karma

views updated

karma (Sanskrit, ‘action’) Central moral doctrine in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is a natural, impersonal law of moral cause and effect, unconnected with divine punishment for sins. In Hinduism and Jainism, karma is the sum of a person's actions which are passed on from one life to the next and determine the nature of rebirth. Buddhism rejects this continuity of the ‘soul’ through reincarnation. The intention behind an action determines the fate of an individual. Release from rebirth into nirvana depends on knowledge of the Real, which in turn enables neutral action. See also yoga

More From encyclopedia.com