Do you believe in Karma?

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hardy

hardy

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Just thought this might be useful. I strongly believe we get what we give. So we might as well start doing good things in life.

The Ten Good Deeds

1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not indulge in sexual misconduct
4. No lying
5. No double-tongued speech
6. No abusive speech
7. No irresponsible speech
8. No greed
9. No hatred
10. No delusion



Apart from avoiding the evil actions, one can take positive attitude in performing the good actions. The Ten Meritorious Deeds allow people to gain a happy and peaceful life as well as to develop knowledge and understanding. The Ten Meritorious Deeds are:

1. Charity
2. Morality / Taking Precepts
3. Mental cultivation / Meditation
4. Reverence or respect
5. Services in helping others
6. Transference of merits
7. Rejoicing in the merits of others
8. Preaching and teaching Dharma
9. Listening to the Dharma
10. Straightening one's own views

for more:Leading a Buddhist Life - Five Precepts
 
hardy

hardy

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Greed, hatred and delusion are called the Three Poisons or Three Evil Roots, which are the primary source of all evil deed. It is the Three Poisons that create all bad Karma, resulting all kinds of suffering in accordance with the Principle of Cause and Effect. The Three Poisons are also obstacles to the attainment of good Karma. Thus we have to abandon them by all means.

Greed
Greed is the cause of many offences. The five greedy desires are: wealth, sex, fame, eating and sleeping.

Greedy desire is endless and therefore can never be satisfied. The lesser the greedy desire, the happier and more satisfied we are. The best prescription to deal with greed is in giving away.

Anger
Hatred to people is another cause of evil deed. We should not lose temper and get angry when we are unhappy. We should be calm and patient.

Delusion
It means the persistent belief in something false and distorted. We have to observe and think in an objective and rational manner, so as to avoid prejudice and misunderstanding. For instance, if we don't believe in cause and effect, and then commit offense frequently and heavily, we will suffer from the retribution.
 
Flanscho

Flanscho

Well-known member
Hmmm, no, I don't believe in Karma. I'm a somewhat die-hard atheist.

I do think that everyone should do whatever he/she wants to become happy, as long as that person doesn't hurt anyone that way. :)
 
hardy

hardy

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Hey...karma has nothing to do with believing in god or not. Karma means "you get what you give". If you hurt others, others will hurt you back.If you think bad...bad things happen. May be not today, but one will be punished none the less.

If you look at the 10 deeds above, they are intended to not hurt others.

Too much sensual pleasures can give short term happiness...but will eventually lead to suffering.
 
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21NZ

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The Ten Good Deeds

1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not indulge in sexual misconduct


None of thos are good deeds, not doing a bad deed doesn't make it a good one, its expected


i didn't rape or kill someone today so im good?



10. No delusion? this is impossible to avoid
 
hardy

hardy

Well-known member
21NZ said:
The Ten Good Deeds

1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not indulge in sexual misconduct


None of thos are good deeds, not doing a bad deed doesn't make it a good one, its expected


i didn't rape or kill someone today so im good?



10. No delusion? this is impossible to avoid
Click to expand...

i don't want to be rude...but i guess i needed to answer

Ask the chicken that gets slaughtered everyday how it felt to be killed. He will give you an answer. If you don't know a chicken's language...go an ask a murdered persons family how they feel.

Ask the people who got robbed and they will reveal how much they hate people who steal.

Ask the wife whose husband cheats on her how she feels about extra-marital sex.

They will tell you.
 
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Raichel

Well-known member
No I don't, not in that way.

But I do believe this: if you hurt someone, you're essentially hurting yourself in the process because a good soul will feel guilt/remorse after doing bad things. To maintain a good, healthy soul one must be kind and loving to fellow human beings.
 
hardy

hardy

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Steppen-Wolf said:
There's nothing in the world other than randomness.
Click to expand...

If everything is random, how come some one is an Albert Einstein and some one like me is an utter idiot? Did randomness had something to do with Albert Einstein being a born genius? I am not sure
 
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Raichel

Well-known member
hardy said:
If everything is random, how come some one is an Albert Einstein and some one like me is an utter idiot? Did randomness had something to do with Albert Einstein being a born genius? I am not sure
Click to expand...

Just curious but, what other explanation than randomness could there be according to you?
 
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Steppen-Wolf

Well-known member
hardy said:
If everything is random, how come some one is an Albert Einstein and some one like me is an utter idiot? Did randomness had something to do with Albert Einstein being a born genius? I am not sure
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're being facetious, but I guess a mix of genetics, culture, upbringing and millions of other small factors?, all of them random of course.

Not that I'm against the idea of karma as a life philosophy, but there's simply no sense or pattern to life and what happens to us. Let's try to be good and decent people just because that's the kind of world we want to live in, not just because we expect some sort of cosmical reward.
 
hardy

hardy

Well-known member
Raichel said:
Just curious but, what other explanation than randomness could they're be according to you?
Click to expand...

It's difficult to explain, especially if someone calls themselves an atheist. don't disrespect a non-believer...but how can someone be so sure that everything is Random? Even a leaf doesn't fall without a reason. There is something called as cause and effect...believe it or not.

Thanks for paying attention ....and i am sorry if i hurt anyone....i guess my delusion kicked in and i am beginning to misunderstand, unable to rationalize right from wrong.

I believe i have social anxiety as i made mistakes in my past. I will have to bear the fruits of my mistakes. And if i am kind and do good deeds, people will treat me the same way. That's the karma? Nah?
 
hardy

hardy

Well-known member
Steppen-Wolf said:
Not sure if you're being facetious, but I guess a mix of genetics, culture, upbringing and millions of other small factors?, all of them random of course.

Not that I'm against the idea of karma as a life philosophy, but there's simply no sense or pattern to life and what happens to us. Let's try to be good and decent people just because that's the kind of world we want to live in, not just because we expect some sort of cosmical reward.
Click to expand...

Why does your stomach hurt when you are anxious? Is it a random thing? Why is a person stressed/anxious when he thinks too much about future? Why does a liar feel guilty? Why does a person who has extramarital sex cannot face his spouse? Why does a murderer feel guilty about his actions? He could have felt happy about doing these misdeeds...but no.

Is this randomness...i(sorry i mean Buddha and many intelligent people) say there is a cause for everything that happens. It's the laws of nature to hurt a person that hurts others....someone, somewhere will give it back to him/her.

I don't mean to say Social phobics are bad people....but i do believe somewhere i am the creator of my present. If i can be good now...my future will be brighter and happier. That's my whole point.
 
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BlackPuma

BlackPuma

1
I've seen too many people do bad things and get away with it, and at the same time people trying to do good fail miserably, and being kicked when they're down, to believe in karma.

I think it's great when you can bring yourself to believing in it, and use it to dampen when you're in a dilemma of any kind. But it's not for me.
 
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