Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Can Karma be disproven?
By psychology perhaps?
0
Comments
Kamma is intention/action. All intention/action has consequences physical and/or mental.
"Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect."
Intention is the cause of karma (action, deed - in thoughts, words and physical actions)
Now, are you talking about karma-fueled rebirth? Then, no, this can't be disproven.
For sure action has an origin, this might be helpful:
Cetana is Kamma
The Buddha says that cetana is kamma; volition is ethical action whether good or bad in daily life, cetana; volition is the chief. Let us assume a man was brutally attack and killed by a mob. In this atrocious deed, the blows of the most attackers were ineffective; only one member of the mob, prompted by a strong will, cruelly gave blow after blow which resulted in the victim's death. So only this man will be the culprit of the murder. Like wise a number of combinations of citta-cetasika function together in both kusala kamma (good actions) such as making of offering (Dana) or observance of precept (Síla) and akusala kamma (bad actions) such as killing (panatipata). In such activities it is the strong cetana (will) which is the most potent and post responsible and which determines your destiny and appropriate results here or hereafter.
Cetana (volition) is the strongest force in the world, prompting or encouraging all kinds of kamma (actions) and their effects. Cetana is the true motive force of all kamma actions; hence the saying, "Cetana is the maker, the true culprit of kamma actions."
Therefore the Buddha explicitly taught, "Cetanaham Bhikkhave kammam vadami - O Bhikkhus! I declare that cetana (will) to be kamma (action)." So a strong will makes a robust kamma, moral or immoral. If your will is feeble your action is also week.
from http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Abhidhamma_In_Daily_Life_By_Ashin_Janakabhivamsa#Cetana_is_Kamma
:wave:
In Buddhism, the term kamma is used specifically for those actions which spring from the intention (cetana) of an unenlightened being.
These bring about a result (vipāka), either within the present life, or in the context of a future rebirth. “
This is the basics as taken from Wikipedia. The only thing to prove or disprove about it, is the way actions relate to results. If we think in simple relationships (dot this and you will suffer that) it can be tested.
For instance the basic idea is that when we follow the eightfold path and keep the five precepts we will be happier. That’s a kamma vipaka; a result of intentional actions.
We can test that. And I think psychology supports it. People are happier when they have (religious) ideas about the purpose of life. They are happier when they have structure. When our choices are dictated (like they are by following the precepts) we avoid a lot of choice stress and we are more likely to appreciate what we have.
All we have to do is follow a simple and meaningful path and it relieves us from our choice-stress; it makes us feel good about ourselves; and people around us will find we are much more pleasant to be with.
That’s kamma vipaka for you.
(sorry, missed the deadline for edits)
Like evolution, when we talk about karma, we can be talking about the observed law of reality or the many theories of exactly how it works.
The observed law of karma is that actions have consequences, and the following observation that every consequence determines another action, and this chain of dependent origination is how the world works. It's as basic as the scientific observation that actions and reactions go together.
Ah, but then being human beings, our minds separate karma into Good Karma and Bad Karma. Now we enter the realm of Samsara. We use this observed chain of action and consequences leading to more action to explain why bad things happen to good people and why some bad people go unpunished. But now we cannot disprove or prove our theories, because we have left the observed world behind.
Observation tells us that while actions obviously have consequences somewhere down the line, we also observe that it's impossible to know what those consequences will be and what the final result is going to look like, and that our actions affect many other people. Actions that seem good can lead to pain and actions that bring pain can end up the best thing that ever happened to us, eventually. Good intentions can be the biggest trap in our lives.
If living by a set of rules that consist of "Do Good and Avoid Bad" was enough, Buddha would not be needed. The problem is, we suffer in spite of our best efforts to do good and avoid bad actions. The Buddha came up with a solution. His Dharma is a freedom from the wheel of karma. That's hard to remember, when we talk about how karma works.
can you see my post, that is vipāka for you and additional karma for me. Simple and easy to prove.
:wave:
so lets look for the vipāka of my post (karma in a mix of physical gesticulation and digital speech out of maybe wholesome or unwholesome indention)
Karma is to remind us that our actions matter. We are never guaranteed heaven. We are never guaranteed hell. And we don't live on a meaningless rock with our actions dictated by oxytocin, atoms, quarks, and which genes are turned on or off. We always have some kind of feeling/meaning even if that is pain or despair. We always wish for happiness and joy.
That is the impermanence of karma.