Karma in Hinduism and Buddhism

When you hit yourself in the eye,
And it occurs through time,
That's a Karma!

This post is a response to the request to clarify a statement I had made -- that the concept of karma isn't the same in Hinduism and Buddhism. I also was giving an example of how metaphors used within some belief systems are meant to be taken in an esoteric sense (in other words, a psychological sense) and not within the frame of the literal supernatural. With that said, enjoy.

First, I found this definition which is a good sketch of karma in both Hinduism and Buddhism:

"the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences"

In Hinduism

In Hinduism, karma is most often linked in a literal sense to reincarnation. It's karma which determines whether you become a cow, bug on a window shield, or just another guy in your next life.

Because it's taken literally, it's used to justify a caste system like this: If you were born poor and on the wrong side of the tracks then that's where you belong because of what you did in past lives. In the same fashion, the rich are born into their caste for the same reasons. And, since it's where people belong, attempting to climb out of the gutter or eat the rich is a really stupid thing to do if for no other reason that it's ordained and impossible to change.

In Buddhism

In Buddhism... oh hell, man... where to begin? lol To understand karma in Buddhism, it has to be seen in context. This means describing this context of which I speak. Ready for the rabbit hole? Good. Fair warning, this all may seem a bit strange... but it will make sense in the end.

Buddhism, as I pointed out before, begins with suffering and the cessation of suffering. Then the Eightfold Path points out that there's a right (effective) way of scratching that itch;... la de dah da ... and you wind up eventually as a "buddha" (awakened one).

A good metaphor for what happens as someone progresses along this path is to say that they slowly "wake up" from the sleeping state they ramble around in thinking they're already awake.. (I'm trying to keep this short, so I'm leaving out lots of details.) In fact, Budda say once a long time go "I'm no different than you are, except I'm awake."

In Buddhism, samsara is essentially someone nodding off and coming to repeatedly -- the cycle of death and rebirth bit is a metaphor for that. As someone travels the path nodding off and waking up again (usually with a shock), they put forth efforts towards awakening which essentally are efforts which rewire their brain. Let me be clear about this : effort = rewiring of the brain. This works like putting together a jigsaw puzzle in a state of constant sleep deprivation or as a narcoleptic -- and everytime you nodd off and wake up again you have to remember that you were putting together a puzzle, what the picture of the puzzle looks like, take note of what you've done so far and find the pieces you knocked off the table while you were asleep.

Initially, you can only put a single piece in the right place in the puzzle before you nodd off again. Then, over time, you develop the capacity to stay awake longer and put in more pieces. Finally, after a long time, the puzzle is complete and you stay awake.

Essentially what the capacity to stay awake longer and thus do more work symbolizes is the accumulation of rewiring done to the brain. If you make "right" efforts, you will cause changes in your brain that while may not be permanent, but that will persist until you wake up again. Thus, over time, even though you nodd off, your efforts accumulate "across lifetimes" (between when you nodd off and wake up again.)

This post is a response to the request that I clairify what his intentional effort and the accumulation of it's effects is karma in the Buddhist sense.