Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris
18. Do Buddhists See All that Happens to One as Due to Karma?
Buddhism in Five Minutes - Elizabeth J. Harris
Peter Harvey [+]
University of Sunderland
Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He co-founded with Ian Harris the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and edits its journal Buddhist Studies Review. His research has been on early Buddhist thought and practice, Buddhist ethics and making accessible the rich history of Buddhist thought.
Description
Buddhism does not say that everything that happens to one is due to one’s past karma. The Buddha criticized theories which saw all experiences and associated actions as due either to past karma, the diktat of a god, or pure chance. These views, according to the Buddha, imply a form of fatalism that strips one of responsibility for one’s present actions and gives one no motivation to improve what one does. So, Buddhism stresses that present action is not fixed by past action. Rather, present action can bring about liberating change in a person.