We've been talking about the Devadaha Sutta, in which the Buddha discusses karma. Karma is widely misunderstood even by people who say they believe in it, as well as by people who dismiss it as superstition without bothering to learn what it is. So it's a useful thing to review.
The word karma means "volitional action," and a doctrine of karma is a doctrine that explains the effects of volitional action. There are doctrines of karma found in many religions of Asia. However, they are not the same doctrines. What many people know about karma comes from one of the other religions, or from Asian folk belief, and is not what the Buddha taught.
The common understanding of karma is that past action has caused our present circumstances, and present action will cause our future circumstances. It's also often believed that the effects of our current actions will not be felt in this life but will take the form of reward or punishment in the next. But this is not what the Buddha taught.
The Buddha taught that our lives are conditioned both by what we've done in the past and what we are doing right now. This is an important distinction. For one thing, it means that the effects of past action can be changed by present action. Nothing is fated to happen to you because of past action; you always have a choice to change course.
Further, it means effects of volitional action begin immediately. What you do right now conditions what you experience right now. Yes, what you do right now might also condition what you experience in the future, and the effects of what you do right now might continue on into lives beyond this one, although this is not set in stone.
But this also means that understanding and appreciating karma does not require belief in reincarnation. What you do in this life conditions this life. This is something that can be observed, if you pay attention to it.
In other words, karma is not just about behaving yourself so that your next life will be nice. Karma can be understood on many levels, some mystical and some not. You can think of it as a kind of physics of morality -- a cause will have an effect -- instead of some super-cosmic criminal justice system.
I know that in some schools of Buddhism the karma-rebirth connection is considered of utmost importance. But by applying the Buddha's own criteria -- see the previous post --Â you don't have to accept this as true just because a teacher says it is true. Do keep an open mind, though.
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