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Karma and Reincarnation Essay

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Karma and Reincarnation

In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded …show more content…

While, on the other hand, if a person is mean towards others, they will not treat that person well in return, making that person less happy. While the Golden Rule of Christianity is very simple, karma extends beyond correct behavior towards others and extends into the relationship between a person’s soul and the world around him.

In Buddhism, Karma has two forms; mental karma and deed karma (Encyclopedia of Religion 266). The two forms both abide by the belief that good or bad actions yield good or bad results. Mental karma is governed by what a person thinks. If a person thinks impure or malicious thoughts, they will build up bad karma during his life, and for pure thoughts, good karma is built up. Deed karma refers to the actions performed physically by a person. As with mental karma, deed karma is the culmination of good karma and bad karma resulting from one’s actions.

In considering karma, there are three main elements; cetana, samudacara, and vasana and samskara. The first element, cetana, refers to the state of mind a person is in when he begins to perform an act. Did he or she have good or bad intentions? This will determine the repercussions that come for that person’s

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