Okay, so I'm delving into the spiritual side of life in today's post. An empty house and a restless mind has led me to ponder the mind-boggling subject of Karma. I have always had a gut feeling that when someone is a truely "good" person, life will eventually reward them. With what? I'm not sure, but I want to believe that when life throws you obstacles and you react with strength and integrity, life will reward you with happiness. In Buddhist terms, the theory of Karma is defined as the law of moral causation.
As Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw states,
"According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture", but also to Karma. In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery. We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate."
I think that Karma is a great theory to live by. I want to believe it entirely, but there is still a tiny bit of doubt that remains in my mind.....because obviously, good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. But is it that simple?
I want to know your thoughts on this subject...
I believe that it has more to do about God and Satan. God created us all including Lucifer with free will, to make our own choices. But God did not create sin or cause bad things to happen. He has to prove to everyone including Lucifer that when he comes back and rides the earth of Lucifer that he is just and fair. or else none of us would love him, but we would fear him. the bible says that God will not let us be tempted (or get in a situation) more than we can bare. We just have to rely on him. Lucifer makes bad things happen to try and sway us from God. Like the question i hear all the time; "If God was really there and cared about me, why did he let this happen?" If we stay true to God and the 'moral values' that he created us to be able to live healthier lives, than he rewards us.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! After thinking about it, I realized that what you described is very similar to the theory of karma, just involving the beliefs of Christianity. "What goes around comes around" isn't just limited to the Buddhist religion. Christians believe that God will reward you if you act morally, which is similar to what Buddhists believe, that the universe will reward you if you act morally. MANY other religions follow the theory of "what goes around comes around" in their own ways. I think that realizing this actually helps to break down the borders between different religons and shows that despite their different histories, worship styles, and spiritual figures, many religons of the world are actually very similar when it comes to the importance of living your life as a good, moral person.
I like the idea of Karma, I really do. I can appreciate the boomerang effect and I'm happy that it works out that way sometimes. Unfortunately, it doesn't always, and that is when I am eternally grateful for the Judeo Christian philosophy. You see the big difference between Christianity and other religions is that Christianity ISN'T about being good, it's about being forgiven. Christianity acknowledges that all have sinned and fallen short and all sins are equal in the eyes of God. Other religions all have varying shades of right and wrong. Most of us understand that sometimes we can be jerks; that we will not always do the right thing every time. The bible teaches that sin is absolute. Therefore, you can spend your whole life trying to do the right thing to make up for that one time you screwed up, but it still wouldn't be enough. Luckily God made it really easy for us by sending His Son, who actually was without sin, as atonement for us. The penalty for sin is death, but Jesus Christ already paid the penalty. This is really neat because it means all we have to do is acknowledge Christ's sacrifice, repent of our sins, and accept Him as our savior. It's so simple because it covers everything and we never have to worry about measuring up again. To me this is a good thing because despite my best intentions, I often times end up saying or doing the wrong thing and hurting someone. So you may wonder... if Christ has it covered, then why bother trying at all? It's a funny thing. You can spend your whole life trying to change other people, or you can accept that the only person you can really control is yourself. You can be mad about this and go around trying to punish other people for not seeing eye-to-eye, or you can not let other people's behavior dictate your own, and instead decide to "take the higher ground" and do the right thing. This isn't always easy, which is why a lot of times we fail. BUT, it is worth the effort because ultimately it makes us feel good to follow our God-given conscience. God sees our efforts and blesses them. I believe this is true regardless of whether you consider yourself a Christian or not. I don't think blessings and curses are exclusively dependant on our relationship with God. He's crazy about us, all of us, and delights in us but, like a parent, He doesn't stop loving some of us just because we're not doing what's best for us. Every other religion is reliant on works. You screw up, you're cut off. Not so with God, and I find that very refreshing. "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." - Romans 6:14 The book of Romans is very insightful on all of this, but I find Romans chapter 3 to be particularly relevant to the topic at hand. We shouldn't do the right thing because of what it will get us in return, we should do the right thing because it IS the right thing. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteRisa,
ReplyDeleteThe part of your response sums up a lot of my confusion with the theory of charma and the people that follow it. Obviously, there are people who only perform good acts because they want to be rewarded in return and others who perform good acts because it's the right thing to do. But what about those people who act morally and perform good acts because it's the right thing to do who AREN'T Christians? Don't those people deserve, just as much, to be blessed in their lives too?
Yes! I do think anyone who does the right thing should be rewarded for it. Not so much because we deserve it, because I think humans are in large part selfish beings who don't deserve much of anything... But I do think that God is a gracious God, knows how hard it is, sees our efforts, and wants to reward us for them. Christians believe God created everyone, good, bad, and indifferent. That's why I said that "I don't think blessings and curses are exclusively dependent on our relationship with God." Meaning just because a person may choose not to acknowledge GOD's existence doesn't mean that God denies THEIR existence and the blessings that come along with following a moral code. So yes, regardless of who or what you choose to believe in, we are all equally deserving (or undeserving) of the blessings that we are given in life... And we are truly blessed, because even life itself isn't guaranteed. We came into the world with nothing, so I think that anything beyond that could and should be considered a blessing. The minute a person slips into a "but I deserve..." mindset is the minute that everything could just as easily be taken away. It is best to live as though you deserve nothing but have graciously been entrusted with much.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you worded your very last sentence there! You simplified what I was trying to put into words earlier, but couldn't quite explain the right way. We have to not think of ourselves as any better or any worse than other people and instead humbley focus on life as a gift, each and every human being a part of that gift.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteI believe in Spirttuality and morality more than anything. and karma plays a big part in all of that. i dont think that because someone doesnt live strait by the bible they wil go to hell. the bible was mainly a book written by man to control man. This all wraps up into the secret too. if you havent read of seen it you should. its all talking about god, but in a different perspective theres a photo id like you to see its on my myspace about sexuailty and god, but i dont know how to post it here. check it out sometime :)
ReplyDelete