Like I said, I think we’re talking about two different things. I didn’t intend to stir up any religious lore - my understanding and use of “karma” is the secular context of basically “what goes around comes comes around”. …and in the context of anything measurable within the scope of the lifespan of the person in question, karma doesn’t exist.
Maybe Buddha will pick out all the bad apples after they die and personally stomp on their testicles over the next million or so years as punishment for their evil: idk. But in the tiny 4 dimensional sliver of existence that we happen to live in, we’re on our own. And a recurring theme within that sliver is that being evil, especially on a large scale, will be rewarded constantly.
It’s the same thing. We think when we do a thing to others, in thought, word, act or omission, it’s justified, but when someone else does it to us, it’s different. That someone need not be the same individual or group, can be of a slightly different but related form, and it can be decades later, so we fail to relate. Karma is an invitation to confront our shadow selves, work with the shadow, recognize why it’s there, how it no longer serves us, love it, forgive it and heal. We fail to recognize the invitation, accept it, do the work, we keep getting opportunities for that, sometimes in incrementally harsher forms. That doesn’t mean boundaries and enforcement/correction are inappropriate, but that those things are a fool’s errand, and will repeat the cycle eventually, without having done our shadow work. There are a bunch of YT Videos if you care to know more. If not, that’s ok too. Be happy and well (btw I mentioned in the prior post that Buddha said he didn’t know if there is an afterlife and it’s moot).
Like I said, I think we’re talking about two different things. I didn’t intend to stir up any religious lore - my understanding and use of “karma” is the secular context of basically “what goes around comes comes around”. …and in the context of anything measurable within the scope of the lifespan of the person in question, karma doesn’t exist.
Maybe Buddha will pick out all the bad apples after they die and personally stomp on their testicles over the next million or so years as punishment for their evil: idk. But in the tiny 4 dimensional sliver of existence that we happen to live in, we’re on our own. And a recurring theme within that sliver is that being evil, especially on a large scale, will be rewarded constantly.
It’s the same thing. We think when we do a thing to others, in thought, word, act or omission, it’s justified, but when someone else does it to us, it’s different. That someone need not be the same individual or group, can be of a slightly different but related form, and it can be decades later, so we fail to relate. Karma is an invitation to confront our shadow selves, work with the shadow, recognize why it’s there, how it no longer serves us, love it, forgive it and heal. We fail to recognize the invitation, accept it, do the work, we keep getting opportunities for that, sometimes in incrementally harsher forms. That doesn’t mean boundaries and enforcement/correction are inappropriate, but that those things are a fool’s errand, and will repeat the cycle eventually, without having done our shadow work. There are a bunch of YT Videos if you care to know more. If not, that’s ok too. Be happy and well (btw I mentioned in the prior post that Buddha said he didn’t know if there is an afterlife and it’s moot).