Is Karma Real?

At its core, karma emphasizes the moral principle of causation: every action has consequences, shaping the cycle of life and rebirth, or samsara, in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Its origin as a term for "action" underscores its central role in understanding the interconnections of actions and their outcomes.

I like to think about karma from two levels. On a very practical level, your actions matter, perhaps not on the level of each individual action, but the sum total creates or shuts off different avenues of experience and promotes how people generally react to your presence. The sum total of your actions opens up or shuts off avenues of experience.

On a more cosmic or spiritual level, I think karma, again the sum total of your actions can alter the types of experiences you are likely to have in your next reincarnation.

The word comes from the Sanskrit karman ‘action, effect, fate’.

In Buddhism, karma refers to intentional actions driven by will, which shape an individual's future experiences. Buddha emphasized that karma is not deterministic but can be mitigated or redirected through right intention and ethical conduct.

With the spread of Buddhism and Hinduism, the concept of karma traveled to East and Southeast Asia, influencing cultures and languages in regions such as China, Japan, and Thailand.

At its core, karma emphasizes the moral principle of causation: every action has consequences, shaping the cycle of life and rebirth, or samsara, in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Its origin as a term for "action" underscores its central role in understanding the interconnectedness of actions and their outcomes.

We will never know whether karma is strictly real or not.

However, having said that, I can only speak from personal experience which has taught me that every major action or behavior I have done to hurt another person has always come back to me. And likewise, I have noticed that positive thoughts and actions with the intention of helping others has always brought a very positive sometimes spontaneously.

Whatever bad thing happen, perhaps it is OK to think that I may partly be responsible.

Interconnection and Shared Responsibility

• In The Brothers Karamazov, the character Father Zosima advocates the idea that individuals are interconnected and bear collective responsibility for the world’s suffering. This extends personal responsibility beyond one’s immediate actions, suggesting that we contribute, in part, to the broader fate of humanity through our moral choices.