Karma Definition
The karma definition you most often hear is about cause and effect. But is that all there is to it?
Karma is considered a cosmic law as opposed to a man-made law. In Hinduism, the concept of karma includes the actions of God; in Buddhism, it does not but refers instead to the accumulation of actions and their results. While "karma" as a belief connected to that particular word originated in the religions and beliefs of the Far East, the concept can be found in spiritual philosophies around the globe, including Kabbalah. Below, we'll explore the meaning of karma by examining common beliefs about it from both the Eastern and Western viewpoints.
Cause and Effect
The usual karma definition that we hear in the Western world is that of simple cause and effect.
In other words, do bad things in this life: bad happens to you in a future life. Do good deeds in this life: good happens in a later incarnation. If you suffer painful experiences in this life, you've done bad deeds in prior lives. If you have good luck in this life, you've acted kindly in your past lives.In the East, where the concept originated, the karma definition is somewhat different. While the straight-line cause/effect belief is present, the deeper understanding is more multifaceted. The cause is not separated from the effect; there are not two sides to the equation but one. Both the cause and the effect taken together are karma, which then provides the situations you face in your present life.
Reward and Punishment
When you hear the terms "reward" and "punishment" used in a karma definition, you have to realize that it's about Western ideas applied to Eastern philosophy. I'm sure you know good people to whom bad things happen, and bad people who live a life that looks pretty darned good. However, what you are seeing is the appearance of karma over many lifetimes as well as a mixture of lessons the soul must learn. Very few people have all good or all bad experiences.Instant karma is actually very rare; most effects take place in your next or far-future lives. The sense of time is different for those raised with a belief in reincarnation. As you'll read in a karma definition below, what we see as bad karma or good karma is more an opportunity or challenge than a reward or punishment.
Destiny or Fate
It's also common to hear the terms "destiny" and "fate" within a karma definition. Many think that your present life of suffering or joy has been preordained due to your deeds in past lives. They think that whatever you find in this life is immutable.
This is far from the truth. The belief that karma is immutable destiny encourages a hands-off policy in life. For instance, the impoverished beggar must have done some really bad things in his last life and so must suffer in this life to improve his future.When karma is seen as opportunity, you respond differently to the suffering you see around you. The same impoverished beggar appears not because of his own prior deeds, but as a chance for you to extend your hand to help him as well as to work through his own karma, which might be to allow someone to reach out and help him. Free will is an essential part of the Buddhist belief in karma and the cycles of reincarnation. It is not a fatalistic belief in predestination, but a worldview in which we have an ongoing chance to participate. The literal definition of karma is "to do," or take action. It is a dynamic, conscious, voluntary response to life.
Unfinished Business
Another karma definition is that of unfinished business. If you've been to psychotherapy, you know that we carry "incomplete" emotional baggage from our youth into our adulthood. It shows up by attaching to the events of our life in the moment.There are times, for instance, when your anger is so much "larger" than the trigger for it that you start to look for the real reasons behind it. The situation you're in may look or feel like something that happened in your childhood, when you didn't have the power to change it. Now you do have that power, and as your awareness and insight increase, your ability to respond differently increases as well. It's the same with karma, except that your unfinished business may be popping up from your recent past life or even from many reincarnations ago. The circumstances of your present life have come together in a way that provides you with an opportunity for clearing out and letting go of that old - perhaps ancient - baggage.
Intentional Action
An act of karma is by definition, in the Eastern traditions at least, an act of will, requiring awareness, choice, and intention. To change or improve your karma, you start at the level of awareness, then choose to shift your intention to positive action and outcomes. An action without any intention, for instance an involuntary action such as breathing, carries no karma.
Opportunity and Challenge
Another karma definition is that of potential and possibility. Your past actions determine your destiny insofar as they provide situations and opportunities to learn and respond differently than you did in your past lives.
There are times when it's as simple as paying for past deeds, or reaping the benefits of good actions in your prior incarnations. But at other times you're provided with the chance to respond and act in improved ways.In Judaism there is a teaching, simplified for children to understand, which encourages them to make better choices in their behaviors. The wisdom of this simple teaching applies to all of us. It explains in another way the karma definition we're exploring: If you do a good deed, you earn a point. If you've done something bad, but then you change your ways to do the same thing in a good way the next time, you rack up seven points - because it's seven times as hard to change yourself. Karma provides the opportunity for the change your soul needs to accomplish in order to grow to its full potential.
Active/Creative Force
My personal favorite karma definition is that of an active, creative force in which you fully and voluntarily participate. You own up to and take responsibility for previous actions. you search for the pure core of yourself, that part which is One with the Universe, and you learn to think, speak, and act from your highest wisdom.Karma is the energy that has been created through all your past lives that you can work with to create your present and future lives. It's an active force, just as your response to it is through active participation. Your free will combines with your intention to empower your choices and actions so that your soul can grow closer to enlightenment.
Some more great pages you might like!
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