London Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Recently I heard news of an individual who had a terrible thing happen to them. I would not have wished that on them personally. However, this person has just been terrible to people lately. When I heard their bad news, my first thought was Karma. Sometimes I think I believe in it, and sometimes I don't. Although I'm more on the "believe" side. As a non-religious concept. Do you believe in Karma? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 It depends on what you mean by Karma. If you mean coincidence that feels good to observers because a turn of events following a perceived imbalance in justice then sure. That sort of thing happens in the long term. Perhaps the human mind is hard wired to look for such connections. If you mean something that isn't random or self-perpetuating then no. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 dog gone double post . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I have seen good people treated like trash and some of them are dead by now, while their abusers live a careless, happy life, never to be held responsible for what they have done. So in short: no, I don't believe in karma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I sometimes feel there is some kind of "force" that evens out the good and the bad and even "guides" things but when I look at things at a more global perspective, I see there is a lot of karma not being evened out for people. Millions die from disease and starvation and live in poverty all over the world and that's not being evened out for them. So in the end, I sometimes feel that there may be such a thing, but a moment of rational thought is all it takes to see that it isn't so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted February 7, 2012 Super Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2012 Sometimes there are natural consequences to behaviors, but it is not accomplished by magic. Observation leads me to believe this is a random universe where sometimes the bad guy prospers, sometimes he pays for his deeds. That's why an afterlife with punishment and reward after death was invented by so many cultures; Heaven, Hell, reincarnation, Valhalla, etc. If there is any justice to be had, we have to do it ourselves, but that's not always possible. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pratt Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 evil people enjoy a long life, painless death blah blah blah,,,,, good people die young thus where's karma? actually karma does not mean retribution,,,, it simply means action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbird1963 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 evil people enjoy a long life, painless death blah blah blah,,,,, good people die young thus where's karma? actually karma does not mean retribution,,,, it simply means action You raise a good point. I'm not sure if I really understand what Karma really means. I think it's always been a version of "you reap what you sow" to me, or "What goes around comes around." I guess I'll have to do a little research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 2 It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who [c]is afraid to swear. Ecclesiastes 9.2 But seriously, if you think there is karma that goes beyond natural cause and effect that Florduh mentioned, you're falling victim to your own brain's pattern seeking mechanism. Undoubtably you have naturally forgotten all the times the pattern didn't ring true or you haven't had enough experiences to give you an accurate average. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Good answers people. I guess I define "karma" as, when you put the negative out there, you get it back. Kind of like a boomerang of behavior. If you are mean to others, they are mean in return. I, on no level, believe in any "magic" forces. There is nothing that is "controlling" the universe. Well, unless we are all drunk at the same time, then alcohol has control of the universe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeplessGhost Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Alcahol can make you fall up, thus why you sometimes see drunk people holding onto the grass. I believe in karma, even without any magic to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Karma implies someone or something keeping score, which makes it a no go for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Alcahol can make you fall up, thus why you sometimes see drunk people holding onto the grass. I believe in karma, even without any magic to it. The last time I hung onto the grass I ended up in a tree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Karma implies someone or something keeping score, which makes it a no go for me. I hear what you are saying. I think most people think of it like that. I think of it more like steam, each time the person becomes more of a jerk, it builds in them. Eventually they are enough of a jerk, and the steam blows, that someone else is a jerk in return. Same for goodness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wester Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I have lived long enough to see some measure of balance and justice in the natural order of things. Is it Karma? I am not sure. But there seems to be a predictable outplay of events once a person starts down a particular path. Over 25 years, I took some guilty pleasure in watching the lives of people who damaged me play out in unbecoming ways. But for a long time I suffered and it wasn't always clear that they would receive any comeuppance whatsoever. In the long run, with wisdom, I see that they plowed the ground with misery and laid the foundations of their own future straightjackets. Bottom line is that if you can improve your systemic and environmental analysis, and make a stab at psychological and ethical investigation, then you'll have a much better chance to understand how Karma and the Way of the world opperates and conduct your business accordingly. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Methoxy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 The way karma was explained to me was in context with reincarnation while chastizing westerners for only thinking of karma in context of weeks and months rather than in context of generations and civilizations as my teacher claimed is the proper perspective. I still haven't decided whether I agree with this concept, but that was core to his teachings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackpudd1n Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I use "karma" as a word to describe a fairly predictable event. If someone's being an arse to you, there's a high chance they're being an arse to other people, too. But not everyone's going to have the same moral compass you do. Just because you won't slash someone's tyres in retaliation, doesn't mean that someone else who's getting treated badly will have any problem doing so. So when I say I believe in karma, all I'm saying is that at some point, an arsehole's going to upset the wrong person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I use "karma" as a word to describe a fairly predictable event. If someone's being an arse to you, there's a high chance they're being an arse to other people, too. But not everyone's going to have the same moral compass you do. Just because you won't slash someone's tyres in retaliation, doesn't mean that someone else who's getting treated badly will have any problem doing so. So when I say I believe in karma, all I'm saying is that at some point, an arsehole's going to upset the wrong person Bingo, that's what I'm sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 The way karma was explained to me was in context with reincarnation while chastizing westerners for only thinking of karma in context of weeks and months rather than in context of generations and civilizations as my teacher claimed is the proper perspective. I still haven't decided whether I agree with this concept, but that was core to his teachings. But as a non-religious aspect do you believe in Karma? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Methoxy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 No. Not at all. I believe your mind fabricates your current situation according to your knowledge of the situation and whatever bias you carry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thackerie Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 No. But I like "My Name Is Earl." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 The way karma was explained to me was in context with reincarnation while chastizing westerners for only thinking of karma in context of weeks and months rather than in context of generations and civilizations as my teacher claimed is the proper perspective. But isn't that just another version of 'be good or pay the price when you die' or the carrot on the stick used by most religions? I should mention, I kind of like the concept of people believing in karma whether karma is true or not. In Thailand people believe in it and as a result, you don't get a lot of road rage and other similar problems because people have in the back of their minds what they give will be returned to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted February 7, 2012 Super Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2012 I should mention, I kind of like the concept of people believing in karma whether karma is true or not. In Thailand people believe in it and as a result, you don't get a lot of road rage and other similar problems because people have in the back of their minds what they give will be returned to them. Exactly! Therein lies the real value of woo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Methoxy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 The way karma was explained to me was in context with reincarnation while chastizing westerners for only thinking of karma in context of weeks and months rather than in context of generations and civilizations as my teacher claimed is the proper perspective. But isn't that just another version of 'be good or pay the price when you die' or the carrot on the stick used by most religions? There wasn't a moral code attached to it. His view of karma carries the agenda of planting the seeds of an Aghori cult in the US. On a personal level, I can neither agree nor disagree. On an administrative level, I believe he is laying a solid foundation for uniting followers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowJacket Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 No. But I like "My Name Is Earl." a dear friend of mine was a regular on that show. alas, I have not seen that many eps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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