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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Niels115 (talk | contribs) at 04:27, 11 October 2014 (←Created page with '{{User sandbox}} <!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE --> Karma is one of the central issues addressed in Tibetan Buddhism and an important part of its general practice. In...'). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This sandbox is in the article namespace. Either move this page into your userspace, or remove the {{User sandbox}} template. Karma is one of the central issues addressed in Tibetan Buddhism and an important part of its general practice. In Western ideals, karma is a fairly new concept, and subsequently, westerners tend have a false understanding of it. Karma is created by physical actions, speech, and even our thoughts. People often like to think they are creating “good karma” when doing kind things, and when they make a mistake, they are creating “bad karma”. Quotations marks are used because in actuality, there is no good nor bad karma—there is simply karma. It does not have a malicious nor benevolent personality—karma creates whatever the individual manifests. Karma is a dependent entity—one whose forces are a direct result of one’s thoughts, actions, and words. “According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Buddha taught that one’s present life is only one in a beginningless series of incarnations, and each of these is determined by one’s actions in previous lives” (Powers 63). The Buddhist philosophy believes that we are born again after we die, and subsequently, the karma we create in past lives is carried into our next. “The Buddhist concept of karma is similar to Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which holds that for every action there is a concordant reaction…this is presented as a universal law that has nothing to do with abstract ideas of justice, reward, or punishment” (Powers 64). Karma, whether one is aware of it or not, is constantly being created. Karma can have immediate reactions, or reactions may come later in life. By understanding the ball-and-chain relationship between karma and the individual, one can better understand Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.