Why do people believe in karma

[RedLantern]

Karma explains aspects of life that are otherwise hard to explain.Karma gives an explanation as to why different people get different deals in life.Some have a hard life while being very kind.
But if it isn't, karma is the only explanation that makes sense.If the cause of misery is karma,wealth and poverty,sickness and health,wisdom and stupidity are all ultimately the responsibility of each person themselves.Whats more,if we help  others,that will come back to us.Helping others become the ultimate blessings.Helping someone else become a better person the person helping will get their reward.Good karma is ultimately not about being wealthy and get the chance to dress up in the fancy clothes.Good karma means the chance to grow wisdom and get more and more chances to help and bless humanity.
We each need to visualized happiness in order to get it.the doctrine of Karma means that happiness can only come to us,when we make the effort to try and make others happy.

[rossoneri]

If we don’t know about karma our life is a total hallucination. If we don’t understand about true suffering and its cause, about the four noble truths, about how we are creating the causes every moment to be reborn in the unbearable suffering of the lower realms, then we are living in a complete fantasy. We believe we are making ourselves happy while all the while creating the causes for suffering. We are always hoping for happiness and satisfaction but because the method is completely wrong and we follow ignorance, anger and attachment to get what we want, we always ending up with suffering.

Perhaps we believe we are happy. We have many friends, a healthy body, many bright, shiny sense objects as possessions, but these appearances can stop in the snap of the fingers. Then what? That all depends on karma, and being completely trapped in the hallucination of this life, caught up only in gaining pleasure in this life, being completely unaware of karma, there is very little chance what happens next will be good.

[diamond girl]

Because they fear suffering and death... It is to me that simple... And because we all fear death and suffering, by believing in Karma we find the liberation to live life to the fullest so that when the inevitable comes we have no regrets and nothing to be grasping about.

[Amitabha]

"When I was a young man, near the beginning of my life, I looked around with true mindfulness and saw that all things are subject to decay. Thus all things are subject to death, sorrow and suffering. I became aware that I too was of the same nature, the nature of beginning and end. What if I searched for that which underlies all creation, that which is nirvana, the perfect freedom from unconditioned existence?"

"After much seeking for truth and knowledge the profoundness of reality came to me with a clarity never before known. I knew that most people never see this reality because they attach to the material aspect of the world. Illusions of self and other fill their vision. I also realized there are those with little dust limiting their vision."

- The Buddha

1. Birth
Physical pain suffered by the infants, which also impels all the other sufferings. Birth in this sense is the gateway to other physical sufferings.

2. Aging 
Being old, one is not able to work, to think, to function, and becomes ugly and sometimes depressed.

3. Sickness
Very few can avoid suffering from sickness.

4. Death
Nearly all human beings are afraid of death.
These sufferings are inevitable parts of our lives. It is the law of nature, governed by the Principle of Cause and Effect.
On the mental side:

 5. Suffering of separation from the loved ones.

6. Suffering of contact with the hated ones.

7. Suffering of frustrated and non-practical desire

8. Suffering of the illness of Five Skandhas.

By understanding the cause of suffering, we can solve the problem of suffering. The Buddha has indicated that craving or desire (Trishna or Raga) is the great cause of suffering.

People crave for pleasant experience, material things, and eternal life or eternal death. It is said that trying to satisfy one's desire for pleasant experience is like drinking salt water when one is thirsty. It is also said that the desire to acquire material things is involved with three major sufferings or problems: (1) the problem of getting it, (2) the problem of protecting it, (3) the problem and suffering of losing it, because sooner or later, they will fall apart.

Craving for existence of eternal life is a cause of suffering. Craving for life causes us to be born again and again. On the other end, craving for non-existence or eternal death is also a cause of suffering. This expresses itself in nihilism and in suicide.

The foundation of craving is ignorance, which is not seeing things as they really are, or failing to understand the reality of experience or the reality of life.

 Ignorance is the primary cause, while the Three Poisons, i.e. desire, hatred and illusion are the secondary causes.

Taking the self as real, supposed to be one of our greatest ignorance, is the fundamental cause of suffering. It will be elaborated later in Three Universal Truths (or Three Seals).

[icy]

Let us discuss true sources of suffering. The fact that sufferings are not always produced but are produced in some places at some times and cease at some times and in some places indicates that they are caused. Logically, it can be said that sufferings are caused because of being produced occasionally. If sufferings were produced causelessly, either they would never exist or they would always exist.
Since sufferings are caused, one needs to look into what their causes are. In the Buddhist systems, the causes are explained to be contaminated actions and afflictive emotions....

For instance, if I had an angry feeling, this could serve as a motivating force that would lead to a harsh attitude, harsh speech, and harsh physical gestures. Since the anger that serves as the motivating factor is a defIlement--an afflictive emotion--the physical and verbal actions done through that motivating force are negative karmas, negative actions. Through them, the atmosphere immediately changes into one of tension. Right away, I might not feel the effects of those actions, perhaps even feeling that I had gained a victory over someone, even shouting, "I have won." However, later I will feel very sorry and shy, deep down experiencing a guilty conscience. Similarly, those around me would immediately lose their tranquility and peace. These are painful results of actions impelled by a bad motivation. This is the law of karma--motivation, action, result.

