28 March 2022

What is Karma?

The word karma, in its Sanskrit translation, simply means "action". In the Western context, it is often used to refer to fate or fortune. However, the Buddha explicitly mentioned that this was not its real meaning.

Karma refers to the natural law that describes the workings of cause and effect. Each action is defined by a series of previous actions that are interdependent –  each action triggers a multitude of subsequent actions. It is the impersonal play of cause and effect that is continuous, inexorable and completely dispassionate.

"As soon as there is dependent arising, there is cause and effect. Once there is cause and effect, our actions have effects."

— Jeffrey Hopkins

People act through three outlets: body, speech and mind. The effects of physical action are obvious, because even a small deed can have enormous consequences. It is also possible to see clearly whether words have a healing or a hurtful effect. Understanding that the mind’s intention also has an effect – even if no words are uttered or actions committed– is harder to grasp and requires a more subtle understanding of how the mind works, and what the causes that create happiness and suffering are.

Intention and Karma

A thought like, "There's a mosquito lying on my arm," does not imply a particularly emotional state. "I want to kill it!"  implies aversion.  If I really kill the mosquito, it would strongly reinforce the karmic effects of aversion that would create a stronger karmic imprint.

Even if I think of a homeless person, that is only the content of my thoughts. The intention accompanying this thought could be compassionate  –hoping that the person will find a place to be warm in the winter– or cruel, hoping that the person will freeze to death in the cold.

"Whatever a person often thinks and ponders about, that becomes the tendency of the mind. If a person's thinking is frequently permeated with evil will, his mind becomes hidden by that thinking permeated with evil will."

— Majjhima Nikaya, 19

Hence, the actions of the mind are driven by an intention. If we are inclined to anger, we will feel angry and act accordingly, creating even more anger. If our intention is kind and we act accordingly, we will generate all the more kindness.

The idea of karma is often easily distorted by a fatalistic interpretation. But the fact that difficult and painful situations we experience are due to past actions does not mean that we cannot work to alleviate them now and in the future. This is because karma includes, on the one hand, past actions that shape the present and, on the other, present intentions and actions that shape the future.

Therefore, if we act out of kindness, compassion and generosity, we make ourselves a person who is kind, compassionate and generous. We shape our character. This in turn has a positive effect on the world around us.

Ignorance and Karma

In the context of the Buddhist teachings, ignorance refers to the profound misunderstanding that taints our experience of reality. Out of this misunderstanding, we take the appearances of phenomena as truly existing, on a permanent and independent basis.

In the Buddhist context we often hear that ignorance creates karma. But what does this mean?

I have thought about this frequently and could not really find an answer for a long time, until the time when I spoke regularly on the phone with a friend from Singapore because of a seminar. On the third day of our daily video call, she said, "You wear the same clothes every day. Do you shower at all?"

At first, I was speechless; then, I felt a little sting of hurt, and then I thought, "Isn't this a karmic trace created by ignorance?" I could see daily in the video that she was wearing a different T-shirt in hot Singapore. I, too, wore a different, freshly washed jumper every day, but since it was winter in Europe, I put on the same warming cardigan over it every day before sitting down to talk on the phone in the cool room.

"If you want to know your past life, look at your present circumstances; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions."

— Padmasambhava

As I did not suspect my friend of having any hurtful intent behind her words, I quickly overcame my initial surprise and vulnerability. Nor did I feel any need to elaborate on the subject, especially as her words held a valuable experience for me. But the experience also illustrated how careless, ignorant words can easily become hurtful and how important it is to be mindful of one’s own thoughts and words.

Dependent Origination and Karma

Karma finds its full expression within the second Noble Truth as taught by the Buddha:

“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of suffering: the craving that makes for further becoming – craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming. “

— The Buddha

In this sense, all phenomena are the outcome of the coming together of causes and conditions in a constant dependent origination, based on the tendency to grasp what is pleasurable and to avert what is dislikable. 

Ignorance is one of the twelve links that make up the law of dependent origination and is at the origin of dependent arising. The doctrine of causal interdependence describes the law of nature, which finds expression in the natural course of things and in the constant succession of life, death and rebirth. All facets of the natural order are interconnected and cannot be separated from each other.

Once we develop a deep understanding of the law of cause and effect and realize that every single action has a specific consequence, we can be more conscientious in everything we think, say and do. Further, realizing that wholesome actions inevitably lead to happiness and unwholesome ones to suffering, we can become more mindful of our thoughts and emotions and develop a wider perspective about our own overall behaviour.

Individual and collective Karma

The late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh was once asked: "Why do human beings have different karma?" And he replied, "Are you sure?"

For example, when we come together for a retreat, we meditate together in a collective action. The meditation, being and sharing together, is beneficial for us and for the community. Yet, individuals may also be recognizable within a community. There are those who act more compassionately than others. Some can let go of their worries or grief quickly, others take longer. Every karma, whether individual or collective, affects the whole.

"There is no absolute individuality, just as there is no absolute totality. That is the truth. Every karma affects us. Therefore, our actions, our karma, are neither the same nor different."

—Thich Nhat Hanh

Karma is both simple and complex. Like all Buddhist teachings, it is not taught to discourage students but to inspire them. In its simplest form, it has a threefold logic: What is my situation? How did I get here? What am I going to do about it?

The causes and conditions that have brought us to our present situation are complex, even unfathomable, and there is nothing we can do about them. It is our inherited karma. But this inheritance does not prevent us from making decisions now that can have a positive impact on the future. If we become aware of the nature of our actions through mindfulness, we can actually change our karma, we can start sowing now the seeds that will create further happiness and reduce suffering. Karma is a profound teaching that is worth paying close attention to. Good luck!

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 Intrigued by what karma means and how to start taking more responsibility for your own life? Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche, will give ample explanations during the course of a weekend at Landguet Ried, Center for mindful living. Check it out here >

Therese Pechstein works as an online editor for a media analysis company. She has been travelling the countries of Asia for more than twenty years and has been practising Vipassana meditation intensively under her Laotian master Mae Phra Thongkeo for ten years. She has been supporting Landguet Ried since 2019.