In a previous musing, I reflected on karma through Chinese words and a Korean movie. In this musing, we will reflect on karma through this WebMD article.

Karma is a concept with a few definitions, specifically in Hinduism and Buddhism. The common sayings “what goes around comes around” and “what you sow is what you reap” are great examples of how karma works.

Notice how these sayings work, especially “what you sow is what you reap”. You sow a certain kind of seed, and that’s the kind of plant that you will get. You could think of this as a philosophy, but it also calls for faith. This saying is true of plants, but is it true of life in general?

Dharma generally means morality in Hindu religion and philosophy… On the other hand, karma is the belief that your actions and choices can shape your life and the next. Because what you do can lead to good or bad consequences, karma encourages doing good things with good intentions so you can have a positive future.

In this paragraph the author contrasts dharma with karma. Whereas dharma is a system of morality, kharma is the dynamic of actions leading to consequences. In other words, you could separate the practice of karma from a particular system of morality. I might add that someone could also separate kharma from religious beliefs like reincarnation. How might someone practice karma without any kind of faith, or how could karma fit into a Christian belief of judgment on the last day?

Karma promotes intentional action. For example, when you help someone in need, the action leaves an imprint. As these imprints develop with experiences, it opens the possibility of you receiving help in return when you need it. Conversely, harmful actions bring about negative consequences — you won’t receive help when you need it, but instead, you may be harmed… If you act with good intentions, happiness will follow. If you act with ill intentions, problems will follow.

The quote above is an answer to the question, “How does karma work?” The WebMD article is a practical how-to, so it will also give advice on how to cultivate good karma, e.g. practice kindness, meditate, etc.

I want to, however, draw attention the “imprint” in the quote above. She talks about the creation of karma, but this also hints at the accumulation of karma in one’s being, almost like a substance. If someone accumulates a bunch of bad karma, they might want to find ways to purge it. That said, I am even more intrigued by the idea that karma can be created and accumulated in a collective sense:

Karma can be individual or collective. For example, individual karma is created by a person’s thoughts, words, and actions. But when people act as a group, like when soldiers use weapons or when a religious group prays or meditates, they create collective karma.

Can the 1980’s Gwangju Uprising that overturned a military dictatorship in South Korea be seen through the lens of collective karma? I mused on this in a previous post. If so, karma gives hope to collective action like the prayers of the people and public protests. The intentions and the actions of the people make a difference.

Final Thoughts on Christian Hope and Karma

The WebMD article ends with motivation to practice good karma for folks who may or not have any sort of faith. This personal practice is okay, but as I alluded to earlier, I am more intrigued by karma on a larger scale.

For over twenty years as a pastor, I preached that our actions matter to God. None of our actions are wasted. All of it is gathered up in the presence of God and used as part of God’s redeeming work in the world. This was the kind of thing I would say in sermons and as I inivted the congregation to the communion table.

For over two decades, as individuals and a collective, through prayers and action, we were the presence of God in an abandoned place of the empire. Some days we saw the fruit of our labor, but to be honest, on a systemic level, a lot of what was wrong with our city, nation and world, is still really messed up. Some days it’s a struggle to find hope and to keep up the faith, but my interfaith dialog with karma has helped me to find hope. All our prayers and actions are gathered up. Nothing is lost. The final day of redemption will come. Even here and now, we see signs of that redemption.