Once a young truth seeker named Subha asked the Buddha "What is the reason, what is the cause, O Lord, that we have amongst mankind the short lived and the long lived, the diseased and the healthy, the ugly and the beautiful, the powerless and the powerful, the rich and the poor, the low-born and the high-born, the ignorant and the wise?"
The Buddha's reply was "All living things have actions as their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their kinsman, their refuge. It is karma that differentiates between the low states and the high states. If a person destroys life, is a hunter, besmears his hand with blood, and is not merciful towards living things, as result of his actions, when borned among mankind, will be short-lived. If a person avoids killing, leaves aside crudgel and weapon and is merciful and compassionate towards all living thigs, when born among man-kind he will be long-lived." Similarly the Buddha explained that the violent will suffer from disease, while the peaceful will be healthy, the angry and resentful will become ugly, the amiable will become beautiful, the jealous will be powerless, the unenvious will be powerful, the greedy will be poor, the generous will be rich, the person that does not approach the learned and virtuous will be ignorant, the person that approaches the learned and virtuous will be intelligent.*
The belief in Karma is one of the most important principles in Buddhism. Along with The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path, it is believed by all the different schools of Buddhism. Many people think of Karma as "if you do something bad something bad will happen to you and if you do something good something good will happen to you," that good causes lead to good effects and vice versa. While that is the essence of Karma, like many other things in Buddhism, it is not as simple as it seems.
First, Karma more specifically refers only to the actions of a person, the effect of the action is considered the "ripened fruit" of the karma. Second, only actions that have volition is Karma. So even if an action can have an effect, if it is not done with volition it will not create any Karmic fruit. So if a person accidentally falls down and falls on someone hurting that person, the person that fell would not receive any negative effects from karma for causing the injury because the fall was an accident and not done with volition.
So this might beg the second question, what if you have negative intentions but the effect is good, in that case your negative thoughts themselves plant the seeds for bad karmic effects. So thinking negatively, or speaking negatively can create negative karmic effects for the actor, even if there is no further action. Just as all good acts begin with a good thought, bad acts begin with bad thoughts.
Third, a common question people have is who is judging an act good or bad? Although there are beings in Buddhism that are called gods and goddesses, there is no equivalent in Buddhism for the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish God. Meaning there is no supreme deity that renders judgment on the actions of people during life or afterlife. In Buddhism, karma is a universal truth, much like how in physics "every action has an equal reaction", every cause results in an equal karmic effect. It is all around us whether we can see it or not.
Fourth, so does it mean if I steal a car, someone will steal my car? The answer is "maybe" but probably not. Karma does not work that way. Its more like the weather then a computer program, it is still an act of nature- unpredictable. The Buddha discussed many examples of karma in the sutras (Teachings from the Buddha), but the underlying idea is that karma can bear fruit quickly in this life time, or even in a future lifetime.
Fifth, so when Buddhists talk about future life do they believe in reincarnation? The simple answer is "Yes" Buddhists believe in reincarnation. As a beginner Buddhist this is all you need to understand at this point, as the intricacies of reincarnation are very complicated. Accordingly, your karma from past lives followed you into your present life and your karma from your present life will follow you into your next life. Many religions believe in reincarnation, and even some non-religious people accept the idea that we can have another life beyond this one. However, where Buddhism differs from all other religions is the belief that there is no "permanent soul". There are many sutras that deal with the concept of "no soul" or "no I" but it is a very difficult concept and I would not venture into it until you have fully grasped the concepts of the Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Path and Karma.
Sixth, so I want to believe in karma but I just see so many unfair things in the world, how come karma has not affected those people? This is a fair question, that believers of other religions also have to deal with. Many people often lament, "if there is a God then why does he allow this or that to happen?" As I am not a practitioner or student of other religions, I will not discuss how they specifically answer such a question, but often times, the answer deals more with an aspect of faith. While one can also contend that Buddhism is also asking for faith from its practitioners, everyone can see and understand the concept of cause and effect, karma is merely an extension of that. So if a person is born into luxury he might be experiencing the good karma from past deeds and if a person is born into misery he might be experiencing the bad fruit from past bad deeds. You might think this seems unfair, but what is more fair, that people are judged by a supreme deity on their brief time on earth and that will determine where they will reside for all of eternity. Or is it more fair that everything in life is random, if you are born rich- good random luck, and if you are born poor- bad random luck. Again, fairness is relative concept and should not be the sole determinant of beliefs, but even if fairness was a factor for whether you believe in a religion or not, I would suggest that the karma described in Buddhism is more fair than the judgment of a supreme being or of random luck.
