Karma
Like other religions, Buddhism has a
strong moral dimension. It advocates acting in ways that are helpful to oneself
and others whilst at the same time advising against actions that lead to one's
own suffering or the suffering of others. Underpinning this moral dimension is
the concept of karma or kamma.
Karma literally means 'action' and refers to the process by which our moral actions
have consequences for us in the future. Put simply, our good deeds lead to
happy states; our bad deeds lead to unhappy ones. The word 'deed' here refers
not to just physical actions but words and thoughts too. Indeed, the mind is
the source of all our deeds, whether good or evil: 'Mind foreruns conditions,
mind is chief, mind-made are they'.
Thus, 'if one speaks or acts with wicked mind, because of
that, pain pursues him'.
Similarly, 'if one speaks or acts
with pure mind, because of that happiness follows him'.
At its core, therefore, Buddhism has a sense of moral
justice, though there is no overseeing arbiter or judge, and no judgment day as
such. It might be better to see the process of karma as a natural phenomenon.
If you look after a fruit tree carefully, pruning it at the right time and
feeding it appropriately, good fruit ensues. If you fail to look after it properly
then it will not bear fruit or the fruit will be sparse. In short, we reap the
rewards of what we do that is wholesome, and suffer for what we do that is
unwholesome.
One crucial aspect of the Buddhist teaching on karma is intention. In Buddhism, harming living creatures is seen as
morally wrong but this does not mean that if you step on an ant by accident
that you are morally culpable. Intention is everything, (though even good
intentions have to be handled with intelligence and skillfulness).
To fully appreciate the Buddha's teaching on karma, it has to be linked to the
teaching on rebirth. The consequences of our actions can be fairly immediate
but often they are not. They can occur in this life or future lives, maturing
when the right conditions are in place.
The teaching on karma can influence the moral choices we make in life, knowing that whatever
short-term benefits we might gain from doing something morally wrong we will
inevitably have to pay the consequences. Like borrowing money from a bank, it
has to be paid back at some stage in the future. On the other hand, we know
that any good deeds are do will have benefits for us in the future.
It is here,
however, that we need to be careful. The most beneficial actions have their
source in a selfless heart - if we do good deeds merely because we hope to gain
something in the future, the motivation is impure. Linked to good moral action
should be a spontaneous desire to help others without any thought of how we, as
individuals, might benefit.
Quotable Quote from the Buddha
"The thought manifests as the word
The word manifests as the deed
The deed develops into habit
Habit hardens into character
So watch the thought and its ways with care
And let it spring out of love
Born out of concern for all beings
As the shadow follows the body as we think, so we become..."~Shakyamuni Buddha~
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