B00meRanG

For awhile now I have had the concept of Karma on my mind. It has come up in my thoughts on numerous occasions especially those involving pain or disappointment, this concept as well as the problem of evil and the existence of God, a topic discussed in a philosophy course I took awhile back. I felt that i should write about this to see if I could get some feedback from the public. I didnt know where to begin because my thoughts as they most of the time are, were cloudy and for the lack of better wording simply floating around in my head. So like any other person born in this internet induced age I googled Karma to give me a little information about it before addressing and audience because we all know there is nothing worse than someone who misinforms the public.

Karma by definition according to Thanissaro Bhikkhu 'functions ike fate — bad fate, at that: an inexplicable, unchangeable force coming out of our past, for which we are somehow vaguely responsible and powerless to fight.' According to this definition karma is our bad fate which we can't avoid because from prior actions in life we are somehow responsible for whatever wickedness befalls us. If this is true who is responsible for all the good things that happen to us in life? If it is true that God is all knowing and all powerful is Karma his way of punishing us? Even if the last statement is true if God were all PKG(powerful, knowing and good) why would he even allow humans to suffer or experience death, pain, hunger anything....??? Would a God who did these things be considered evil? I ask that you please do not misconstrue my words and for one second believe that I am in anyway doubting the existence of God, I am simply questioning the two concepts mentioned at the opening of this blog.

Let me explain. I have grown up around strong black women my entire life and i have observed every aspect of their lives and the conclusion i have drawn is that for the most part they believe in karma but through God. You would never hear them say "that's karma" however you would hear them exclaim "that's God testing you". Take for example my mother. My mother has been with my father since she was sixteen and all us(my two sisters and I) were born out of wedlock. My mother has been physically abused by my father for as long as I can remember(i will go in further detail on another blog) but she feels the abuse and pain she suffered over the years is her punishment for disobeying her mother when she was young and having sex without being married. To some this may sound obsurb but I have heard her say this more than once so it is obviously something she believes strongly about. My question is, should we base everything that bad that has happened to us on a past decision that went foul? If we were to do this would we ever truly be living? Then again i guess that's why the Bible speaks of humans having a conscience and putting that conscience to use. That little voice inside our head that helps us make decisions or in movies the angel and the devil sitting on either shoulder.

Bhikkhu goes on to say, 'I guess it's just my karma," I've heard people sigh when bad fortune strikes with such force that they see no alternative to resigned acceptance. The fatalism implicit in this statement is one reason why so many of us are repelled by the concept of karma, for it sounds like the kind of callous myth-making that can justify almost any kind of suffering or injustice in the status quo: "If he's poor, it's because of his karma." "If she's been raped, it's because of her karma." From this it seems a short step to saying that he or she deserves to suffer, and so doesn't deserve our help."

The above paragraph helps to further explain the concept of karma that is associated with American society. People tend to want to justify why a person is in a certain condition or why someone is suffering. They want to believe that if someone is robbed that now or in a past life that person may have taken something of grave importance from another. As humans we yearn for answers to things we don't understand and karma seems to fill that void because not knowing or not having anything to blame would drive us insane.

So now I ask who/what is responsible for your actions? Do you take pride in decisions you make no matter how big or small? Do u feel that an all PKG God would allow suffering? Is karma real or is it just a Buddist concept misconstrued by western thinking?