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There's one major problem I have with karma... and, essentially, every other problem comes back to this one: It's a moralistic system. Any moralistic system automatically presumes a moral universe which sees actions we do as good/evil (or just good/bad). I believe that the Universe is essentially amoral and doesn't give a flying fig if I do something socially evil or not. There's another way of looking at karma which is supposedly less a system of reward and punishment and more a system of "giving us the opportunity to learn life lessons". It sounds good on the surface... but if you scratch a little bit further you find that people who espouse this particular version still have it in their heads that there are certain lessons that we must learn in order to "progress" or "spiritually evolve". These lessons often boil down to things which are morally or socially "good" forsaking things which are "evil" or "selfish". I.e. You'll hear a lot "I needed to learn compassion, generosity..." etc, etc... What you never hear is "I needed to learn to stand up for myself." "I needed to learn to be less generous and think about my damn self for a change." I.e. - it's still broken down into good and bad and things which are "socially beneficial" are often seen as good. See... there's a theme in the moral systems... I see them all as being, ultimately, tools of control. You're told to accept your particular lot in life and be as good as you can be, and maybe you'll get a better life next time... It seems a way to make sure people don't complain too much, doesn't it? Also - one reason I don't believe in karma is because I've never actually seen it in action. Theoretically with karma if I do good then I should get some good returns. Well, the quote "No good deed goes unpunished" exists for a reason... Now... it could be argued that the returns come in the next life... but me, I'm a Scorpio. Scorpios are notoriously impatient. I don't want to wait until a possible return in my next life... nor do I want to wait for someone who's wronged me to possibly be punished in the next... Also, it assumes that a "good" cause will have a "good" effect, and vice versa. Well, things just aren't this cut and dry. We see all the time that sometimes a seemingly "good" action can have a myriad of effects - some of which are "bad". We also see that "bad" causes can have some really "good" effects... So it just doesn't practically work... Now - a little disclaimer. I do believe in cause and effect. (Yeah, some idiot actually once tried to tell me I was an idiot for not believing in karma because of the fact that causes obviously have effects.) But karma isn't just another way of saying 'cause and effect'. It's moralistic... good produces good and bad produces bad... and that kind of cause and effect is just not supported. Also, I do believe that there are little "life lessons" that we learn. However, I believe that we learn this through the natural process of existing. It's kinda hard to go through life without picking up a few tricks (tho some people seem to manage.) I also think that most of these 'life lessons' are just patterns that we've gotten ourselves stuck into that we decide are damaging and we have to break. Now, yes, it could be argued that we got into those patterns, and we experienced the things that we experienced to put us into those patterns, for the purpose of learning about it and breaking out of those patterns. It is possible... That said - these life lessons a) aren't always moral, and the rest of karma falls flat regardless b) there's a quote that says "never assume malice for what human stupidity can explain" I say "Why assume a divine mandate for what humanity is quite capable of fucking up on their own" Ultimately, besides the moralistic bend, I think it's just a nice 'out' for people. They like to think that things happen for a reason - *especially* the bad things. Because that way there's order to the universe and it's not just random insanity. It gives meaning... purpose... it helps people put up with all the bullshit and sacrifice and suffering - because there's a point to it. Now, I give it to karma that it ultimately places the blame on the person, and not on "the devil made me do it" or other such nonsense... But, at the same time, it's still a way that dileanates the human experience into "good" and "bad" and says "to avoid suffering be good" and no one can avoid suffering... and since suffering often produces the best characters (or psychopaths - ya know... I always said if there is a Divine mandate dolling out this stuff, they over-shoot with way too many people) then is a life without any suffering really worth living? "That which we gain to easily... |