Is Karma real?

[Panzer Tacticer]

As with all vague notions that have no easily defined and testable conditions, you will have trouble accepting all portions of the idea.

Do I believe in portions of Karma? Yes.

Do I support the philosophy as a whole? No.

I can't account for all of the nice things that happen in my life, as I don't think I earn even half of the nice things that happen.

Then again, I have known enough grief and pain to have experienced genuine feelings of suicide intent, so it is not like my life is all roses.

It could be, that the good that happens is just random chance, and seems peculiar, because it is hard to just enjoy it for what it is and nothing more while the bad that happens just seems easy to dismiss because we feel guilty for something we have done that we thought was wrong according to ourselves.

 

[granville]

it isnt real although if your a dick people will kick your ass

About what i was going to say. Karma in my mind doesn't exist as a natural opposing reaction that will just spontaneously arise. Like if you kick kittens, i don't think an earthquake will arise to punish you. Nor do i think a magical fairy will bring you beer if you donate money to the homeless. I do however believe that if you fuck with someone and make it clear it's you, you can expect to possibly get your ass kicked.

that's not karma, that's cause & effect

One of the definitions of karma IS cause and effect though. In the original Buddhist teachings, it says that your deeds in this life will effect your next. Pretty much cause and effect there. Either way, i don't believe in it.

 

[SinHarvest24]

I did crap for my exams, ended up wasting time home for 2 years and my luck with, socially with others (others being girls) significantly decreased. While my friend ended up going to University along with his girl-friend and just, all in all, happy. From this i can determine that if you do good things good things will come to you, vice versa, with bad things.

or, y'know, because he studied for his exams and you didn't.

Maybe, we used to study together and we had similar grades up until exams. I was pretty sure i was gonna do good in exams but i guess i was wrong...

 

[skateboard34]

I don't think that somewhere, there is a tally of all the good and bad things you did in your life, and that counts for or against you. I just think that for some things you do, there will be short term or long term effects. Like killing somebody would end you up in jail.

 

[CarbonX13]

I believe it. The concept is simple. If you do good deeds you'll get good things in return. The same applies for the contrary. If you're a douche bag to everyone, obviously no one will like you. That's karma. You treat them bad, they treat you bad. Karma is basically a law of cause and effect.

 

[Waflix]

I believe it. The concept is simple. If you do good deeds you'll get good things in return. The same applies for the contrary. If you're a douche bag to everyone, obviously no one will like you. That's karma. You treat them bad, they treat you bad. Karma is basically a law of cause and effect.

Indeed.
Maybe this explanation is right. It's not that some database adds kudos when you do something good and deducts it when you do something bad. What if Karma is the name for the event when you simply do something and someone else does something back because you did that. Not that you die 43 days earlier because the database looks at your Karma level and mentions that it is below 94.
Or isn't that what you meant?

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

This much I DO know.

If you do something nice it tends to make you feel good knowing what you did was nice, and the target often returns the favour and that too is usually nice.

If you do something rotten, chances are you don't really enjoy it, because even if the target deserved it, it really isn't the same thing as doing something nice. And if the target is aware you were the person that did the rotten thing, odds are they return the favour, and that is also unlikely to be enjoyable.

So if you think of it as profit and loss, it is generally more profitable to be nice, than to be a jerk. Because you often get a nice deed in return which means you break even and gain a friend meaning actually you are ahead of where you were before you began. Whereas, all you get from being nasty, is additional enemies, and who knows they might be better at being nasty and you end up worse off than when you started.

Before the internet, dang I was almost a spotless individual too. Bloody internet.

 

[heartgold]

I'm not a religious person or anything, I would like to believe in karma as well but my life sucks. Ok I may believe in it slightly. Karma is the actions/deeds of the lives you have lived in the past and current; it may affect you in your present life or future ones to come.

 

[stinkoman]

I'm atheist, so, as a religious thing, I don't believe in it. I do believe, however, psychologically you're more likely to have more friends that are willing to do things for you if you're not an asshole. It's just basic human nature, really.

 

[DarkShinigami]

of course karmas real other wise who would of taught edgeworth?

 

[machomuu]

I'm atheist, so, as a religious thing, I don't believe in it.

I don't think Karma's religious, the relgious thing I'm pretty sure is called Grace...or something, but it's not karma.

 

[Satangel]

The BEAST his contribution and opinion on Karma, concerning the NBA play-offs.

[youtube]jOV5t_4loaE[/youtube]

 

[stinkoman]

I'm atheist, so, as a religious thing, I don't believe in it.

I don't think Karma's religious, the relgious thing I'm pretty sure is called Grace...or something, but it's not karma.

Karma's a pretty major part of the Buddhist religion's path to enlightenment or whatever, named such and everything.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

no...


good things happen to bad people


and bad things happen to good people

the corrupt get what they want, while they oppress the poor.

 

[machomuu]

I'm atheist, so, as a religious thing, I don't believe in it.

I don't think Karma's religious, the relgious thing I'm pretty sure is called Grace...or something, but it's not karma.

Karma's a pretty major part of the Buddhist religion's path to enlightenment or whatever, named such and everything.

Oh yeah, you're right. But Buddhism isn't really a theist religion to begin with.

 

[Danny600kill]

I kinda of believe in it but not in the exact form that is told

I kinda just think that your life will end up being equal with good and bad

 

[mk.2]

To me, Karma is consequences of one's actions. So, yes, I believe it's very real.

 

[Uncle FEFL]

Of course karma does not exist. It's a morality mechanism created so less people would make immoral choices.

 

[Kane91z]

Karma does not exist in the sense do good things get good things. Due to the extreme amounts of bizarre coincidences and things that just plain seem statistically impossible, it may exist in some forums of law of attraction and causation reaction.

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

It is a common mistake to attribute to religion good things all because a religion has formally adopted the element.

There is no reason why some 'good' things can't exist without any need of a religious connection or construct.

Murder for instance. We don't need people saying it's an evil act to make it a good idea to make it illegal. It's just a good idea to make murder something that will be punished by the people in power that would be in a position to enforce the punishment. Life is a lot less hassle knowing most of us are ok with being told you can't murder people because it is against the law. If it wasn't against the law, well that sure would make gun sales a lot more lucrative.

There are a lot of practices commonly associated with well known religions, and people often think those practices were actually invented by those religions in all cases.
Sometimes though, the practice just seemed in line with the thinking of the religion that employs it. It's not like religion is above stealing ideas eh. Christianity is rife with plagerism in fact.

I likely would find it easier hanging out with a bunch of Buddhists though than most other religious groupings.