Religion
In reply to the discussion: Karma: a poll [View all]Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)It is simply two concepts, in the basic sense.
The first is action. That's the literal interpretation of the word, and we all act, or do. Now, there is an implication in the concept of karma that implies non-duality, but I won't go into that.
Secondly, it is a matter of cause and effect. We can easily observe cause and effect and see chains of them unfold in our own lives, so it is rather easy to be more of an observer and notice that it is factual in that sense.
So, action and cause and effect are demonstrable facts about a causal relationship.
I don't think it is necessary to do anything other than consider the implications of karma in a very basic, psychological sense when it comes to subjective experience. It might imply that the chain of cause and effect that we see in matter and our bodies has a psychological or mental continuity, but that can be considered more philosophical, ontological and speculative.
So, when you have habit patterns, (conditioning) since childhood that cause you to react, (rather than respond) to situations or exhibit certain behaviors, you could define that as your karma. This can and does have an impact on your experiences and good or bad fortune.
Now, when it comes to horrible events and some of the suffering that people experience that seem unfair to us, who really knows for sure? That is for the person who experiences it to decide and if there is no compassion that arises from one's understanding of karma, or the potential for liberation from misery-inducing patterns and habits, then karma is not of much value.
It is very possible that the causal aspect of karma is all-inclusive and precise if all things and events arise interdependently, but when you consider the myriad of variables involved, it certainly would be difficult for us to ascertain that and so, there seem to also be random events that don't seem to have any relationship to past actions at all--and there may be more randomness than we would care to consider, even. So, an example of that would be that you could probably trace every particle and reaction from the Big Bang until now if you knew the starting points and had the unlikely computing power to do that and see all these relationships and even predict the future, based on that. In that sense, physically, there would be "karma" as per the material world.
Well, the topic of karma is very deep and actually stimulating when you investigate it rather than simply believe in and attach all kinds of meanings and connections in ways that can be rather superficial or a form of magical or wishful thinking.