Conversely, a good, open, sincere motivation such as compassion with a deep respect for others impels verbal and physical actions that immediately create a peaceful, harmonious, enjoyable atmosphere. Due to that, I feel happy and calm, enjoying that atmosphere, and others around me also enjoy the same. Therefore, bad motivation creates problems, suffering, and pain, whereas good motivation creates happiness and peacefulness--something good.

This is the general explanation. On a deeper level, right at the time of an action, predisposing potencies are instilled in the consciousness. The performance of an action establishes a predisposing potency in the mind that, in the future, will serve as the causal condition for one's experiencing a good or bad effect.

[Tenzin K]

Simply said, if we chose to ignore the workings of karma, we tend to create many problems for ourselves.
For example, if we like to have something expensive, but we cannot afford it, it becomes very tempting to steal. If we are smart and attentive enough, we may never be caught stealing. However, by stealing, (according to the law of karma) we create problematic situations for ourselves in the future, like poverty, or being the victim of robbers. Therefore, if we chose to ignore karma, the results of our actions will still haunt us.

Every mainstream religion teaches us about the consequences of our actions. The explanations may differ, but does it really matter in the end whether the law of karma causes us trouble or God himself in his final judgement?

When we meet with big problems; disease, loss of family or friends, getting trapped in a war or natural
disaster. At those times, we suddenly wonder: "Why me?" The law of karma does not look for a reason outside ourselves for our good or bad fortune, it simply explains our own suffering as a result of our negative deeds towards others, and our happiness as a result of our actions to help others.

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Unknown source
Two of my personal favourite reasons to believe in karma, are that it represents ultimate justice as everyone will harvest the results of their actions, and even if karma would not exist, as long as I try to avoid negative actions, the world would be a better place to live in for everyone anyway.

Science itself comes with another argument for karma. In physics. like every other Western science, there is a direct causal relationship between action and reaction. It may be interesting to look at the next explanation of the four laws of karma and see how "scientific" it sounds.

As the Buddha taught:

"Do not think a small sin will not return in your future lives.
Just as falling drops of water will fill a large container,
The little sins that steadfast accumulate will completely overwhelm you.

Do not think a small virtue will not return in your future lives.
Just as falling drops of water will fill a large container,
The little virtues that steadfast accumulate will completely overwhelm you."

The Auspicious or Endless Knot (see image on the right) symbolises the nature of reality where everything is interrelated and only exists as part of a web of karma and its effect. (It can also be seen as an auspicious sign for long life, as it is endless.)

"I am the owner of my karma .
I inherit my karma.
I am born of my karma.
I am related to my karma.
I live supported by my karma.
Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil, that I shall inherit."
The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya V.57 - Upajjhatthana Sutta

[brian]

There's this saying that I always hear from people, "what comes around goes around". I think this is related to the word karma. Whatever we will get whatever fruit for whatever seeds we sow.

What made people believe in Karma is very much the fear element isn't it? Just imagine if this world no one actually believes in Karma, thinking karma never exists, it will be a havoc!

And of course through Buddha's teachings, the logics enable people to understand how the law of karma works and one can experience karma in their daily lives.

[pgdharma]

The reason why people believe in karma is that spirituality or a belief that virtue is rewarded and sin create suffering lead many to accept and believe in karma. Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward; karma simply deals with what is; cause and effect. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. If we accept that the basic ethical purpose of karma is to behave responsibly, and the tenet of karma is essentially "if you do good things, good things will happen to you — if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you” then we have to say that karma exists.  We are responsible for deciding whether to perform good deeds or bad and are therefore responsible for our fate.

[bambi]

I think the word is over used and often not well understood. Every other person I know thinks that karma only happen in this life and that everything is destined. One of them used to be me. I often ask why some people are born disabled and some super rich? If someone up there is just testing us and love us, why not apply the same to all? Then wouldn't it be wrong to punish some specific person? Then I asked why are people born rich because of bad karma? Then I found out its because of the ignorance and delusions caused by it. But being rich can also mean good karma if they use the wealth that they have for Dharma and helping people who needs it.

"Wherever we are born in any of the six realms—in the lowest, unimaginable suffering state of the narak realm, or in the highest, what’s called the point of samsara—all these realms are completely under the control of delusion and karma. There is not one single realm that is not formed by delusion and karma. This is the pervasive compounding suffering of our aggregates.

These aggregates that are formed and bound by delusion and karma are called the cycle of samsara. As long as we carry the burden of the aggregates bound by delusion and karma, we will circle in these six realms—in the lower realms or the upper realms. It’s as if we have a bare body and we are carrying a big burden of thorns that is tied to us with a rope—without wearing any clothes or gloves—and we are going on a beautiful path to a dirty place with lots of stones and bushes. We are going up and down the mountain, and there is no real happiness until we cut the rope that ties the thorns to us. We have no peace or happiness wherever we go, and we think, “Oh I have much pain, I want happiness.” Even if we go along a beautiful path, or we are on top of a mountain where there is a lot of snow and we come down and go into a beautiful apartment, we are carrying those heavy thorns.

