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Karma

"Karma is a bitch"
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see/hear this phrase, somewhere.
Am I the only one who thinks the whole spiritual "karma system" is a load of bollocks? You really believe what goes around comes around?.. That's just how the world works. There are good things and bad things that have happened, are happening, and always will be happening. It's just called "life"

The idea of "karma" is comforting to some, I'm sure. But I think it's just a product of our own superstitious mind.

Discuss

Agreed. Hippy nonsense, IMO.

What about things happening for a reason?

Sometimes things happen way too coincidentally and in perfect sequence for there not to be an underlying purpose or cause of it.

But yea, life is life. Shit happens. The good die young. Murphy's Law.

I don't observe the true depth of Karmic teaching, and bad things have and will happen to very good people, but there is most certainly some moments that just seem so poetic, when bad things happening cartain cvnts, and said cvts really had it coming.

What goes around does come around. It's not quite an equal payer system but some people have gone out of their way for me in the past, and I've tried to help a lot of people throughout my life, so in that way it does go around.

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Originally posted by DJ RANN but there is most certainly some moments that just seem so poetic, when bad things happening cartain cvnts, and said cvts really had it coming.

I get what you're saying, but I think that "bad" people in general tend to have bad attitudes and behave poorly. This is what attracts "bad" things happening to them, not some mystical force dolling out events to balance things. IMO, of course.

Objectively speaking, karma is rubbish. Things happen at random and someone who breaks the rules far too often is more likely to find a kindred spirit than someone who is more disciplined (although nothing prevents the wrongdoer from lucking out and the moral person from being unjustly punished)... but that's about it.

However, I'm amazed by how incredible it is psychologically, and I can't help praising the possible motivation behind it.

If you think about it for a second, the reason this idea spread out of India with so much strength is because it's genius: It's the ultimate form of institutionalised Schadenfreude, in which you seek to explain how fair the world is by punishing your foes without doing anything. You just sit and wait, hear that something bad has happened to the person, and declare karma has acted on your behalf. In a way, it's no surprise that this is tied together with a system of thought that preaches non-violence - it appeases the human drive for revenge and asks for very little in return.

So the social reality behind it does deserve some praise... even if, ontologically speaking, it's just pure nonsense.

Somewhere between Schadenfreude, Confirmation Bias, and all of the contrasts and nuanced juxtapositions that lie between, is the flush of dopamine we feel when a poor, hard-working single mother wins the lottery, or a wealthy asshole who spits on the homeless gets raped by a marauding band of AIDS hobos. Oh wait, was that last one too far? Shit, I always do that.

I always try to be a good person and don't expect anything in return. Sometimes you're lucky. Othertimes, not. Earlier tonight I was at a club, dancing and I accidentally knocked the drink out of a guy's hand. I offered to buy him a new one, but he refused, smiling, saying I shouldn't worry about petty things like those.

don't believe in Karma as some super natural force but i think the way you act and how those actions have somewhat predictable consequences somewhat a form of karma in action. It can't account for bad luck but so much of what happens to us is in some way a reaction to your action or inaction.

Kinda along the lines of what Rann said.

quote:

If you think about it for a second, the reason this idea spread out of India with so much strength is because it's genius: It's the ultimate form of institutionalised Schadenfreude, in which you seek to explain how fair the world is by punishing your foes without doing anything. You just sit and wait, hear that something bad has happened to the person, and declare karma has acted on your behalf

Never really thought about Karma this way. I mean karma or the concept exists in every culture. Do good and you will be rewarded, do bad and you will be punished. I didn't think people actually hoped bad things will happen at least most people. I always thought it was sort of a spiritual reason to be good. A guide to keep you towing the line. That shadenfreud you mentioned would in itself be a deposit of bad karma in your karma bank just for thinking about how that person will suffer and enjoying the thought. Not really sure how it is practiced in other parts of the world so I could be wrong.

The basic principle of karma is sound: if you punch everyone you ever meet in the face, you're going to get a lot of black eyes in your life, whereas if you shake their hand you're going to have a lot more friends. The whole metaphysical framework is obviously nonsense, though.

Chaos theory is a bitch.

In order to know whether or not Karma is BS you'd pretty much have to experience the entire span of time. My guess is that there's no net gain or loss. All possible experiences are probably accounted for, one way or another.

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Originally posted by Looney4Clooney

I'm kind of flattered you mixed me up with a native speaker

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J The basic principle of karma is sound: if you punch everyone you ever meet in the face, you're going to get a lot of black eyes in your life, whereas if you shake their hand you're going to have a lot more friends.

I've left a lot of deposits in the karma bank and it's time to withdraw some ...been collecting interest a while.

I used to believe in karma, or at least my conception of it. Rationally, though, it's utter bull-shit. You can't deny that a lot of people, good people, get shit on their entire lives no matter what they do. Ergo, karma is fucked.

Traditionally, though, karma is a reincarnation sort of thing, isn't it?

quote:

Originally posted by kadomony

Yeah, thought to bring this up as well. It's a bit more involved than what it's been reduced to in everyday conversation.

quote:

Originally posted by LAdazeNYnights I used to believe in karma, or at least my conception of it. Rationally, though, it's utter bull-shit. You can't deny that a lot of people, good people, get shit on their entire lives no matter what they do. Ergo, karma is fucked. Traditionally, though, karma is a reincarnation sort of thing, isn't it?

I think a large part of it comes from the social/work circle you find yourself in. Some people feel 'trapped' by this and as such are at the whim of the 'group' influence. You have to break free from the assholes and the leeches to have some sort of freedom to do what you want to do without the (often) demoralizing opinions of the haters (who are often just jealous (douchebags)).

quote:

Originally posted by LAdazeNYnights Traditionally, though, karma is a reincarnation sort of thing, isn't it?

Not really.

Karma can influence your next incarnation (or the cessation thereof), but that's about it. Depending on the tradition you just need to avoid bad karma in order to avoid spiritual demotion of some sort. In others, you need to avoid all karma, so even good karma because undesirable.

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Originally posted by Swamper I've left a lot of deposits in the sperm bank and it's time to withdraw some

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J The basic principle of karma is sound: if you punch everyone you ever meet in the face, you're going to get a lot of black eyes in your life, whereas if you shake their hand you're going to have a lot more friends. The whole metaphysical framework is obviously nonsense, though.

^this. another way of saying it would be "you reap what you sow"

quote:

Originally posted by Blake Yeah, thought to bring this up as well. It's a bit more involved than what it's been reduced to in everyday conversation.

Agreeable. I think most people don't really know anything about karma, at all, and has disregarded it as religious superstition, when in reality, only a small portion of religions that incorporate a karma system by name, think is has anything to do with a supreme being/god/whatnot ie. Vedanta hinduists. In nearly all other religions it's a cause&effect theory explained by a reap what you sow-rhetoric. And then you have your jainists though, who put a whole different meaning on the word entirely, but that's for another thread...

also no thread about karma is complete without these

No, but I definitely believe "you reap what you sow".

quote:

Originally posted by Miss Pie No, but I definitely believe "you reap what you sow".

I knew you were a sow reaper all along

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