The Buddhist doctrine of karma ("deeds", "actions"), and the closely related doctrine of rebirth, are perhaps the best known, and often the least understood, of Buddhist doctrines. The matter is complicated by the fact that the other Indian religious traditions of Hinduism and Jainism have their own theories of Karma and Reincarnation. It is in fact the Hindu versions that are better known in the West. The Buddhist theory of karma and rebirth are quite distinct from their other Indian counterparts.
In Buddhism the law of karma is the moral law of causation - good actions give good results and vice versa. It is the quality of an act, which determines its consequences. But what determines the karmic quality of a deed? In Hinduism it is the correct performance of a person's "duty", especially his caste duties that counts. Early Buddhism, which recognized no caste distinctions, evaluates the karmic quality of an act in terms of moral and ethical criteria. In particular it is the mental factors, which accompany the commission of deed that determines its consequences or "fruits" (vipâka). All negative karma (i.e. those leading to bad consequences) arise from the three roots of unwholesomeness. These are greed (lobha), aversion (dosa), and delusion (moha). Accordingly good karmic results follow from deeds that spring from generosity (caga), loving-kindness (mettâ) and wisdom (vijjâ). The Buddha emphasized that it is the mental factors involved rather than the deeds themselves that determine future consequences. Thus the same deed committed with different mental factors will have different consequences. Likewise purely accidental deeds may have neutral consequences, however if the accident occurred because insufficient mindfulness was exercised it could have adverse results for the person responsible for it.
The theory of karma presupposes that individuals have "free will". Everything that happens to an individual is not the fruit of some past karma. In fact the experiences that involve an individual may be of three kinds: some are the result of past action, some are deliberately committed free acts; and the remainder could be due to chance factors operating in the environment. The doctrine of karma is not a theory of predestination of any kind. One common misunderstanding is not to distinguish between the action an...
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...vana is a representation of someone becoming enlightened in this life. It seems as though Christians tend to emphasize too greatly the importance of acceptance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Buddhists believe it is not the deeds themselves, but the mental factors involved in making those decisions that determine later consequences. We, as Catholics, should at least try to follow that example. Because it seems that all too often Christians over look the fact that they should not overlook the fact that they only have a certain amount of time to do things right in this lifetime, because heaven is never ending.
In order to live better lives; Christians should learn as much as possible about religions that are alien to them. They should adopt ideals that make sense to them in their daily lives. And finally, they should be proud that they share similar ideals as many of the worlds other great religions.
Bibliography
Berchol, Samuel The Buddha and his Teachings. New York: Barnes and Noble books, 1997
Gurasekara, Victor A. Basic Buddhism. London: Buddhist Monk Press, 1997
Kaufman, Walter Religions, in Four Dimensions .New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1976
Karma is the moral law of cause and effect (Bowker 2006, 60-1). This law is one of the many bases of the Hindu faith, Buddhist faith,
Well there is always the fate aspect in everything that occurs in our lives but majority of the outcomes created from the individuals own decisions. It is up to the individual to determine what can occur, if they do one thing then something will be the outcome. A side from that, there is always the possibility of being at the wrong place at the wrong time which can have an affect of on the outcomes of life.
The destiny or fate following as effect from cause, also known as karma, overall classifies as an abstract idea. No one really knows if it is substantial or not; therefore, creating a lot of skeptics when it comes this concept. In life, when a person puts themselves aside and does a good deed for another, karma comes back in many forms for them. For example, when one does something charitable, later they may discover a ten dollar bill on the ground; some may believe karma disguised itself as the money while others deny that and claim it as no more than simply a coincidence. Skeptics deny and doubt any opinions regarding whether one’s actions, good or bad, find a way back at them; however, in the short story Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston, it seems that what goes
Karma’s a b…. Is a common saying in today's society. This idea of you gets what you deserve is a warning William Shakespeare pushed in his play, Macbeth. Macbeth is a play about a once great, loyal soldier named Macbeth who was giving everything a man could ever need because of his astounding accomplishments, who then turned into a mentally insane king who killed the previous king out of greed. Shakespeare warns the readers about the idea of karma by showing how when macbeth was a good man he got rewarded, how when Lady Macbeth uses her mind to get others to do her biding that very mind is lost in guilt and finally how when Macbeth betrays his king Duncan, Macbeth’s own men betray him back.
Karma and fate are two words that folks realize instead of scary as a result of despite what you are doing, people can’t stop, or vary or perhaps, to try and do something to what's progressing to happen. Within the story of Oedipus this can be terribly rife and sheds light-weight on several characteristics of fate. Since it’s unchangeable situations, to its shadowy environment. Similar to the great and also the unhealthy. Destiny may be a scary factor as a result of people may be able to not amend it despite what they are doing. Uncertainty it's God’s will or a different force motivating the occurrences of fate people will not be able to stop the power. within the story Oedipus the King, is destine to murder his dad, that he will innocently.
