Just thought I would share some food for thought....

The Law of Karma

In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: for every event that occurs, there will subsequently be followed by another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant depending directly on whether the cause was skillful or not.  You might be wondering what constitutes a skillful event. Well, simply put a skillful event is one that is NOT accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions and respectively an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things sensations. Please, do not be misled to believe that the events themselves are not skillful, but rather they are so called only in virtue of the mental thought process that occur with them. 

Therefore, the law of Karma demonstrates our role in the scheme of things and teaches us to be accountable for our actions and places the responsibility for the unskillful actions upon the individual. It is subsequently  born by the person who commits them not in the event itself. 

Let's take an example of a sequence of events. An unpleasant sensation occurs. A thought arises that the source of the unpleasantness was a person. This thought is a delusion; any decisions based upon it will therefore be unskillful. A thought arises that some past sensations of unpleasantness issued from this same person. This thought is a further delusion. This is followed by a willful decision to speak words that will produce an unpleasant sensation in that which is perceived as a person. This decision is an act of hostility. Of all the events described so far, only this is called karma. Words are carefully chosen in the hopes that when heard they will cause pain. The words are pronounced aloud. This is the execution of the decision to be hostile. It may also be classed as a kind of karma, although technically it is after-karma. There is a visual sensation of a furrowed brow and down turned mouth. The thought arises that the other person's face is frowning. The thought arises that the other person's feelings were hurt. There is a fleeting joyful feeling of success in knowing that one has scored a damaging verbal blow. Eventually there is an unpleasant sensation of regret, perhaps taking the form of a sensation of fear that the perceived enemy may retaliate, or perhaps taking the form of remorse on having acted impetuously, like an immature child, and hoping that no one will remember this childish action. This regret or fear is the unpleasant ripening of the karma, the unskillful decision to inflict pain through words. 

If there are no persons at all, then there is no self and no other. There is no distinction between pain of which there is direct sensual awareness (which is conventionally called one's own pain) and pain that is known through inference (conventionally called another person's pain). Whether pain is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to quell it or an urge to cultivate it. Whether joy is known directly or indirectly, there is either an urge to nourish it or to quell it. In the conventional language of speaking of events personally, the urge to quell all pain and to nourish all joy is known as being ethical or skillful or (if you like) good. The urge to nourish pain and quell joy is known as being unskillful, unethical or bad. 

Being fully ethical is said to be impossible for those who make a distinction between self and other and show preference for the perceived self over the perceived other, for such perceptions inhibit being fully responsive. Being fully ethical is possible only for those who realize that all persons are empty, that is, devoid of personhood...

Basically karma is the law of cause and effect. The principle is similar to that expressed by the Christian verse, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." The word karma means action and it's used as short-hand for the idea that every action you take causes a reaction in the future. Positive, caring actions will bring positive results back to you, whereas negative, hurtful actions will result in your suffering. 

There is importance on the intent of one's actions. For example, if you accidentally step on a bug and kill it, you won't create bad karma. But if you purposefully kill it, you create bad karma. Likewise, if your actions unintentionally benefit others, you do not create good karma. Only when you mindfully do good, do you create good karma. Ultimately, each individual is responsible for his or her own actions and karma. Every action you take will have a repercussion in the future, and you have to live with the consequences of your actions.