Must i have done something bad .....

carolann

I don't really know where to ask this but I ll try and keep in short .....from newborn until the age of 16 I was smacked by my mum I then got into a string of violent relationships until the age of 38 when I met my present husband who himself is very controling and quite a bully ......have I previously done or been something bad ? ?

poptart

We all did something bad or we wouldn't be here. But the past is gone and only the present matters. Rejoice that you have broken the pattern and now live mindfully.

andyrobyn

Hi carolann, I can understand you developing this question from the description of the experiences you have shared with us here. Buddhist practice has helped me develop different questions and come to an understanding about the past.
I used to work with women who had experienced domestic violence and whose children had also been badly affected in the process. I found a series of articles from Ken McLeod on karma helpful sources when individuals had ideas that their " karma " , often from a previous life, was responsible for the violence. they can be read on his website - here is a link to one of them " karma doesn't explain anything " http://www.unfetteredmind.org/karma-two-approaches

Citta

poptart said:

We all did something bad or we wouldn't be here. But the past is gone and only the present matters. Rejoice that you have broken the pattern and now live mindfully.

Not according to the Buddha.
The Buddha was clear that not all conditions are karmic and that there are causes other than karma.
He also said that such matters, speculating about past and future births, are among the "imponderables " and lead nowhere.
All we can do is use the situations we find ourselves in to become more mindful and more compassionate.
Very often its the tough situations that are the best teachers..

federica

I agree with @Citta, @carolann... we can speculate, wonder, ponder and cogitate until we're blue in the face and tied up in knots.
Forget what has brought you here; The Path is where you're at, now.
It lies within your own Present, to change what you feel is not skilful.
Kamma - is Volitional Action.
Kamma can be extremely complex, but as pointed out, it's an "Unconjecturable" so the best thing to do is to frankly say:

This is good - how do I maintain such skilfulness?
This is bad - how do I arrest such 'unskilfulness'...?

And remember that 'good' and 'bad' themselves are Subjective.....