Karma Wangchu

Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. As per some scripture, there is no link of rebirths with karma.

The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), as well as Taoism.Eva Wong, Taoism, Shambhala Publications, , pp. 193 In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one's ''saṃsāra''. This concept has also been adopted in Western popular culture, in which the events which happen after a person's actions may be considered natural consequences.

Definition

The term ''karma'' ( sa, कर्म}; pi, kamma, italic=yes) refers to both the executed 'deed, work, action, act' and the 'object, intent'.

Wilhelm Halbfass (2000) explains karma (''karman'') by contrasting it with the Sanskrit word '' kriya'': whereas ''kriya'' is the activity along with the steps and effort in action, ''karma'' is (1) the executed action as a consequence of that activity, as well as (2) the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action (described by some scholars as metaphysical residue left in the actor). A good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent.

Difficulty in arriving at a definition of karma arises because of the diversity of views among the schools of Hinduism; some, for example, consider karma and rebirth linked and simultaneously essential, some consider karma but not rebirth to be essential, and a few discuss and conclude karma and rebirth to be flawed fiction.see:

* Kaufman, W. R. (2005), Karma, rebirth, and the problem of evil, Philosophy East and West, pp 15–32;
* Sharma, A. (1996), On the distinction between Karma and Rebirth in Hinduism, Asian Philosophy, 6(1), pp 29–35;
* Bhattacharya, R. (2012), Svabhāvavāda and the Cārvāka/Lokāyata: A Historical Overview, Journal of Indian Philosophy, 40(6), pp 593–614 Buddhism and Jainism have their own karma precepts. Thus, karma has not one, but multiple definitions and different meanings. It is a concept whose meaning, importance, and scope varies between the various traditions that originated in India, and various schools in each of these traditions. Wendy O'Flaherty claims that, furthermore, there is an ongoing debate regarding whether karma is a theory, a model, a paradigm, a metaphor, or a metaphysical stance.

Principle of karma

''Karma'' also refers to a conceptual principle that originated in India, often descriptively called the ''principle of karma'', and sometimes the ''karma-theory'' or the ''law of karma''.Karl Potter (1964), The Naturalistic Principle of Karma, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Apr. 1964), pp. 39–49

In the context of theory, ''karma'' is complex and difficult to define.Wendy D. O'Flaherty (1980), Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, University of California Press, , pp xi–xxv (Introduction) Different schools of Indology derive different definitions for the concept from ancient Indian texts; their definition is some combination of (1) causality that may be ethical or non-ethical; (2) ethicization, i.e., good or bad actions have consequences; and (3) rebirth. Other Indologists include in the definition that which explains the present circumstances of an individual with reference to his or her actions in the past. These actions may be those in a person's current life, or, in some schools of Indian traditions, possibly actions in their past lives; furthermore, the consequences may result in the current life, or a person's future lives. The law of karma operates independent of any deity or any process of divine judgment.

Causality

A common theme to theories of karma is its principle of causality. This relationship between karma and causality is a central motif in all schools of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain thought.Bruce R. Reichenbach, The Law of Karma and the Principle of Causation, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct. 1988), pp. 399–410 One of the earliest association of karma to causality occurs in the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' of Hinduism. For example, at 4.4.5–6, it states:

The theory of karma as causation holds that: (1) executed actions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives, and (2) the intentions of an individual affects the individual and the life he or she lives. Disinterested actions, or unintentional actions do not have the same positive or negative karmic effect, as interested and intentional actions. In Buddhism, for example, actions that are performed, or arise, or originate without any bad intent, such as covetousness, are considered non-existent in karmic impact or neutral in influence to the individual.

