Karma

[notself]

Earlier I dismissed a karma as crap, I see this wasn't very tactful, particularly when Buddhists are posting, sorry notself & KebertX.

This is the WordWeb definition

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine their fate in this life and the next incarnation

No problem. I follow the teachings of Gotama (the Buddha) as a philosophy not as a religion.  The teachings on morality, concentration and wisdom cannot be topped by any other philosophy.  Unfortunately, almost immediately after his death and against his direct instructions, superstition, amulets, ritual and hierarchy began to creep in.  As it moves West, some of this is removed for a brief time but as a group, Westerners are just a superstitious as Asians so back it comes again.

Hinduism is not a religion but a group of religious traditions that are grouped under one umbrella.  Some of these groups consider karma to be the equivalent of fate that must be lived through.  Other groups are closer to the Buddhist belief that karma is action that is in control of the doer.  There is a sutta in the cannon about a killer for hire who followed the teachings and in spite of decades of murder, overcame this bad karma and became awake (enlightened).  There is no equivalent story, as far as I know, in Hinduism.

Another story is from the Buddha himself who compares bad karma to salt and good karma to pure water.  If one puts salt in a cup of water the water is ruined.  If one puts the same amount of salt in a lake, the water stays drinkable.  The assassin diluted his bad karma with the purity of action that was so great as to eliminate the effects of the bad action (on future action and on the mind.)

[Byronazriel]

I believe in a sort of cosmic balance. That good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to and... and that bad things happen to good peope, and the reverse.

Good things happen to good people so that people will do good things, however, if only bad things happen to bad people then there wouldn't be balance between good and evil because evil would be greatly outnumbered!

I think of it as good people get paid a steady, yet small pay. they have just enough pay to get things done, but no real wiggle room. Working class basically.

Bad people are like homeless people who spend all their money on scratch tickets, the majority of them will spend their lives in scqualler eating infrequently and whatnot... But a blessed few win the big bucks, because they have to so that bad folk can say "Aye dun nee a... ejumakayshun, huway I'll be a profeshnel footballer or somewhat."  

Me, I'll play it safe.

I also believe that the energy that people send out will come back to them.

[Asmodean]

There are causes and there are effects. Ripple effects sometimes. Thus, an event far away can pre-determine the direction a life takes or contribute to long chains of specific events in its wake that would otherwise never have happened.

The "balance" of such things does not depend on their goodness or badness. And me, I think the balance is caused by the events, not that the events are the result of some pre-determined balance.