Karma

This chapter examines karma. Karma, most literally, means action. Initially, it meant very specific ritual actions to bring about certain results. Later, the meaning of the term expanded and started to refer to all actions. Not only that, it is also used to refer to the effects of an individual’s actions and the connections between their actions and those effects. Given this basic idea of karma, it is important to highlight what it is not. People sometimes talk about the “law of karma.” People think of laws as having a lawmaker and an enforcer. However, karma is not like that—there is nobody writing the law and making sure it is enforced. In this sense, it is more like the law of gravity—it is a regularity in the way the world is; nobody has to write or enforce it. Moreover, karma is not some form of cosmic justice; it need not be about deserving the effects. Karma is not fate as well. The Buddha is clear that not all events are determined by karma.