Why karma is real

In Hinduism, Karma is a part of the Hindu's purpose of life. Through a commitment to dharma, one's duty in life, and to karma, which is performing proper action, one can slip the bonds of physical existence and escape from samsara, which is the cycle of rebirth and death, and reunite with Brahman, or the Supreme Over-Soul God. In Buddhism, karma is a law of cause and effect , and the things one chooses to do, say or think set karma into motion.

Karma determines where and what a person will be reborn as well as their status in their next life. If a person has good karma then they can rebirth in one of the heavenly realms and if they have bad karma they will rebirth as an animal, or be tormented in a hell realm. Buddhists believe in karmic 'conditioning', which is a process where a person's nature is shaped by their moral actions, and every action molds your character for the future. Positive and negative habits can form over time and reincarnation as well, which causes people to have either good or bad karma.

In order to achieve nirvana, Buddhists have to follow the eightfold path, which is suggested by the founder, Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, which is a set of eight righteous ways of thinking and acting. Lastly, in Jainism, karma is conceived in the form of particles pervading into the universe. The subtle particles cling onto a soul which obscures its inherent and perfect form. Karma is otherwise known as a contamination of the soul that taints it with various colors and karmic matter that embodies the soul and is a material force.

In order to achieve salvation from the karmic material force and attain salvation, one has to follow a strict spiritual and ethical code of behavior based on the Five Vows, Ahimsa non-violence , Satya speaking the truth , Asteya non-stealing , Brahmacharya chastity or faithfulness to a spouse , Aparigraha non-attachment. Even I fall victim to making a decision that I believe will benefit me, in the long run, using karma as an excuse. Nonetheless, karma is real when it is rooted in selflessness because it compels the person to take any action to promote cause and effect.

There also comes the importance of wisdom within our intentions. Buddhism accepts the inevitability of suffering which implies that bad karma or negative results will continue to present themselves.

This is why the Buddha urged against working out all the implications of karma. It was comforting to know that with time, they will be punished for hurting me.

From here, the decisions I made came with a desire to never receive that same punishment. I felt that by intentionally hurting someone, bad karma would come my way. Did something bad happen to me? If so, was it overlooked as a coincidence? These stored memories, thoughts and actions germinate, and become the ripening or results of our karma, our actions.

None possess an inherent, inborn nature. Unhappiness can come when we hold too fast to some of these assignations, particularly ones that that are resentful or traumatic. Research on construct activation has shown that people can be primed to perceive things in a certain way.

In one seminal study, Edwards says, participants read a description of a man engaged in a number of ambiguous behaviors, like going to a store and asking for money back.

The participants who were exposed to the idea of hostility prior to reading the paragraph were more likely to think of the man as aggressive instead of assertive. The effects of the prime were specific to hostility. Other studies, according to Edwards, show that manipulating participants into behaving in ways that are linked to a concept such as hostility lead the person to perceive others in a way consistent with the concept. Such findings give Buddhist philosophical tradition an empirical foundation on which to rest.

And Buddhism offers a way forward. Western scientists, Edwards says, are often loathe to go beyond their findings, to make recommendations or predictions to help people change their lives for the better.

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