Quote:
Originally Posted by discreetgent
If there were scientific proof that karma exist then the initial post would be moot. I'm not sure it would really need to be Godless religion. There is no reason that karma cannot exist within a the confines of a religion.
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The karmic concept was born out of religion: Within Hindu and Buddhist belief systems this is a key concept in how the universe is perceived.
The karmic cycle in Buddhism isn't just about good and bad karma. The belief is that anything one does, traps a person into a cycle of birth, from which we should be trying to liberate ourselves - to be free of desire and suffering. By effecting the universe as little as possible, when we are released from the cycle of life, we are reunited with the Ultimate Reality from which we came. God.
I spent a short while visiting a Buddhist monk at a temple in Toronto. Her head was shaved and you could see a set of burn marks going down her scalp in what was obviously an intentional pattern. I asked her what that was about
: She said it was a ritual, made to illustrate ones choice to deny pain.
Not all Buddhist traditions teach this sort of nihilism, but it's the one I got the most exposure to.
Within Hindu culture karma it permeates everywhere. It plays huge parts in the story themes of literature and movies. It also plays heavily into the caste system which has been such a difficult thing for India to shake itself of. They consider Karma the laws of cause and effect that rules over every aspect of your life.
Within the pagan faith system you have what's called the law of three. The energy you put out into the world comes back to you threefold once it has worked it's way through the web that binds us all. Your actions gain momentum.
In the Buddhist and Hindu context, it isn't really about good karma and bad karma.
I believe there's some common good sense behind the concept of karma that is ultimately life affirming when applied to the north american philosophies.
However, I to some extend also believe in Karma in the religious meaning, and I believe in fate. In Karma we have the free will to choose our actions and how it filters through the world and reflects back at us, I also believe in effecting the cycle of nature as little as possible, and effecting the cycle of other peoples life's as little as possible giving them the right to free will as well. I think with it comes a responsibility to make yourself happy, and not count on the actions of others to do so. I think somewhere in the Buddhist philosophy lies a secret to peace.
Fate is not controlled by free will, and I don't necessarily believe it's written in stone or decided by an Omnipotent Being. It's the culmination of ones personality and life history, interweaving with the flow of the universe around us, leading them blindly towards moments of great joy and great sorrow.
