This morning I ran into an article about correct use of the word karma, based on what it says in a standard dictionary. Unfortunately, the article, and the dictionary, are incorrect. Barry Wood of GateHouse News Service wrote,
"Karma" is a Sanskrit word that means "a deed, act, fate." It's an important term in Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions. Webster's distilled definition is "the totality of a person's actions in any one of the successive states of that person's existence, thought of as determining the fate of the next stage."
I don't know how to contact Mr. Wood, but if I could, this is what I would say:
Unfortunately, karma has entered English vocabulary to mean something like "the fate one deserves, usually bad."That's not how a Sanskrit speaker would understand the word, however.
According to Subhamoy Das, About.com's Guide to Hinduism, karma means "volitional action that is undertaken deliberately or knowingly." This is how it is defined in Buddhism, as well. A reference book I have at hand says it is derived from the Sanskrit root word kri, which means "to do" or "to make." In most contexts I don't think it's correct to translate the word to mean "fate."
Doctrines of karma are taught in many spiritual traditions, but not necessarily the same doctrines of karma. It is not understood or "believed in" in exactly the same way by everybody.This is another point that I don't think many in the West yet grasp. However, at a very basic level, it is simply the doctrine that everything we do has an effect.
In Buddhism, the effects of karma are not karma; they are called vipaka, or the "fruit" of karma. So, to a Buddhist, it would be incorrect to say "it was his karma to lose his job."
And then we hear about "good" karma and"bad" karma. Karma is neither good nor bad, any more than gravity is good or bad. Gravity has beneficial and harmful effects -- as a rule we don't go flying off he planet into outer space, which is good, but sometimes we drop things and break them. Just so, karma itself is value neutral.
However, in Buddhism, we say that karma can be contaminated or conditioned by the three poisons of greed, hate, and ignorance, and such karma will very likely cause some nasty vipaka.
There's also a common belief in karma as something like "luck," in that virtuous behavior will bring you good luck (and vice versa). But luck has a connotation of randomness or chance that doesn't really fit karma. Virtuous behavior has its rewards, such as personal satisfaction and the goodwill of others, but it won't help you win the lottery. (And some may disagree with me on that one, but it's how I see it.)
As I've said here in the past, karma is not necessarily linked to a belief in rebirth. In Buddhism, the effects of karma can be felt in one's current life, and many of us who are agnostic about rebirth still have a healthy respect for karma.
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