Karma

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Angela Harlem

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What is it, exactly? I don't mean (or necessarily want to exclude) the 'you reap what you sow' karma we throw around often when discussing the inevitable bad luck which happens to people who do bad things, though that perhaps might be part of it. I know Buddhism speaks of it (a bit?) in it's teachings, and it's a common theme in many religions and spiritual schools of thought, but I am interested in a somewhat more detailed answer than a mere balance for individuals.
I've got a friend who is very into all this, he mainly talks about it when he's smoked a few and then he ceases to make much sense lol.
I know a few of the FYM ladies have made mention of the greater and wider implications of it, but they at the time seemed hesitant to delve too far into it because the thread at the time was steering into lockdown, so I'd hope they might come forward. Either way, anyone who can share their views, I'd love to hear them.
 
Listening to acoustic version of "black stars" and enjoying it is good Karma :)

Karma literally mean "action or work done"

In English ( and philosphically), it means something different.

3 entries found for karma.
kar·ma ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kärm)
n.
Hinduism & Buddhism. The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.
Fate; destiny.
Informal. A distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling: There's bad karma around the house today.
 
Angela, I'd love to get into this but it's such a deep subject that I don't think I have adequate time to give to it right now. Much of what I'd say was already in the thread you are referencing, and I am reluctant to go there again because I don't have the energy for another religious fight. But let me think about it and maybe over the weekend I can get into it.
 
Thanks everyone. Joyful and Martha, thanks for replying. I really dont want any arguments to take place over this and more importantly for you guys to feel as anyone does when these fym fights flare up. For that reason, please dont feel you need to answer again with an answer just to respond from politeness or anything. It isn't worth it if it will end up nasty. We can let this slide so no one ends up in that position. Preventative medicine, so to speak. Thanks again.
:hug:
 
"Karma" is a Sanskrit word meaning "action". It's a concept in the Buddhist tradition and it's complex, it's tied up in their belief in reincarnation. "Nuff said.
 
Kinda pitiful that a belief/idea outside the "traditional" Christian doesn't get discussed because so many people will try to preach over it. :|
 
Thanks guys. Beli that is the exact thing I'd want to avoid, but thank you anyway as it was an interesting read. The few responses which danced around karma are the kind of things I want to talk about, but not with Christianity alongside it. I dont want to hear from a Christian perspective about it, or hear them refute it. I'm not interested in it's correctness or incorrectness, I just want an idea of what it is all about -- A Q&A type thread. I only have a vague understanding of what it fundamentally is and my interest was piqued a while ago. It was precisely Joyful and Martha whom I knew were learned on it, from that other thread which I now cannot even recall the name of - but do remember it was long and filled with arguments (even finding the thread now would be fruitless as I merely want a Q&A factual thread on it). I dont want them to go through that again, and clearly neither do they. I'm probably sounding rather uppity toward anyone who hasn't even replied to this as of now, ie our Christian members, but it happened once before, and more recently in the GIS forum, so I understand where the Martha, joyful and indra are coming from.

So that is that, I guess. It wouldn't be right to ask Christian perspectives be kept out of this, as we are supposed to be welcoming of all responses and views, but frankly, I'm not interested in Christianity for this thread. Other times, yes, perhaps. But just not now.
 
Cool. Sorry. I don't recall this mythical closed thread so I'm unware of the previous issues.

I was amused that I was asking about karma in one forum at the same time you were asking about it in another. :cm:
 
it's another sign we belong together! on our island!
/practicing jealous lover routine

:cm:

this thread where martha and joyful were discussing it was perhaps some time last year. it wasnt about karma, but something else. it might have even been closed, not because of them though at all. just because it was one of those marathon FYM bitch fights where no one is listening to anyone except the last person who said they were a fucking moron etc.
:huh:
 
It's not so hard. You just keep bringing the thread back to topic.
You don't need to reply to the other posts. You just respond to those posters who are keeping on topic. That's how you control it. You don't react. It's really pretty easy to do if you don't get sidetracked. Appears there are enough people interested in this topic to keep it going.

Personally, I think it would be an interesting topic. I've been reading up on Buddhism recently and would like to know more about karma. One of the books I read implied that is more your intent when doing an action than the actual outcome that determines whether it is good or bad karma.
 
Angela Harlem said:
What is it, exactly? I don't mean (or necessarily want to exclude) the 'you reap what you sow' karma we throw around often when discussing the inevitable bad luck which happens to people who do bad things, though that perhaps might be part of it.

Well, let's start here.

The "reap what you sow" idea is it in a nutshell really, but extended through a series of many many lifetimes. You spend these lives aquiring and discharging karma, both good and bad, learning the lessons needed to advance your soul. Your actions, again both good and bad, determine what happens to you in subsequent lifetimes. Dharma, or (very very simplified) how you respond to and carry out your karma, comes into play as well.

Karma, both good and bad, is binding. My religion teaches that the ultimate goal is to be rid of both kinds of karma, for "golden chains are still chains."

We'll see how this goes. :slant:
 
:lol:

One of the things, I love about Buddhism. Just when you think you have a grasp on it, they tell you you can't hold on to that either. Took me a long time to get relaxed about that, now I kind of enjoy it.

How did Buddhism mean (and I am assuming you are Buddhist here, Martha) by being rid of good karma? Would you clarify Dharma for me?

