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Shaylor

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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:25 pm

Is karma universal? Does one have bad or good karma even if they do not beleive in karma at all? Because if one is in the cycle then they would surely must know about/beleive in karma but not everyone does.

I just started to read a book about basic Buddhism and I have all of these questions that really are trivial but I need to know! Because it is driving me craaaaazy!!!!!

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:56 pm

I'd assume it's universal, yes. Not knowing about something doesn't mean something can't affect you...
However you should probably wait til someone who knows more answers

xsparkledovex
Crew

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Akanishi Makoto
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:17 am

If you never knew of anything such as gravity or sunlight, would they not affect you?

Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:44 am

Oh, I got it right then

xsparkledovex
Crew

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Sleepy Gene

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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:26 am

Akanishi Makoto

If you never knew of anything such as gravity or sunlight, would they not affect you?

A very nice way of putting things.

Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 2:20 pm

Maybe i should restate my question...with another question. And from this I will probably have others.

So if all people are in the karma cycle, then why do they not realize it?

Thanks for your patience. I feel really ignorant right now.

Shaylor

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Zoutout

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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:10 am

I think many of them do - but they realise it slightly differently.

In Buddhism Karma can influence your reincarnation, or it can influence your actual life.

It seems to be a general rule with many people (and religions) that "What goes around comes around."
If you do something "bad", then something "bad" will happen back to you.
Religions generally seem to tech "Do what would make you a 'good' person in society, and good concequences will follow."
I feel like i should say that the Bible does say "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

To me, this seems to basically be karma, just without the reincarnation aspect.

Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:45 pm

Zoutout

I think many of them do - but they realise it slightly differently.

In Buddhism Karma can influence your reincarnation, or it can influence your actual life.

It seems to be a general rule with many people (and religions) that "What goes around comes around."
If you do something "bad", then something "bad" will happen back to you.
Religions generally seem to tech "Do what would make you a 'good' person in society, and good concequences will follow."
I feel like i should say that the Bible does say "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

To me, this seems to basically be karma, just without the reincarnation aspect.

Yes, that is true. So like, they have karma but it just happens within one lifetime.

Thanks, my head is a tab bit clearer now smile .

Shaylor

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Isabella Lantaraana

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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:42 pm

Akanishi Makoto

If you never knew of anything such as gravity or sunlight, would they not affect you?

just because you dont know of something, doesnt mean its not there. at least i think so anyways.

Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:54 am

Shaylor

Maybe i should restate my question...with another question. And from this I will probably have others.

So if all people are in the karma cycle, then why do they not realize it?

Thanks for your patience. I feel really ignorant right now.

A small fish once came up to a large fish and asked, "I often hear others talking about the sea, but what is the sea?".
The big fish replied, "All around you is the sea."

"Then why can't I see it?"

"You live move and have your being in the sea. The sea is within as well as outside you. The sea gave you life and at death you return to the source. The sea surrounds you as your own being."

You see, Shaylor, Fishes live in rivers and lakes and are not aware of it. Humans live in the realm of Tao and are oblivious of it. People live in the sea of Zen, yet do not know the nature of Zen.

Akanishi Makoto
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Athena_Ritashe

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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:18 pm

The thing about karma I don't like is that if you think about it the wrong way it suggest that if something bad happens to good people they did something to deserve it.

One time I had a friend that got $300 stolen from her when she left her purse out in the open. The next week she got $75 pickpocketed from her. She cried and asked what did she do to make god punish her like that.

I told her she did nothing wrong, there were just greedy people out there that took advantage of a vulnerable situation.

I see the world as an interaction between good people and bad people, and karma is the energy that results from that interaction.

Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:35 am

Athena, that is an interesting story but was it God who punished her or just bad karma? And I don't think I could see the world as an interaction between good people and bad people. There is good and bad in all of us, and the people who are in the grey areas between good and bad. Good things happen to bad people just as much as bad things happen to good people.

mages_shade

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