Karma

The definition of KARMA is stated as: "for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant." Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward; karma simply deals with what is.

The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. Many that have believed in rebirth have believed that it may involve working off the karmic debt of past lifetimes and therefore hardship and sufferance in the present lifetime has often been attributed to any past life karmic debt, that has been brought forward by negative actions of past life onto the present life and incarnation, thus any present life suffering might be attributed as a consequenting result of the karmic laws and be seen as karmic debt and therefore unavoidable. The karmic laws being the laws that are thought to maintain an equilibrium through action causing reaction and for every action there will be consequenting reactions, therefore positive action is thought to result in positive reaction and negative action resulting in negative reactions, either in this present time or in some later incarnation.

Buddhism relates karma directly to motives behind an action. Motivation usually makes the difference between "good" and "bad", but included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance; so a well-intended action from a deluded mind can easily be "bad" in the sense that it creates unpleasant results for the "actor".

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