Another causality characteristic, shared by karmic theories, is that ''like deeds'' lead to ''like effects''. Thus, good karma produces good effect on the actor, while bad karma produces bad effect. This effect may be material, moral, or emotional – that is, one's karma affects both one's happiness and unhappiness. The effect of karma need not be immediate; the effect of karma can be later in one's current life, and in some schools it extends to future lives.see:
* James McDermott, Karma and Rebirth in Early Buddhism, in Editor: Wendy D. O'Flaherty (1980), Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, University of California Press, , pp 165–192
* Padmanabh Jaini, Karma and the problem of rebirth in Jainism, in Editor: Wendy D. O'Flaherty (1980), Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, University of California Press, , pp 217–239
* Ludo Rocher, Karma and Rebirth in the Dharmasastras, in Editor: Wendy D. O'Flaherty (1980), Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, University of California Press, , pp 61–89

The consequence or effects of one's karma can be described in two forms: ''phala'' and ''samskara''. A ''phala'' () is the visible or invisible effect that is typically immediate or within the current life. In contrast, a ''samskara'' () is an invisible effect, produced inside the actor because of the karma, transforming the agent and affecting his or her ability to be happy or unhappy in their current and future lives. The theory of karma is often presented in the context of ''samskaras''.

Karl Potter (1964) and Harold Coward (1983) suggest that karmic principle can also be understood as a principle of psychology and habit. Karma seeds habits (''vāsanā''), and habits create the nature of man. Karma also seeds self perception, and perception influences how one experiences life-events. Both habits and self perception affect the course of one's life. Breaking bad habits is not easy: it requires conscious karmic effort. Thus, psyche and habit, according to Potter and Coward, link karma to causality in ancient Indian literature. The idea of karma may be compared to the notion of a person's 'character', as both are an assessment of the person and determined by that person's habitual thinking and acting.

Ethicization

The second theme common to karma theories is ethicization. This begins with the premise that every action has a consequence, which will come to fruition in either this life or a future life; thus, morally good acts will have positive consequences, whereas bad acts will produce negative results. An individual's present situation is thereby explained by reference to actions in his present or in previous lifetimes. Karma is not itself ' reward and punishment', but the law that produces consequence. Wilhelm Halbfass (1998) notes that good karma is considered as ''dharma'' and leads to '' punya'' ('merit'), while bad karma is considered ''adharma'' and leads to '' pāp'' ('demerit, sin').

Reichenbach (1988) suggests that the theories of karma are an ethical theory. This is so because the ancient scholars of India linked intent and actual action to the merit, reward, demerit, and punishment. A theory without ethical premise would be a pure causal relation; the merit or reward or demerit or punishment would be same regardless of the actor's intention. In ethics, one's intentions, attitudes and desires matter in the evaluation of one's action. Where the outcome is unintended, the moral responsibility for it is less on the actor, even though causal responsibility may be the same regardless. A karma theory considers not only the action, but also the actor's intentions, attitude, and desires before and during the action. The karma concept thus encourages each person to seek and live a moral life, as well as avoid an immoral life. The meaning and significance of karma is thus as a building-block of an ethical theory.

Rebirth

The third common theme of karma theories is the concept of reincarnation or the cycle of rebirths (''saṃsāra''). Rebirth is a fundamental concept of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 351–352 Rebirth, or ''saṃsāra'', is the concept that all life forms go through a cycle of reincarnation, that is, a series of births and rebirths. The rebirths and consequent life may be in different realm, condition, or form. The karma theories suggest that the realm, condition, and form depends on the quality and quantity of karma. In schools that believe in rebirth, every living being's soul transmigrates (recycles) after death, carrying the seeds of Karmic impulses from life just completed, into another life and lifetime of karmas. This cycle continues indefinitely, except for those who consciously break this cycle by reaching ''moksha''. Those who break the cycle reach the realm of gods, those who don't continue in the cycle.

The concept has been intensely debated in ancient literature of India; with different schools of Indian religions considering the relevance of rebirth as either essential, or secondary, or unnecessary fiction. Hiriyanna (1949) suggests rebirth to be a necessary corollary of karma; Yamunacharya (1966) asserts that karma is a fact, while reincarnation is a hypothesis; and Creel (1986) suggests that karma is a basic concept, rebirth is a derivative concept.