In conclusion, fate is not effective way of avoiding physical consequences, and only an occasional way of avoiding metaphysical ones. Even a firm belief in fate will not relieve all guilt. In fact, such a firm belief may often lead to a state of doom, depression, and fear. Fate can be used to avoid racking guilt and remind oneself that not everything is your fault. But in the end, what you deal with in life will not be related to your position on whether or not fate exists. There is no amount of belief that will deter banishment or any consequence of any action you have done. You will have to deal with what comes, and fate cannot help you change that. However, it can change your outlook into it, for better, or for worse.
Karma is ancient belief whose history can be traced back to when Buddhism had just been established by the Buddha and it was still in its early stages.Early Buddhism taught that karma was non-linear,meaning that your past actions would not affect you in the present, and your present actions would not affect your future. The quote, “Karma isn’t fate.Nor is it a punishment imposed on us by some external agent.We create our own karma. Karma is the result of choices that we make every moment of every day.” means that the actions we commit every day will create karma, and whether the outcome of that karma is good or bad is determined by your actions. On the contrary, some Indian schools taught that karma was linear, meaning your past and present actions would affect you later in life. The doctrine of the belief states that one person’s karma cannot affect another person’s future.For example, the transfer of merit states that one person can transfer good karma to another, and this is found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. However, a wide spectrum of various aspects of Indian religions believe that karma can be shared. The outcome of your karma is determined by whether your actions were helpful and kind, or if your actions were cruel and decadent.The quote, “Ka...
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
A mistake can be an idea or an action which was intended to be for good, yet resulted in an unwanted or unintended result. While mistakes help one learn from their wrong actions, it can also have an aftermath of karma. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play brimming with tragedies. This explains how the spark of a simple idea turned into a downfall that not only altered the characteristics of the protagonist, Macbeth, but also led to karma. The initial spark began with the Weird Sisters talking to Macbeth of his future. In addition, Lady Macbeth’s desire of nobility made her influence Macbeth into performing the murder plan. Finally, Macbeth himself did not balance his desires and wise thoughts, therefore leading himself to his downfall.
Karma is the ancient belief that every action has a negative or positive reaction, balancing the universe. Through Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare teaches the audience that all actions have consequences. She wanted the best for herself, but hurt others to achieve that. So, what could have been an astounding life turned into a living hell?
India’s three primary religions; Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are all responses to the Aryan religion of Brahmanism. The Aryans came into power in Indian around 1000 B.C.E., and as their political influence spread, their religious beliefs followed in its wake. Two fundamental beliefs of Brahmanism are samsara and karma. Samsara deals with the cyclical nature of the soul and how death only brings rebirth into a new form. Depending upon the tally of a person’s good and bad deeds, which is considered karma, determines whether or not the next reincarnation will be an improvement or a disappointment. However, if one were able to completely understand that life was actually an illusion and that the only way to escape the endless cycle of reincarnation was to realize that reality is unchanging one could ascend above the endless cycle of birth, life and death. According to the Aryan priests, those that transcend the cycle of life will become one with Brahman and enter into an eternity of blissful non-being.
The Buddhists belief about the afterlife is heavily revolved around the teaching of the process of being reborn and death until nirvana is achieved, and the influence of positive or negative karma. The view is that all things living will continue to live, through rebirth and the continuation of consciousness between various bodies and lives until one has attained nirvana. Each consciousness has been reborn in previous lives and will continue to do so until the entity is able obtain power over the process. This consciousness brings its past karma through each life and dictates which possible realm of existence it could be reborn in to. The Buddha explained that the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth can bring only pain and suffering. All
...ach day, the followers are striving to do one similar thing. To become a better human being, whether is for their god, their religion or themselves.
Our choices have an effect on our lives and can change them to be good or bad. Hindus believe that choices that affect their lives are determined if there will be good or bad outcomes. Nathan and Rukmani choose to leave their home to find their son Murugon, but the choice ended in a badly when they learned that their son left his wife and had been gone for over two years. “We had come a long way to meet bad news and now it seemed there was neither going back nor forward” (Markandaya 160). Moving in with my dad was a choice that made my life better. It was better for me by having someone constantly pushing me to do my best in school and in anything I do. In the Hindu religion it is believed choices that have caused suffering will help purify the soul.
Hindus and Christians have their ways for why they follow ideas. In Hinduism, Hindus follow ides based on their religion because on the belief of karma: Hindus know the living in a balanced universe. If an individual disturbs the order, he or she will suffer commensurately. In an ethical and moral life, with undisturbed dharma, it will lead to happiness Thus, they specifically follow the idea of karma because Hindus know what will come out of their actions whether if it is good or bad. They want to live a life of happiness, as a result, in following the idea of it. Additionally, many Hindus believe that a person's status depends upon actions in a past life. Likewise, good thoughts and actions can release a person. This is the belief of samsara,