Seventh, so does that mean I don't have to feel bad for people when horrible things happen to them because it's just their bad karma? Absolutely not! You should definitely have sympathy for the less fortunate. One of the main precepts of Buddhism is compassion. Even if the negative things are the result of a person's bad actions in the past, we can still feel pity for them, and we should still try to help them if we can. Even the worst criminals can resolve to change their ways and start building good karma. In fact, the Buddha once foretold that even a person who once tried to kill the Buddha will one day become a Buddha himself (Description of Devadatta in the Lotus Sutra).
Eighth, if I believe in karma, then does it mean everything that happens to me from now on is already predetermined, if so is there a point to anything? Do I still have free will? Of course you do! And I would posit that karma gives you more reason to grab life by the horns and do the best you can than any other belief system because it means you, not a supreme being, not luck is in control of your destiny. While your past actions will cause yet unseen karmic reactions, you always have time to add more good karma! Karma is described by Buddha to be like fruit, if you look at a peach tree before flowering there are no peaches, but the conditions for the peaches are latent within the tree waiting for the opportune time (season) to sprout. Similarly, your karma is latent, waiting for the opportune time to sprout. So even if you have done bad actions in the past, there is always time for you to change your conduct and start building good karma in the present, just like a farmer can give fertilizer to help his fruit grow, you can add good karma to help fruit grow well.
Finally, people sometimes ask does a Buddha or someone that has achieved enlightenment still follow karma. The answer to that is that an enlightened being like a Buddha or Arhat does not create any more Karma even though they continue to perform actions because there actions have "no self" attached to them. And once their life ends, they will no longer exist in the cycle of birth and death.
"By karma the world moves, by karma men
live; and by karma are all beings bound
As by its pin the rolling chariot wheel.
by karma one attains glory and praise."
~The Buddha*
*Narada Maha Thera. The Buddha and His Teachings
The Buddha's reply was "All living things have actions as their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their kinsman, their refuge. It is karma that differentiates between the low states and the high states. If a person destroys life, is a hunter, besmears his hand with blood, and is not merciful towards living things, as result of his actions, when borned among mankind, will be short-lived. If a person avoids killing, leaves aside crudgel and weapon and is merciful and compassionate towards all living thigs, when born among man-kind he will be long-lived." Similarly the Buddha explained that the violent will suffer from disease, while the peaceful will be healthy, the angry and resentful will become ugly, the amiable will become beautiful, the jealous will be powerless, the unenvious will be powerful, the greedy will be poor, the generous will be rich, the person that does not approach the learned and virtuous will be ignorant, the person that approaches the learned and virtuous will be intelligent.*
The belief in Karma is one of the most important principles in Buddhism. Along with The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path, it is believed by all the different schools of Buddhism. Many people think of Karma as "if you do something bad something bad will happen to you and if you do something good something good will happen to you," that good causes lead to good effects and vice versa. While that is the essence of Karma, like many other things in Buddhism, it is not as simple as it seems.
First, Karma more specifically refers only to the actions of a person, the effect of the action is considered the "ripened fruit" of the karma. Second, only actions that have volition is Karma. So even if an action can have an effect, if it is not done with volition it will not create any Karmic fruit. So if a person accidentally falls down and falls on someone hurting that person, the person that fell would not receive any negative effects from karma for causing the injury because the fall was an accident and not done with volition.
So this might beg the second question, what if you have negative intentions but the effect is good, in that case your negative thoughts themselves plant the seeds for bad karmic effects. So thinking negatively, or speaking negatively can create negative karmic effects for the actor, even if there is no further action. Just as all good acts begin with a good thought, bad acts begin with bad thoughts.