The theory of 'karma and rebirth' raises numerous questions – such as how, when, and why did the cycle start in the first place, what is the relative Karmic merit of one karma versus another and why, and what evidence is there that rebirth actually happens, among others. Various schools of Hinduism realized these difficulties, debated their own formulations – some reaching what they considered as internally consistent theories – while other schools modified and de-emphasized it; a few schools in Hinduism such as Charvakas (or Lokayata) abandoned the theory of 'karma and rebirth' altogether. Schools of Buddhism consider karma-rebirth cycle as integral to their theories of soteriology.

Early development

The Vedic Sanskrit word (nominative ') means 'work' or 'deed', often used in the context of Srauta rituals. In the ''Rigveda'', the word occurs some 40 times.;

In '' Satapatha Brahmana'' 1.7.1.5, ''sacrifice'' is declared as the "greatest" of works; ''Satapatha Brahmana'' 10.1.4.1 associates the potential of becoming immortal (''amara'') with the karma of the '' agnicayana'' sacrifice.

The earliest clear discussion of the karma doctrine is in the ''Upanishads''."Karma" in: John Bowker (1997), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press. For example, causality and ethicization is stated in ''Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad'' 3.2.13:

Truly, one becomes good through good ''deeds'', and evil through evil ''deeds''.

Some authors state that the '' samsara'' (transmigration) and karma doctrine may be non-Vedic, and the ideas may have developed in the " shramana" traditions that preceded Buddhism and Jainism. Others state that some of the complex ideas of the ancient emerging theory of karma flowed from Vedic thinkers to Buddhist and Jain thinkers. The mutual influences between the traditions is unclear, and likely co-developed.

Many philosophical debates surrounding the concept are shared by the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions, and the early developments in each tradition incorporated different novel ideas. For example, Buddhists allowed karma transfer from one person to another and sraddha rites, but had difficulty defending the rationale. In contrast, Hindu schools and Jainism would not allow the possibility of karma transfer.

In Hinduism

The concept of karma in Hinduism developed and evolved over centuries. The earliest ''Upanishads'' began with the questions about how and why man is born, and what happens after death. As answers to the latter, the early theories in these ancient Sanskrit documents include '' pancagni vidya'' (the five fire doctrine), ''pitryana'' (the cyclic path of fathers) and ''devayana'' (the cycle-transcending, path of the gods). Those who do superficial rituals and seek material gain, claimed these ancient scholars, travel the way of their fathers and recycle back into another life; those who renounce these, go into the forest and pursue spiritual knowledge, were claimed to climb into the higher path of the gods. It is these who break the cycle and are not reborn.William Mahony (1987), Karman: Hindu and Jain Concepts, in Editor: Mircea Eliade, Encyclopedia of Religion, Collier Macmillan, New York With the composition of the Epics – the common man's introduction to dharma in Hinduism – the ideas of causality and essential elements of the theory of karma were being recited in folk stories. For example:

The 6th chapter of the ''Anushasana Parva'' (the Teaching Book), the 13th book of the ''Mahabharata'', opens with Yudhishthira asking Bhishma: "Is the course of a person's life already destined, or can human effort shape one's life?" The future, replies Bhishma, is both a function of current human effort derived from free will and past human actions that set the circumstances. Over and over again, the chapters of Mahabharata recite the key postulates of karma theory. That is: intent and action (karma) has consequences; karma lingers and doesn't disappear; and, all positive or negative experiences in life require effort and intent. For example:

Over time, various schools of Hinduism developed many different definitions of karma, some making karma appear quite deterministic, while others make room for free will and moral agency. Among the six most studied schools of Hinduism, the theory of karma evolved in different ways, as their respective scholars reasoned and attempted to address the internal inconsistencies, implications and issues of the karma doctrine. According to Professor Wilhelm Halbfass,
* The Nyaya

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