What I gathered from what I have learned on Buddhist teaching (and being a complete neophyte, I defer to any practicing Buddhists here) is that karma is everything you send out--action, thought, intent, whether positive or negative and all of these have consequence. But to be too concerned with karma--the idea of good and bad being completely separate entities--you begin to make too many judgments, which begins to block you from the objectivity which Buddhism asks you to view life with. Am I close here, Martha?
 
I'm not a Buddhist at all, so I can't answer some of your questions, and I can only answer the rest as I see them.

As I see it, being overly concerned with your karma will bring you to a standstill, because you'd be unable to act at all. Every action, thought, and intent does indeed produce karma, either good or bad, so an unhealthy focus on trying not to create it would be counterproductive. A conscious effort to do only good is a better goal. While all karma binds, I personally feel it's better to be bound with golden chains.

Dharma as I inderstand it, is the way you live through your karma. To offer an example, say one of the results of lessons learned and karma accumulated is that in this lifetime you happen to be dreadfully unhealthy and doomed to die early. The laws of dharma require that you live through it with resolve and without railing against God or others for making your life the way it is. Dharma does not require you to avoid medical treatments that may prolong your life or ease your suffering, but you must accept what is happening to you as a result of karma from previous lives and actions.


I'm still very tentative here, because now we're getting into territory that Christians are unable to grasp.
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding. What is your religion, if you don't mind my asking?

No reason to be tentative. It's not a Christian thread so Christians don't have to grasp it. (Some will be able to, though)
 
Angela Harlem said:
this thread where martha and joyful were discussing it was perhaps some time last year. it wasnt about karma, but something else. it might have even been closed, not because of them though at all. just because it was one of those marathon FYM bitch fights where no one is listening to anyone except the last person who said they were a fucking moron etc.

i think i know which thread that is. i remember because it was new year's and icelle was visiting me and we were reading it. martha and joyful both said some really beautiful things about karma in that thread.

i'm going to link it, but be careful anna, it's a beast...

http://forum.interference.com/t108058.html
 
Yep, that's the thread, the great tsunami thread. :uhoh:

I like this Q&A format. When I was thinking about where to start with talking about karma it paralyzed me, but I think I could handle a few questions. I agree with everything martha has said so well already.
 
I am also not Buddhist and cannot answer questions about karma from the Buddhist perspective. I am a student of surat shabd yoga, which means the yoga of light and sound.
 
I'd personally rather keep the discussion on karma and not my particular spiritual path. I'll only discuss that privately with people who are sincerely interested. Sorry, but I feel pretty strongly about that for a lot of reasons. But it's important that people understand that there are as many different teachings related to karma as there are on Christianity.
 
If either of you feel ok answering some questions in a Q&A format, I cant tell how you how grateful I'd be. If it gets nasty, I'll personally ask someone to close it straight away. I personally am not looking for a debate and I respect the opinions of all, obviously more than the sake of a mere thread. I'd like to ask a big favour of anyone who has strong objections, to please keep out. I respect everyone's objections to any school of thought different to their or my own, but I personally just want to learn. I'd like that opportunity.

Life for the individual. It is cyclic? This is one of many many years, more previously, and more to come? I suppose this is reincarnation I am asking about. Are we people only? Or any living animal? Are our lives exclusive to others? I mean, how does our ongoing life cycle relate to not only the world, but to others? Are others (souls) important in this process?

What is the purpose, for want of a better word? Does it end somewhere? Why is it ongoing? What are we looking to achieve with this knowledge?

I'll keep it to that for now. I have many more, but I dont want to go on if this thread ends up dying. If either of you, or anyone else, prefer not to reply, please dont feel you should. Let the thread sink and it will be cool. I'm just after some information on this philosophy. I do hope everyone can respect not only the school of thought at least enough to keep it civil in here, but the idea of this thread simply being a learning tool.

Thanks again.
:)
 
Angela Harlem said:

Life for the individual. It is cyclic? This is one of many many years, more previously, and more to come? I suppose this is reincarnation I am asking about. Are we people only? Or any living animal? Are our lives exclusive to others? I mean, how does our ongoing life cycle relate to not only the world, but to others? Are others (souls) important in this process?

What is the purpose, for want of a better word? Does it end somewhere? Why is it ongoing? What are we looking to achieve with this knowledge?

From what I understand reincarnation happens again and again and again and I think that many versions of karma believe that you can be reincarnated as an animal, but I don't know that all do. The cycle of reincarnation can be escaped by reaching enlightenment which is very difficult to achieve and few people are able to do it. If I remember correctly once you escape the cycle of reincarnation through reaching enlightenment instead of being reborn when you die your soul goes to a higher plane of consciousness.
 
Angela Harlem said:

Life for the individual. It is cyclic? This is one of many many years, more previously, and more to come? I suppose this is reincarnation I am asking about. Are we people only? Or any living animal?


In my faith, individual souls start out as inanimate objects (don't ask; I don't really understand it myself) and work their way through the cycles of rebirth to eventually reach humanity. Once you are human, you don't go back.

Angela Harlem said:
Are our lives exclusive to others? I mean, how does our ongoing life cycle relate to not only the world, but to others? Are others (souls) important in this process?

This may be where karma comes in if I'm understanding your questions properly. We all are connected with each other. For example, I know that my husband and I have been together before. I can tell by how we relate to each other; the instant familiarity and connection we had when we met when we were 11.

Angela Harlem said:

What is the purpose, for want of a better word? Does it end somewhere? Why is it ongoing? What are we looking to achieve with this knowledge?

We are looking to reach Oneness with God. When we can eliminate our karma, we can achieve the Oneness with God that is within all of us.
 
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