"The foolish are trapped by karma, while the wise are liberated through karma."
- Stonepeace
Karma and Intention
An early Buddhist teaching says: "What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind".
Karma means intended action, and is a dynamic concept. It is not fate or predestination, but a consequence of what has gone before. In other words, you are now in circumstances because of your thoughts and decisions, and this is an on-going process. That is, new actions create new Karma.
Intention is a major part of Karma. If you come home and accidentally trip over the dog and hurt the animal, this is not intended and has no effect. However, after a hectic day, you come home and kick the dog, then negative Karma is generated. All the combined intended actions add up to what you are now.
The Buddha saw this as an explanation of the different circumstances that all living beings find themselves in.
Karma is closely linked with dependant origination, where it is the consequence of the law of cause and effect.
While we are subject to non-karmic forces, such as the ageing of our bodies and natural circumstances, the Buddha said that we are also subject to karmic effects where the ethical actions and thoughts we have will have a positive effect on the future and on our spiritual development.
Karma is the reaping of past actions, but also offers the possibility of determining our own future with our actions and thoughts today. This means that no future event is locked in, and what happens today and tomorrow will create the personal and global world of the future.
Karma means intended action, and is a dynamic concept. It is not fate or predestination, but a consequence of what has gone before. In other words, you are now in circumstances because of your thoughts and decisions, and this is an on-going process. That is, new actions create new Karma.
Intention is a major part of Karma. If you come home and accidentally trip over the dog and hurt the animal, this is not intended and has no effect. However, after a hectic day, you come home and kick the dog, then negative Karma is generated. All the combined intended actions add up to what you are now.
The Buddha saw this as an explanation of the different circumstances that all living beings find themselves in.
Karma is closely linked with dependant origination, where it is the consequence of the law of cause and effect.
While we are subject to non-karmic forces, such as the ageing of our bodies and natural circumstances, the Buddha said that we are also subject to karmic effects where the ethical actions and thoughts we have will have a positive effect on the future and on our spiritual development.
Karma is the reaping of past actions, but also offers the possibility of determining our own future with our actions and thoughts today. This means that no future event is locked in, and what happens today and tomorrow will create the personal and global world of the future.