisch). In Hinduism, “a man becomes pure through pure deeds, impure through impure deeds (Fisher 77). Like the Hindus, the Jain believe that one’s behaviors and motives entice karma. A person's karma from past lives determines the quality of present life...
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...concept of transmigration from the law of karma. In their article, “Does Karma Exist?: Buddhism, Social Cognition, and the Evidence for Karma” they use psychology coupled with the mind only school of Buddhism to explore the idea. The article claims, “Karmic effects should be observable within a current life and that karma is a concept that is dissociable from that of reincarnation.” (Allen, Edwards & McCullough, 6) They further claim that “the notion of karma should not be confounded with that of reincarnation” because Buddhist doctrine states that kamma can “ripen” in a single lifetime (Allen, Edwards & McCullough, 6). By putting karma into the span of one life, the article...
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...The well-known novelist Kushwant Singh writes the text in 1950. The action of the text is set mainly on the train station and in the train’s first-class compartment, in India. The main Character is Sir Mohan Lal, an Indian man, who looks and thinks of himself as an Englishman – he is one of the higher-class Indians and rarely speaks Hindustani, which is the common language in India. The text is about the class division, in India and as well as in England, seen from the eyes of an Indian man who desperately attempts to escape his roots in India and two Soldiers who are able to see through his disguise. The main character, Sir Mohan Lal, is a very complacent man; he is more than satisfied with his education, English skills and dazzling good looks. In the text he looks in the mirror and thinks to himself: “Distinguished, efficient – even handsome. That neatly trimmed moustache, the suit from Savile Row, the carnation in the buttonhole – the aroma of eau de cologne, talcum powder, and scented soap all about you! Yes, old fellow, you are a bit of all right.”1 It all indicates how fond of himself he really is, but what it also indicates is how aware he is of his own appearance towards the public and he certainly is aware of which image he want to send to other people and who he want to attract. In his job as a vizier and a barrister he meets many Englishmen in the trains and that requires certain manners, which he has from studying at the oxford university. Nonetheless his wife does...
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...When considering Hinduism, it might appear that Karma is the central concept, yet upon further exploration, it can be seen that truly Dharma is the hub of the Hindu’s life and purpose. Karma is the idea that if a person does good, good things will happen in return and they will have a better status and life in the next life, or vice versa. Dharma, on the other hand, is a persons’ duty and a way of living their life (Flood, 1996). Dharma is found in many texts and is determined by a Hindu’s caste and stage of life. If one is faced with a contradiction in life, they should uphold their dharma over karma. What might be considered bad karma, could be disregarded and be thought of as upholding one’s own dharma. Without dharma there could be a...
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...Buddhism has become a religion that millions across the globe have started to participate in. Many people believe in the idea of karma, that if one does good things, good things will happen to them. However, several people do not realize that many Buddhist practices such as karma and reincarnation are rooted in Hinduism. How do the different Hindu and Buddhist prayers compare and how are they used amongst the lay people? These two religions have stark differences with their methods of prayer, so how have lay Buddhists found a balance between Hindu traditions and Buddhist traditions? Buddhism is known as the middle path between the relaxed version of Hinduism and the strict rules of other religions such as Jainism. Buddhism attempts to break...
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...independent religion was based upon the teachings of its founder Mahavira. With the lessons taught by Mahavira and my interpretation of his lessons I was able to create the following framework for understanding and comparing of Jainism. What Does It Mean To Be Human? In Jainism the soul is thought of as uncreated and eternal, and is capable of obtaining a perfect divinity. Followers of Jainism should gain liberation from the continuous cycle of rebirth, by not stirring up any bad karma, particularly any bad karma stemmed from causing harm to any and all conscious beings. What Is the Basic Human Problem? The basic human problem as seen by the followers of Jainism is finding a way of finally stopping the continuous wheel of reincarnation. In short, how does one impede this circle of endless lives and come to an end so that they can live? What Is the Cause Of the Problem? The cause of the basic human problem is the continuous wheel of reincarnation, viewed by followers of Jainism, is the karma that they create. What Is the End or Goal of Transformation? The goal of transformation for the followers of Jainism is accomplished when the soul is liberated from matter. What Are the Means of This Transformation? The means of transformation are obtained for the followers of Jainism when they follow the following vows: 1. They vow non-injury of life (ahisma). 2. They vow to always speak the truth. 3. They vow to...
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...The Hindu religion is very different than what we have always considered a religion. In reality it is a group of several smaller religions, or beliefs, that are all comprised of the same basis. Most see that there is a uniformity of behavior and not belief. Hinduism, in a general speaking though, is the belief in either several Gods and Goddesses, or the belief in one god that has many different faces. The gods would choose whether you were a good soul or bad soul, and your fate depended upon their choice and your deeds. Those that lived there lives with good karma were able to be liberated from the circle of birth, and given redemption, or Moksha meaning freedom. Those who had bad karma though, were to be punished for their sins by being forced to live in this world and be born again and again (Pecorino & Romano 2001). As said, Hinduism is a religion with various Gods and Goddesses. The three main Gods that are considered to rule the world are, Brahma: the creator, Vishnu: the preserver, and Shiva: the destroyer. For some, they believe that one God controls all three characters. Some people outside the Hindu religion do not believe it is a true religion. Some say that since it does not have one single unified structure that it cannot be. One who felt very strongly about this was Chief justice P.B. Gajendragadkar. In 1995 he was quoted: "When we think of the Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it...
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...fluctuates, varies, eats, sleeps, awakes, acts, fears, rests, has knowledge and perception, attempts to self defend, and reproduces. These and more qualities of the jiva are obvious through a physical body when the soul is present in it but when the soul leaves these qualities cease. These qualities are external features and consciousness (chetan) is the basic inner feature of the soul. This also makes it clear that the body and the soul are separate entities. The concept of the soul learning to extricate itself from the lower self and its attachments to the material world by purifying one’s ethical life is a theory that can be used by all. Karma is the belief that our actions influence the future course of our current live, and our lives to come. Our success or failure in life is directly related to how we treat and interact with others. Karma answers the question of why some people are better in school then others, or why some people are wealthier then other’s. Christian’s would consider those who have great success and happiness to have favor in the sight of God. The concept of Ahimsa (non-violence) is one that is practiced strongly in the teaching of Jainism. Jain theory teaches that all life is scared and that humans have no special right to supremacy. Jain teachings take into consideration even the smallest microscopic life forms and work to protect them by not eating after sunset so as not to inadvertently eating unseen insects and wearing cloth over their mouth to avoid...
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