Karma

Why was that person born with disabilities? What did I do to deserve this promotion? Why did I get in a car accident and break my legs? Why was Jesus tortured and crucified like a criminal?

In a Buddhist’s worldview, the answer to all these questions would likely be the same: karma.

Karma is a Buddhist term that has made its way into western culture. Most people define karma on a basic level: do good, receive good; do bad, receive bad. But in Buddhist teaching, karma is far more complex.

Buddha believed in a continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth that is controlled by one’s karma, a collection of all the good and bad a person has done in this life and previous lives. If someone’s good karma outweighs their bad, they will be reborn into a higher, more comfortable existence. If one’s bad karma outweighs their good, they will be reborn into a lower existence.

Buddhists are never sure what the “status” of their karma is, so they keep striving to earn good karma to offset their bad karma. Karma is a personal issue—each person must earn their own good karma, and no one can help them. Making merit improves one’s karma, and in Asia this can be done in many ways, including visiting temples, burning incense, donations to monks or temples, meditating, or participating in religious ceremonies.

Be careful! Karma is not the same as the biblical principle Jesus spoke of in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you,” or the sewing and reaping principle Paul described in Galatians 6:7. These biblical principles are directed by God based on God’s morality and justice. In contrast, karma is not a reward or punishment given by God or any other being, yet somehow it magically remembers good and bad deeds and dictates the appropriate rewards in subsequent rebirths.

PTL that God is the righteous judge, and rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).