Poll | 09/24/2008 12:00 am

Do you believe in karma?

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Yeah, I had a karma apple when I was a kid. Okay, that was weak. Ummmm…I believe there’s some mysterious connection between events, time & space. Call it the imprint of God, karma, whatever you will, but I’ve seen too many incredible things to believe in such a thing as a coincidence. To me, there is no such thing as a coincidence, in terms of the timing of things. The story about a man who flew hundreds of miles to the West Coast, and one day engaged an older fellow in a conversation. Eventually, they discovered that they were father and son. Or the time I screamed at Jesus Christ after the woman l loved (Jude) died, “Jesus you owe me a sign that Jude’s in heaven!!!”. Just then, my answering machine started beeping from inside a closed dresser drawer. Scientifically impossible, but it happened. Even the unprecedented confluence of catastrophic events in the world, seemingly escalating by the day - mere coincidence, or a sure sign of the Biblically prophesied “End Times” forthcoming? If the energy of the universe had been off by 10 to the 120th power at the time of the Big Bang, there would be no life anywhere in the universe. As Al Einstein put it, “God doesn’t play dice with the universe.”

By James the Game on 09/24/2008 12:12 am

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This would be a much better world if we follow the four practices:This is summarised in the following Four Powers of Purification: Power of the Object: One should practice thinking of all sentient beings one may have hurt. Traditionally, one remembers all sentient beings and the Three Jewels of Refuge (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), by generating compassion for all sentient beings and taking refuge. Power of Regret: This should not be senseless guilt or self-recrimination, which are said to be useless emotional torture. What is intended here is to examine oneself and one’s actions and to recognise that negative actions done in the past were very unwise. Power of Promise: As a logical consequence of the above, one should promise not to repeat these negative actions. It is good if one can promise to avoid a negative behaviour for a specific time, or at least promise that one will put effort in avoiding repetition. Not being honest at this stage makes the practice useless or even harmful to oneself. Power of Practice: Basically any positive action with a good motivation can be used as practice. Traditionally in Buddhism, one can practice e.g. making prostrations (throwing oneself to the floor - as a means to destroy pride), making offerings (to counteract greed), reading Buddhist texts (to counteract ignorance and negative thoughts), reciting mantras etc.

By Tee Zee on 09/24/2008 12:12 am

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Karma is the one thing I can say 100% without any doubt whatsoever that I do wholeheartedly believe in. If I listed all of the Karmic incidents that have happened to me just RECENTLY, I’d be here for days.

By Kryssi K on 09/24/2008 12:21 am

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Karma Yes, the sum and substance of our past deeds, both good and evil. Resulting in our self concept. You can pay it or dissolve it, your choice. It seems to me that it has not been taught correctly for a long time. Everyone embellishes with a personal description giving it more power than it has. What we have done in the past forms our concepts and expectations about life now. It is simpler than you think.

By Frannie Em on 09/24/2008 12:22 am

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I would like to think that Karma were that simple, and that like ocean waves or night and day there was an ebb and flow, balance and equal return. But if that were the case there would not be so much inquality and social injustice, so much incredible cruelty. Some grandfather grows pot in his backyard for pain because he can’t afford medication and food and winds up in prison, while polite society fetes Bush who is nothing but a mass murdering idiot weasel. All the hundreds of millions killed in genocides, famines and wars in history weren’t collectives of people who were getting payback. What I think is that a sum of your thoughts, deeds and intentions contribute to whatever radiance you have leaving this world, and that energy is what you are in the next…a kind of vibrational hierarchy.

By Step away from the BLOG! on 09/24/2008 2:10 am

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Steppie, My point exactly. Many of the erroneous conclusions that people have about themselves or others, are the sum or accumulation of your… “thoughts, deeds and intentions contribute to whatever radiance you have leaving this world, and the energy is what you are in the next…” It is a balancing out of an individual’s behavior over many lifetimes. You come in with what you went out with based on levels of vibration. Everything is vibration. A Karmic Bank is the sum of one’s previous life experiences; conscious or unconscious memory of all previous life thoughts and behavior. Karmic law is not law in the presence of realized truth. No one is getting payback, they just haven’t gone beyond that lesson. We draw to us life experiences either through karma or the lessons that we need to move us on our own path of growth and development. If we continue to believe that the negative is the only experience that will come to us in our lives, we can stay in one spot and not grow. Until an individual recognizes “Why me? I don’t have to live this way, I may not be much, but I am all I’ve got, and begin their true search for Self, they can stay stuck in one spot, like on a merry-go-round. It can go the other way as well. Some people have had easier karma and come in and things come easy to them, yet they don’t go on a search for any kind of spiritual truth, they are comfortable in their humanhood. Why rock the boat? It is the difficult challenges that grow and change us. It is more the hard times than the easy times to promote our growth. Sometimes we need a friend to help us see, or give us a hand on the way.

By Frannie Em on 09/24/2008 1:28 pm

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When terrible things happen to people it is not always “bad Karma”, in fact (I believe) more often than not, it is the choice of a very advanced soul, or a soul which wishes to advance, who chooses to undergo that trauma in order to learn a lesson and, even more important, to teach others. So you see, life actually IS fair.

By DeBúrca obj on 09/24/2008 1:29 pm

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That is quite an interesting take on the subject. Makes sense to me! But I must add that I can’t help but hope “bad Karma” exists for certain members of our federal government, heh.

By Kryssi K on 09/24/2008 9:42 pm

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Or to make it even easier… The way we treat others often puts us in the company of “like” people/attitudes. If they would do it to others… why not to you ? For your own protection, It is far easier to watch that group from the outside.

By Mary NSB-Florida on 09/24/2008 7:51 am

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Absolutely , I have no doubt. I have too many experiences in my life to ever doubt.

By Jeannot Kensinger on 09/24/2008 7:53 am

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As we sow, we reap somewhere and sometime, in his life or in a future birth. What we reap today is what we have sown either in the present or in the past. The Samyutta Nikaya states: “According to the seed that’s sown, So is the fruit you reap there from, Doer of good will gather good, Doer of evil, evil reaps, Down is the seed and thou shalt taste The fruit thereof.” Karma is a law in itself, which operates in its own field without the intervention of any external, independent ruling agency. Googled this as it describes what I feel and know

By Jeannot Kensinger on 09/24/2008 7:59 am

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Oh, yes…what goes around comes around. I had an experience that really drove that home.

By thatsoutherngirl k on 09/24/2008 8:19 am

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Maybe not in this lifetime, maybe not even in the next, but your karma bill always comes due…

By Lorraine Bates on 09/24/2008 8:41 am

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I agree!! You reap what you sow and sow what ou reap…. We should ask oursleves deep within… ” How do we wish to live our remaining days” ?…. much love and light, Laura

By Laura Sanchez on 10/16/2008 6:05 pm

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” Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”. Your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind. Something that you say which means everything that happens to you is a result of your own actions. “What goes around, comes around.” Like begets like. The idea that we reap what we sow is more than a cute saying or worthwhile principle. It is an immutable law of nature with as much force as the law of gravity. We ignore this law at our own risk. In ancient times, most people had a clear understanding of the law because of their agrarian experience. By observation they learned the following facts.~Chuck Gallozzi

By Jennifer Dooley on 09/24/2008 9:24 am