Is karma real or just used to guilt people?

I don't think so. I've done some pretty bad things and gotten away with them scot-free, and have gotten instant comeuppance too. I've also done good things and received no benefit (not that there needs to be one of course), and sometimes things do improve for me. I think it's all random. I don't believe in fate, I do believe in luck, though I think it's an intrinsic quality you have and not affected by lucky charms, superstitions, etc.

joeshmoe1600 wrote:

I don't think so. I've done some pretty bad things and gotten away with them scot-free, and have gotten instant comeuppance too. I've also done good things and received no benefit (not that there needs to be one of course), and sometimes things do improve for me. I think it's all random. I don't believe in fate, I do believe in luck, though I think it's an intrinsic quality you have and not affected by lucky charms, superstitions, etc.

Tell us some of the bad things you've done so we can judge whether they are worthy of karma.

Of course it is real. All of the people who mooch off of the Government will be forever unhappy. They will never be fulfilled. All of the people who demand that the Government forgive their student loans will be forever unhappy.

Well bad people encounter bad outcomes more often because they put themselves in bad situations. Things happen for a reason. Sure some aspects of life you can not control. The people who died in 911 had no control over a plane crashing unknowingly. But you can control what you do next, no matter what happens to you (unless you are dead).

With regard to thoughts, you have all the power over your thoughts. Sure it is easy to feel as if you dont if your mind is your enemy, but you can reprogram your brain anytime--although for a lof of people it would take therapy because it is difficult to reprogram ones brain.

There's no such thing as Karma or the power of prayer... it's just the people like to think that events are connected when they are not.

You are rude to someone, then on the way home you get a flat tire. Karma? Meaning the heavens conspired and decided that was the appropriate punishment for being rude, or maybe it was just an unfortunate event that comes from operating a motor vehicle.

No, of course not. First is the misguided idea that there is a universal good or bad (or truth versus untruth, if you like). If there really isn't universal good (as observed from any viewpoint), then you can't really have a "mechanism" for getting more good if you do good, or more evil if you do evil.

The more obvious answer to this is that of course if you "live by the sword", you are more likely to "die by the sword" as opposed to a person that spends their time helping someone, for example.

Humans are not good at intuitively understanding large numbers and probability, so they think if something unusual happens, then there must have been a cause (some might say karma, some might say will of god, etc). But really, it's just a coincidence.

YOUR individual odds of winning powerball tonight are extremely low. But over all states, the chances that someone will win is just shy of a certainty. So to the winner, it seems like a miracle, but in another viewpoint, it was a given.

It's mindset. If you're optimistic and outward-looking you'll grab more opportunities. If you're miserable and pessimistic, you won't

Karma is created by any action good or bad, but there are many schools of thought which suggest that accumulating ANY karma is undesirable. It ties us to the cycle of reincarnation.

In order to achieve enlightenment one must eliminate the karmic burden.

Most of the time it seems to be brought up by miserable and spiteful people, as in “karma is a b*tch”. Actively delighting in the misery of others is just a wretched thing to do.

It isn’t really a simple cause-and-effect sort of thing, and certainly nothing you think could possibly affect your karmic burden. Thoughts are maya. Only actions matter.

Karma is real

https://youtu.be/QVxxaj1j9nE?t=32

Star wrote:

Karma is real

https://youtu.be/QVxxaj1j9nE?t=32

Jeez, the total lack of class or brain cells on that guy is remarkable

Guilt is one form of karma.

Hives is another.

People have different definitions of karma.. but regarding the big stuff. I do believe in karma.

I kind of look at Karma like I do heaven and hell. I don't believe in heaven and hell as an afterlife, that's just too ridiculous. Heaven and hell exists now, while you're alive. It's the result of how you live your life. I think Karma in the same way. An example: I knew this guy who was a rip-off artist and he spent his days worrying that people were out to rip him off. I've never ripped anyone off and never worry about being ripped off. That's my simple-minded view of Karma.