It is like this in the six realms—the three upper realms of the happy transmigratory beings, and the three lower suffering realms—as long as we carry the burden of samsara, there is no way to experience happiness whose nature is not suffering. Delusion and karma are like the rope that ties us to this heavy load of thorns, causing much pain. If we cut this rope, we will find happiness. In order to attain nirvana—the release from samsara—we must break the rope of delusion and karma. This is the way to escape from samsara to nirvana.

As long as we don’t break the rope of delusion and karma, we continuously have to live with this heavy load of thorns. We always experience a lot of suffering and there is no happiness for us, if we don’t break the rope that ties us to samsara and these aggregates —wherever we travel, wherever we go and whatever country we live in."

[buddhalovely]

Simply said, if we chose to ignore the workings of karma, we tend to create many problems for ourselves.
For example, if we like to have something expensive, but we cannot afford it, it becomes very tempting to steal. If we are smart and attentive enough, we may never be caught stealing. However, by stealing, (according to the law of karma) we create problematic situations for ourselves in the future, like poverty, or being the victim of robbers. Therefore, if we chose to ignore karma, the results of our actions will still haunt us.

Every mainstream religion teaches us about the consequences of our actions. The explanations may differ, but does it really matter in the end whether the law of karma causes us trouble or God himself in his final judgement?

Two of my personal favourite reasons to believe in karma, are that it represents ultimate justice as everyone will harvest the results of their actions, and even if karma would not exist, as long as I try to avoid negative actions, the world would be a better place to live in for everyone anyway.

[fruven]

Most of the common understanding of the people around me, of the lack of, is karma will punish those who do bad things to other people and which they deserved it. Justice has been served. There is no mentioning of compassion, instead anger and revenge are the themes.

In certain cultures people are brought up in an environment in a surrounding, of 'knowing' about karma. When something untoward happens, the blame is put on karma, it is easier to accept the bad situation and moving on in life. No doubt they still feel the suffering, eg. in disappointment or lost of loved ones, but some do bounced back faster in life. It can a learning experience which become a positive or good motivator.

[Dondrup Shugden]

Once when I was in Shanghai a bright young man asked me why I believe in Karma.  I was unable to reply for a moment! Then I asked him, being only 33 years old, how often whether good or bad things or events happened to him and he asked himself why did he deserve it.

His answer was quite often, then I said when you cannot recall what bad things that you have done and yet something terrible happened then it is the ripening of some negative karma from previous lives.  And for something good, same reasons.

He was stumped for a moment and then decided that even when he did not recall past lives, the illustration makes sense.

Best of all, when we believe and understand Karma, when negativities ripen, we can avert it by doing something virtuous and vice versa.

It is one of the most empowering beliefs in Buddhism and it is also a tool for us to consider doing virtuous acts in this life as a good insurance to a better rebirth and not into the lower realms.

Karma is about knowing consciously what we need to do with this present life.

[Tenzin K]

Karma does explain everything that happens in our life. But it doesn’t stop there and we just sit and wait and experience our karma. If we believe what had happen to us is due to karma then we should believe that we can change our future karma by doing right from now! what happened now is due to previous action and how we want our future is depend on your action now. It make sense. Buddhism is also teaching us to work and prepare for our future lives not just for current life. Cause and effect is a guide for us to correct our action and conduct.

[MoMo]

Often in life we experience many ups and downs, when conditions are favorable to our liking we never give it any thought as though it was natural as our birth right for us to receive it. When things turn ugly and everything seem to be against our will, we scramble everywhere to look for it causes and ways to put a stop to it. Even one minute was too unbearable!! We can use all of our worldly wisdom and method to resolve these problems, sometime they works and most of the time it don’t given a very conclusive answer. When we checked what Lord Buddha expounded on the “Law of cause and effect”, things began to become sensible and logical for even peoples of lowest mental propensities to understand. All phenomena happened because of there was a cause and the right conditions for it and they’re impermanent too. For us to experience happiness and  conducive living conditions, we need to simply create the cause for it to happen. Similarly, suffering too, are impermanent too they will cease on their own accord when their supportive conditions failed to be, when we had done all we could to pacify their causes. In contrast to the other faith that claim that all phenomena are created by an all loving almighty or it was simply being reborn into certain caste, all these sounded very gloomy as nothing such we could do to change it as if everything was carve on stone.
Since all of us want happiness and avoid the slightest suffering, it was more uplifting to know about Karma and its’ effect because now we could takes all necessary responsibility to improve our situation.

[Kim Hyun Jae]

How do we convince a non-Buddhist student to believe in karma? Karma is action and action is created when there is a causal element and effect of the result. Then we created "karma" based on our cause and therefore experience the result of the cause. On this basis, most people would be able to understand this law of karma. There is always a reaction from an action. Even in chemical reaction, there will always be a reaction or result.

However, believing in karma may be acceptable to most but will the majority be convinced that their own bad luck was created from previous lives karma of the past? Most would chose to discount the fact they created their own adverse karma onto their current life and prefer to blame it elsewhere.