Third, a common question people have is who is judging an act good or bad? Although there are beings in Buddhism that are called gods and goddesses, there is no equivalent in Buddhism for the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish God. Meaning there is no supreme deity that renders judgment on the actions of people during life or afterlife. In Buddhism, karma is a universal truth, much like how in physics "every action has an equal reaction", every cause results in an equal karmic effect. It is all around us whether we can see it or not.
Fourth, so does it mean if I steal a car, someone will steal my car? The answer is "maybe" but probably not. Karma does not work that way. Its more like the weather then a computer program, it is still an act of nature- unpredictable. The Buddha discussed many examples of karma in the sutras (Teachings from the Buddha), but the underlying idea is that karma can bear fruit quickly in this life time, or even in a future lifetime.
Fifth, so when Buddhists talk about future life do they believe in reincarnation? The simple answer is "Yes" Buddhists believe in reincarnation. As a beginner Buddhist this is all you need to understand at this point, as the intricacies of reincarnation are very complicated. Accordingly, your karma from past lives followed you into your present life and your karma from your present life will follow you into your next life. Many religions believe in reincarnation, and even some non-religious people accept the idea that we can have another life beyond this one. However, where Buddhism differs from all other religions is the belief that there is no "permanent soul". There are many sutras that deal with the concept of "no soul" or "no I" but it is a very difficult concept and I would not venture into it until you have fully grasped the concepts of the Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Path and Karma.
Sixth, so I want to believe in karma but I just see so many unfair things in the world, how come karma has not affected those people? This is a fair question, that believers of other religions also have to deal with. Many people often lament, "if there is a God then why does he allow this or that to happen?" As I am not a practitioner or student of other religions, I will not discuss how they specifically answer such a question, but often times, the answer deals more with an aspect of faith. While one can also contend that Buddhism is also asking for faith from its practitioners, everyone can see and understand the concept of cause and effect, karma is merely an extension of that. So if a person is born into luxury he might be experiencing the good karma from past deeds and if a person is born into misery he might be experiencing the bad fruit from past bad deeds. You might think this seems unfair, but what is more fair, that people are judged by a supreme deity on their brief time on earth and that will determine where they will reside for all of eternity. Or is it more fair that everything in life is random, if you are born rich- good random luck, and if you are born poor- bad random luck. Again, fairness is relative concept and should not be the sole determinant of beliefs, but even if fairness was a factor for whether you believe in a religion or not, I would suggest that the karma described in Buddhism is more fair than the judgment of a supreme being or of random luck.
Seventh, so does that mean I don't have to feel bad for people when horrible things happen to them because it's just their bad karma? Absolutely not! You should definitely have sympathy for the less fortunate. One of the main precepts of Buddhism is compassion. Even if the negative things are the result of a person's bad actions in the past, we can still feel pity for them, and we should still try to help them if we can. Even the worst criminals can resolve to change their ways and start building good karma. In fact, the Buddha once foretold that even a person who once tried to kill the Buddha will one day become a Buddha himself (Description of Devadatta in the Lotus Sutra).
Eighth, if I believe in karma, then does it mean everything that happens to me from now on is already predetermined, if so is there a point to anything? Do I still have free will? Of course you do! And I would posit that karma gives you more reason to grab life by the horns and do the best you can than any other belief system because it means you, not a supreme being, not luck is in control of your destiny. While your past actions will cause yet unseen karmic reactions, you always have time to add more good karma! Karma is described by Buddha to be like fruit, if you look at a peach tree before flowering there are no peaches, but the conditions for the peaches are latent within the tree waiting for the opportune time (season) to sprout. Similarly, your karma is latent, waiting for the opportune time to sprout. So even if you have done bad actions in the past, there is always time for you to change your conduct and start building good karma in the present, just like a farmer can give fertilizer to help his fruit grow, you can add good karma to help fruit grow well.
Finally, people sometimes ask does a Buddha or someone that has achieved enlightenment still follow karma. The answer to that is that an enlightened being like a Buddha or Arhat does not create any more Karma even though they continue to perform actions because there actions have "no self" attached to them. And once their life ends, they will no longer exist in the cycle of birth and death.
"By karma the world moves, by karma men
live; and by karma are all beings bound
As by its pin the rolling chariot wheel.
by karma one attains glory and praise."
~The Buddha*
*Narada Maha Thera. The Buddha and His Teachings