What Is Karma In Buddhism?

Karma stands as one of Buddhism's most intricate and often misunderstood concepts. Here, we aim to illuminate its essence! Originating from Sanskrit, karma translates to "action." Broadly speaking, karma encompasses the actions that naturally arise from our thoughts and emotions.

In Buddhism, karma involves the impulses driven by deep-seated desires and attachments, influencing how we perceive, contemplate, and behave towards phenomena. Over time, these actions solidify into habits, either strengthened through repetition or weakened by opposing forces. Traditional Buddhist teachings on karma primarily emphasize four key aspects: causality, the habitual impulses themselves (karma), actions propelled by these impulses, and the subsequent effects or outcomes of those actions.

Buddhism's Principle of Cause and Effect

The principle of cause and effect forms the fundamental basis of karma. It asserts that every effect has a specific cause, and certain causes inevitably lead to specific effects. For instance, a barley seed will always produce barley and not any other type of plant like rice.

In the realm of karmic or behavioral cause and effect, virtuous or beneficial actions result in happiness, whereas non-virtuous or harmful actions lead to suffering. Traditional texts elaborating on karmic cause and effect extensively discuss various types of causes, conditions, and their resulting effects, elucidating how all phenomena arise and exist. This perspective extends beyond the scope of karma to encompass a comprehensive understanding of existence itself.

According to Buddhism, our experiences and actions are determined by our karmic imprints, combined with the immediate circumstances we encounter. For example, when our eye consciousness perceives someone we find attractive (the immediate condition), we experience a perception of their beauty, a pleasant feeling, and a karmic impulse that compels us to think about them or engage with them verbally or physically. This karmic impulse can be understood, for now, as a habitual tendency or compulsion.

Typically, we tend to think, "That person made me angry!" or "I am in love," attributing emotions to some independent "I" that seems separate from the object of our emotions—detached from the entire process. However, our sense of self is merely a construct based on various causes and conditions such as our body, emotions, desires, perceptions, and consciousness.

Viewing our experiences through the lens of behavioral cause and effect can help loosen the grip of strong self-identification, which fuels both our pride and self-criticism (another form of self-absorption). This perspective might lead some to believe that karma operates deterministically and that we lack control over our lives.

A thorough examination of cause and effect leads us to grasp the fundamental concept that nothing exists independently; everything depends on causes and conditions. This principle is elucidated further in Mahayana teachings on emptiness.

Karma and Karma Actions

As mentioned earlier, "karma" translates to action and is typically discussed in terms of actions and their consequences. Specifically, karma is considered a mental factor defined as an impulse that motivates one to think, speak, or act. Therefore, karma is the urge or compulsion that impels us to engage in actions, whether we do so consciously or not—it is not the actions themselves. In Buddhist texts, there are 51 mental factors described, and this urge is one of five that accompanies every consciousness.

What are Karma Actions?

Every instance of consciousness involves perceiving an object with a feeling of happiness, displeasure, or neutrality, an urge to think or act in response to the object, contact with the object, and attentiveness to it. This urge, known as karma, is a mental factor that directs one to think or act in relation to the object being focused upon. Whenever we engage in any form of activity—whether it’s thinking, speaking, or physically acting—there is an underlying urge that drives us. Unlike intention, which involves deliberate thought, this urge is more of a compulsive and habitual impulse.

For example, imagine sitting on the couch with the intention to get up and fetch a glass of water. Despite intending to do so, you might remain seated until the karmic urge compels you to finally get up and go. Intentions are akin to thoughts, whereas karma manifests as a compelling, ingrained urge.

These urges can sometimes conflict with our intentions. For instance, we may intend to remain patient with someone, yet the force of our ingrained karmic urges may cause us to continue harboring feelings of anger towards them. This urge towards anger represents a "mental karma," as it steers us towards the mental action of becoming angry.

Apart from mental karma, there are also physical and verbal karma. Just like mental karma, these factors compel one to act physically or verbally. For instance, if a karmic urge towards anger prompts someone to physically strike another person, that action would be considered a physical karma.

How is Karma Formed?

In Buddhism, for a karmic action to be considered "complete," four essential factors must be present: a basis, motivation, application, and successful culmination of the intended action. Let's illustrate these factors using the example of telling a lie. The basis is the person we intend to deceive, the motivation includes the intention and desire to deceive them, the application involves actually speaking the untruth, and the action achieves success if the person believes our falsehood.

Let's delve deeper into each of these factors:

1. Basis: This involves the mental factor of recognition or decisiveness, which clearly identifies the object or person towards whom our thought or action is directed. For instance, deciding, "I want to eat this rather than that."

2. Motivation: This encompasses the intention to think or act, accompanied by an emotional state that can be virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral. For example, intending to eat something could stem from a neutral compulsion or an excited desire to dine at a newly recommended restaurant. This intention must persist until the action is completed; otherwise, circumstances might change, altering our intentions.

3. Application: Refers to the execution of our intention, putting it into action. Even the terminology emphasizes the importance of intention. Instead of merely emphasizing "the action," Buddhism places primary importance on the intention behind the action.

4. Successful Completion: This is crucial. What defines successful completion? In the case of lying, it means that the person believes our deception. However, if they do not believe us, then our act of lying fails to deceive, and thus transforms into mere intention without successful deception. These distinctions in the outcomes of lying highlight varying effects: successful deceit potentially reinforces future dishonesty, while being caught may lead to guilt, self-reflection, and a reluctance to lie again.

Our attitude towards the "successfully completed action" significantly impacts the strength of its influence on our habitual patterns. If we regret completing the action, it weakens the karmic force that might compel us to repeat it. Conversely, feeling pride or satisfaction strengthens the habitual urge to repeat such actions.

Understanding these nuances helps in comprehending how karma shapes our behavior and how our reactions to our actions influence our future conduct.

Karma Principle

Small actions can yield significant results, much like a small spark can ignite a vast forest fire. Therefore, we should not underestimate the impact of small positive thoughts and actions, nor should we overlook the consequences of negative thoughts and actions, as they can lead to either tremendous benefit or destructive outcomes.

Karmic results are not contagious like germs—they are personal experiences that only we ourselves will undergo. This means we cannot transfer our karma to others, nor can others transfer theirs to us. The Buddha himself emphasized that even he could not simply erase or alleviate our karma or suffering; overcoming them requires diligent practice on the path. Therefore, relying on external remedies like special crystals or sound therapy won't resolve karmic issues either.

We do not encounter the consequences of actions we did not commit. This principle offers perspective during challenging times. For instance, when Tibetan people faced unjust imprisonment by the Chinese government, some interpreted it as an opportunity to purify past karma accrued from previous lives where they might have unjustly harmed others. Conversely, the guards assuming such roles were seen as taking on their own karmic burdens.

Karmic actions do not dissipate on their own—they either manifest as their results or require purification through specific practices. This underscores the importance of understanding and actively addressing our actions' consequences, whether through accepting their outcomes or engaging in practices aimed at cleansing and transformation.

Wrapping Up

Karma drives us relentlessly through the cycle of samsara, from one lifetime to the next. To break free from this cycle completely, we must transcend all forms of karma, including the positive. However, it's essential to maintain honesty and realism about our spiritual progress. If we haven't directly realized the truth of emptiness, our focus should remain on abandoning negativity and cultivating virtuous habits and actions. This ongoing effort gradually creates the conditions necessary for a clearer perception of reality, bringing us closer to ultimate truth.