How do people still believe in Karma given how Cancer/etc must kill so many "Good People" (complex, humans)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Whether we believe it or not, cosmic force keeps acting on us. Karma is a Sanskrit word and means action. You don't act by only by your body, you act by your mind as well. So whatever we thinks also influences our karma. There is an analogy. You can think of a bow , arrow in an archers hand. You only have a set of arrows,thats your predestined karma, ( where you are born, what country, what family etc). The arrow that is shot is your present and you have no controls once that is shot out of your hand. But you can still control what and how you shoot next. ( Note how they have brought the time dimension in the example) .
You can always "generate" or "accumulate" good karma by thinking and acting well and being grateful/thankful .
But not all may believe this. For eg, why does people in Africa always suffer, inoocent people getting shot or killed in accidents. We cannot have all the answers, but still..with whatever good we got, if we spread the same, world itself will have a good karma.
I dislike the idea of karma for that exact reason. It promotes victim blaming.
To me, karma isn't about any kind of victum. Lift throws things at us, and its up to us how we deal with them. If we choose to be the victum then the only one to blame is us. It's about how we learn and gain wisdom, or choose not to as life unfolds. And sometimes how we deal with 'leftovers' from a past like that we never had a chance to deal with at all.
Karma isn't about victums. It's about choice. It's about choosing not to play the victum and even in bad situations, not giving up ourselves.
I don't understand it. I can't imagine those that believe in Karma think that every single person who gets Cancer somehow cosmically 'deserve it'. So what is the deal? How can someone believe in Karma after they take three seconds to look at the world and all the crap that goes on in it???? What is the psychology behind the belief of 'justice prevailing in one way or another'?
I don't know that I am inclined to believe that the theory of karma has much validity (or any) in the context of various Asian traditions. But I am almost totally dismissive of the use of the word in any Western context. It has no traditional meaning in the West, and started being thrown around when the New Age cafeteria opened.
In Asia the Hindus have several ideas about what karma is and how it works. And I know for a certainty that "karma" as used in Theravadin Buddhism versus Mahayana Buddhism is not the same.
Therefore, when I think when someone invokes "karma" it is an empty term, unless they are specific about what they mean by it.
If I stub my toe, get into a car accident, sprain my ankle, have a person yell at me,
get cancer or hammer my thumb...I drew it all to me.
I take full responsibility.
Conversely...all the good that happens I draw to me, also.
I know the power I have.
Showing the finger to a cop is a great example of karma, btw.
Steal something and be stolen from...another.
Place a cigar on a counter and watch the cabin burn down..Seinfeld episode.
This is a touchy subject. Call it Karma or just a natural result of not taking care of yourself, but a lot of people have contributed to their illnesses, of all kinds. That doesn't mean they deserve it. That doesn't mean they are bad people. But if you are a smoker, and you end up with cancer, you can't be surprised.
My father died of cancer, by the way. And I loved him immeasurably. But I recognize how his choices contributed to how he died.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy_J
I think it is the other way around... That bad things will probably happen to people who do mean and nasty things to others.
Quote:
Then I've known mean and nasty people who tend to live miserable lives. It is a living hell.
A reasonable person would think this. But to one who consistently breeds misery, it's just another day in paradise. Even if something bad happens to them, they will blame someone else and make them pay for it.
I don't understand it. I can't imagine those that believe in Karma think that every single person who gets Cancer somehow cosmically 'deserve it'. So what is the deal? How can someone believe in Karma after they take three seconds to look at the world and all the crap that goes on in it???? What is the psychology behind the belief of 'justice prevailing in one way or another'?
I don't necessarily attribute cancer to karma, but to the business of disease.
Given the fact that big pharmas and medical technology make a profit for "curing cancer" the medical industry in the U.S. isn't looking to "prevent disease."
This is a profit money making medical industry. The concern is more about the bottom dollar rather than human health. Politicians and medical privatizers could care less about health(care). In their world, they are two separate words. (Too bad they can't get cancer themselves, but of course, they're probably getting the best of the best of modern medicine). *shrugs*
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
