Karma?

Here's a definition I found online:

"Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done and is currently doing. The effects of those deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life."


Does Karma, for real, exist?

I don't know. I just had an experience that makes me think maybe it does:
I bought several used Vision cages recently and purchased 6 from one individual. After I bought the cages but before he shipped them out, he suffered a terrible loss, his Dad passed away.

Showing incredible integrity, he proceeded with the deal. He was having real problems getting them shipped Fedex,however, and because he was doing this despite his recent loss I told him to just have UPS pick up the cages, which was way more convenient, and sent an additional several hundred dollars to cover the extra shipping.

The cages arrived today, and he had seriously underrepresented what he was sending. Instead of the 332s I thought I was getting, he sent three 433s, and instead of the 622s I was expecting, I got three of the deeper 632s, all much better and more expensive cages. I was honest about it and emailed him immediately to see if he thought I owed him anything additional and he said no, he thought we had a fair deal.

I had to rearrange the room once again because the 433 arboreals are tall cages, I now have a total of 12 Visions and my acrylic cages I made and the room is just beautiful. I am awaiting the package with the glass and I can then complete the setup. My critters are gonna be so happy!

Karma, because I offered the additional shipping? I don't know.
Sometimes, life is a mystery.

Have y'all had any events in your life that makes you thing there really is Karma, that what comes around, goes around?

ALL the time. I'm a FIRM believer in Karma. Do good things, and good things will happen to you. The one problem is - everyone wants instant karma, and not all karma is instant.

There are several good things that have happend in my life recently, due mostly to something that I have done for someone else. Those involved will know what I mean. I don't feel like I should discuss the particulars, as much of it is private and could also be easily seen as me doing something with the expectation of something to come back. In truth, I did what I did because it was the right the for me to do, and I had zero expectations of anything coming back. That, for me, defines doing something "good". As a result, other people have done some really awesome and unexpected things for me.

Karma works the other way as well. Do something bad, and it will come back to haunt you. "You reap what you sew" is a highly appropriate phrase to remember.

WOW - that was a very vague post! I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

The Karma theory is a good one. However, it doesn't really mean anything, because bad things happen to good people.

Originally Posted by KelliH

The Karma theory is a good one. However, it doesn't really mean anything, because bad things happen to good people.

No doubt, Kelli.

My thoughts on karma are quite complex and would be entirely too hard to explain here. As a general rule (and a good way to live life) it is to know good things are rewarded and bad things are punished in time. The difficulty with my belief is that the good and bad things that occur are usually not directly related to something identifiable. This is just scratching the surface of my thoughts on life...and as I don't want to lose too many people (or start sounding like a nutball), I'll leave it as it is.

Bad things do happen to good people (you have lived the hardest proof of that statement). That doesn't mean to give up on being a good person (not that I think you will).

I don't think I've ever had such a hard time explaining what I'm thinking!! Part of it is because I don't want to belittle your loss in any manner. Because my thoughts on this subject are so complex, and involve many other ideas on life and spirituality in general, it is impossible for me to say more without risking something being taken the wrong way. I could write a book, and many people would still not understand as they are my own personal beliefs and it's not necessary for them to understand or agree.

Originally Posted by KelliH

The Karma theory is a good one. However, it doesn't really mean anything, because bad things happen to good people.

AMEN KELLI!

There is also this to be thinking of Kelli and I mean no disrespect to you or any of yours but it may not be YOUR karmic burden that is primary in your recent and trajic loss. There is an entire world out there that has an integral part in all of our lives in ways so miniscule that we are never even aware of most of them.

There are indeed some REALLY crappy hands dealt out sometimes. The thing is, the game goes on whether you win or lose. It goes on whether you're in it or not. If you're not in it then the good guy side is down one good player and we're already the underdogs.

I've got to hope that there is an ember of your hope left smouldering somewhere deep down inside you and that maybe someday some errant breeze will find it's way down there and fan it into a flame again.

The last thing I'll say on Karma is that the more you think about it the less it works.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that karmic retribution occurred on a grander scale. Just because you do good doesn't mean the outcome will be immediately apparent. Instead, it's more as though if you made a lifetime of doing good, then you would reap the rewards in your next life. That was my understanding of Hinduism anyway.

Originally Posted by Xelda

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that karmic retribution occurred on a grander scale. Just because you do good doesn't mean the outcome will be immediately apparent. Instead, it's more as though if you made a lifetime of doing good, then you would reap the rewards in your next life. That was my understanding of Hinduism anyway.

You are correct. Your "balance" is carried with you throughout many lifetimes. You may not have done something in this lifetime that is bad that would spur the karmic backswing, but a previous lifetime you have (or could have).

People tend to think of karma as a quick reaction. An eye for an eye. The balance in one lifetime rarely zeros out...often there are unpaid balances (both positive and negative). My own thoughts are much more in line with Hinduism, though not exactly.

The Karma theory is a good one. However, it doesn't really mean anything, because bad things happen to good people.

In MHO it's very difficult to tell if a bad thing is indeed bad or it is a good thing in disguise. Only time will tell what will the outcome will be. Sometimes terrible things happen to good people and in the end it's the best thing that could have happened to them. The same goes for those that have a lucky strike without deserving it. I'm a strong believer in destiny and that things are aligned in a certain manner, call it karma if you will. Several things had to happen in my life both disguised as good and bad for me to be able to be typing this. If we do the right things just because in the end those will turn have a positive impact in our lives we might be sadly mistaken. Do what you feel is right regardless of the outcome. That in itself is what matters in the end.

Regards

I believe in karma, but I also believe that we are ALL dealt tragedy at various times in our lives. It's necessary. Ying and yang and all that. Tragedy changes us just as fortune does. It's all part of the process.

I would describe my life as good....although I had lost both of my parents before I was an adult, have buried 2 of my foster children, and suffered a nearly fatal (and permanently debilitating) illness when I was 19 that took months and months and months to recover as much as possible from. Each of those events changed me, but it was by choice that they changed me for the better. We always have options as to what we're going to do when faced with tragedy....I could have used many of those events as an excuse to slide downhill....and I've seen many who do that.

For me, I've come to terms with suffering, with my own mortality, and with the absolute knowledge that the circle will continue to go on.

Like Dan, I acknowledge that tragic, painful things happen to good people, but I don't know if I have enough knowledge of the big picture to call them "bad". I know I'd rather they not have happened, but I also understand somewhere deep down that maybe it kept something even WORSE from happening.

I pray that I leave this earth before my children, my grandchildren, and my husband. I know that I have no control of whether or not that prayer will be answered in the way I want it to be, but I have faith that it will all work out in the end.