Karma
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In Indian traditions, the principle that a person's intentional actions shape their future, including future lives.
Also: karman, kamma, law of karma
What it means
The Sanskrit karman means 'act'. In the earliest Vedic texts it referred to ritual and sacrificial action; the Upaniṣads extended it to moral action, so that good and bad deeds make a person good or bad and shape future births. Karma drives the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra), and the goal of many Indian traditions is release from that cycle. Traditions understand it differently. The Buddha defined karma by intention: only voluntary acts of thought, speech and body count, and present choices can soften past consequences. Jains treat karma as a fine material substance that clings to the soul. Unlike Abrahamic views, karma usually works as an impersonal law without a divine judge.
The questions it belongs to
- 3.2 Normative EthicsWhat should I look at to tell whether an act is right?
Thinkers
Traditions
To read
- The Long Discourses of the Buddha (Dīgha Nikāya) — Pali Canon (the Buddha's discourses)
- The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikāya) — Pali Canon (the Buddha's discourses)