A question of karma

[Christine]

I was asked this question the other night. I thought it was a good one so I pose it to you;

How do we know of karma? Literally.

[catseyes]

I don't recall ever being taught or reading about it.   Yes, my knowledge on the subject was refined through discussions with  my mother and friends.  Books also.   I just don't ever recall an initial introduction, so to speak

[Torey]

I had never heard of the concept until I started to research New Age beliefs in the mid-90s.

[GaryTheDemon]

I have known of karma as a concept for as long as I can remember.  But the term 'karma' was something I discovered in my teens, initially in an incorrect way - i.e. as punishment or reward, so I didn't initially make the connection. 

I wish I understood it better than I do.

[catseyes]

Perhaps we are not meant to understand it, lol.

[Christine]

Torey so you thought it was a new age concept?

My belief was Buddhists have known about it far longer but I could be wrong.

[GaryTheDemon]

Hindu and Buddhist traditions have included karma years before the birth of Christ. 

I think, CE, it is neither meant nor not meant to be understood.  But understanding it, like all things, leads to ways to live better.  Or can do.  It is a very misunderstood concept.

[Christine]

So where do you think our awareness of the concept comes from? Do we all innately know it's origins?

[Alien88]

How do we know of karma? Literally.

This is going to sound bizarre, but it’s what happened while I was growing up in a dysfunctional, sometimes non-existent household.

I was wondering (at a very young age) why everyone around me had stable, fun loving households while mine was anything but. It was then that I started having these very vivid dreams about why I was in this less than ideal situation.

I remember hearing someone of authority in my dreams either brokering a deal with me or saying something to the effect of:

“Well you have so much to learn and you must work twice as hard as the next person to catch up on lessons”. And, “this is difficult path, but you can do this in the one lifetime and avoid coming back for a second time.”

These dreams really scared the life out of me as they felt real, especially when things happen during the course of growing up and you would say, the dream said this is going to happen like this.

Of course, I grew up really despising the word “path” or “destiny “ and kept thinking why can’t I have a normal childhood without the cr…p.  My only regret was not writing every dream down, however the funny thing was I could barely read or write anyway lol.

Moral of the story, I would never bet against Karma lol

[Christine]

Our paths sound similar.

[Alien88]

Our paths sound similar.

I was thinking about you Christine while writing it lol. Felt like old class mates kinda feeling.

[Simon2]

I first came across the concept when I was reading Buddhist books and literature in my early teens, but it is still a topic that I cannot quite get my head around as there are a number of conflicting definitions.

[Torey]

Torey so you thought it was a new age concept?

My belief was Buddhists have known about it far longer but I could be wrong.

I did, Christine.  lol

[violet]

As GTD says, the discovery of karma is attributed variously to the Buddha; and as arising in ancient India from the spiritual knowledge, the Vedas, which the Hindu Creator breathed into human consciousness as a gift.

I wonder if the notion of karma relates to the witches' rule of threefold return?

[GaryTheDemon]

Karma is a bit like that Violet.  You tend to get back more than you give.  Only karma can't be avoided or tricked.  You can 'purify' it - which involves a number of things including 1) understanding your erroneous actions, 2) generating sincere (not feigned or simulated) regret and 3) undertaking some process or practice of redress.  It can be pretty hard to purify though.  Someone who commits murder, for example, thinking that they will purify it later are largely fooling themselves.

Karma is also tied to  intent and completion.  for example, if you intend to kill but you only maim then it is an 'incomplete' karma.  This will have down stream effects but not as much as if you actually succeed in killing the person.  Similarly, if you don't intend to kill them but do then it is an incomplete karma but will have a karmic result.

This is why (usually) I try to minimize my reaction to the harm that others may do to me.  Let us say that Mr X says that I am the offspring of a rat and contribute nothing to the human race.  If I let this hurt me then their karmic actions will be complete and they will experience negative effects downstream.  If I am unhurt by this then they will still be generating negative (unskillful) karma but they will not generate as much.  So by resolving not to be hurt by others, I can reduce the karmic impact on them.

However, their ability to actually hurt me is a function of MY karma as well as theirs.  Sometimes we are like postmen delivering karmic fruit to others without any real intention on our own part.  This will potentially still impact us but far less than if we 'post' the fruit too.

Sorry, can't type much more.  cant get the hang of one handed typing and my other hand is getting angry at me.  (which comes down to karma of course...)

BTW.  it is interesting to compare karma with Newtons Third Law of Motion - every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Especially when you understand that karma is actually a sanskrit word meaning 'action'...