Do Buddhists believe that disabled people are suffering for misdeeds in a past life? The subject is more complicated than it appears, says the Venerable Robina Courtin, a Tibetan Buddhist nun, in this radio discussion on religious attitudes to disability. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed.
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Karma Karma is a concept encountered in several Eastern religions, although having different meanings. That's a very simplified version of the concept of karma, but it isn't terribly far from the truth. Karma, which is not to be confused with its common misspelling "kharma," is a concept related to Buddhism that has been described by the saint Paramhansha Yogananda as a "law of justice" that determines who we are.
Yogananda stated that we cannot escape our own basic patterns, but we do have the choice to follow our basic nature or work against it. Therefore, it is not the outward appearance of our actions that determine what effects they will have in the future, but the intentions behind them.
Buddhists believe that we must accept the consequences of our actions and learn from them on our path to enlightenment. According to Buddhist beliefs and teachings, it is karma that determines our cycle of rebirth.
Negative actions such as killing other people will lead to misfortunes either in this life or in the next life, while virtuous actions will yield positive results. The connection between an action and the karmic result of that action are usually not obvious or even observable, but they are said to be unavoidable. Furthermore, there are five heinous actions that will result in an immediate rebirth in hell. These actions are matricide, patricide, shedding the blood of a Buddha, killing an arhat or creating a schism in the sangha, a monastic community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
Coming down from being out there and High. FREE Shipping on all orders! To receive happiness, peace, love, and friendship, one must BE happy, peaceful, loving, and a true friend. Whatever one puts out into the Universe will come back to them.
The Law of Creation Life requires our participation to happen. It does not happen by itself. We are one with the Universe, both inside and out. Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner state.
Surround yourself with what you want to have in your life and be yourself. The Law of Humility One must accept something in order to change it. If all one sees is an enemy or a negative character trait, then they are not and cannot be focused on a higher level of existence.
In this sense, the law of karma is a sort of natural law, so that actions are naturally followed by consequences, not as the result of divine judgement. Evil actions, like killing, stealing, lying and so on, are bad karmas and will lead to rebirth in an unpleasant human situation or in hell.
Good actions, on the other hand, such as generosity especially giving to Buddhist monks , makes merit and leads to good rebirth in a pleasant human situation or in heaven. Western Buddhists, while aware of the traditional teachings on karma, are generally more inclined to understand the law of karma in a psychological sense, as a reminder that good actions will produce pleasant experienced consequences in this life, and that bad actions will lead to unhappiness.
I will call the two meanings of karma universal and psychological. When western Buddhists talk about the law of karma, they often have in mind only one meaning of the term, and that is the psychological meaning of karma. In its psychological meaning, the law of karma in Buddhism amounts to this: intentional actions of body, speech and mind have psychological consequences for the agent, such that good actions bring positive experiences in their train, and bad actions bring negative experiences.
For instance, if I make a habit of going to the monastery and giving food and money to the monks and nuns, then this generosity has certain consequences: I feel happier, because my concern has been habitually directed beyond myself; I feel inspired, because my giving to the monks has brought me into contact with Dharma-practitioners; I feel my life is more meaningful, because my generosity has brought me into connection with the sangha in a general sense.
The psychological meaning of the law of karma is extremely important for understanding how practising ethics has good consequences and leads to a happier, more integrated sense of self. This is the best basis for further progress on the Buddhist path. The law of karma follows from the ethical axiom, but the psychological consequences for onself should not be the only considersation for our actions.
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