What if karma isn’t a system of reward and punishment, but your ultimate source of freedom?

So often, karma is misunderstood as some cosmic force of reward and punishment. In Buddhist psychology, karma is simply the law of cause and effect. When we live with a belief in this natural law of karma, it is deeply liberating.

You might not always be able to control what happens to you, but you have 100% agency over how you respond. That response is where your power lives. You get to choose what kind of future you want to create. You are the master of your own destiny.

What does karma mean?

The word ‘karma,’ means action. Every action creates an imprint in your mind that ripens into a future experience. Our actions create karma. Our experiences are the results of karma (our previous actions).

Even within this lifetime, we can see karma at play. Have you ever noticed certain patterns in your life: challenges that keep repeating, situations that feel eerily familiar?

Sometimes, we find ourselves facing the same struggles over and over again, as if life is presenting us with the same test until we finally learn the lesson. This is the ripening of past karma, and our response to these situations determines what seeds we plant for the future.

Karma is a mirror

One of the most empowering aspects of karma is that while we are the inheritors of our past actions, we are also the creators of our future. It is said that when you look in the mirror today at your body, mind, and environment, you can understand what you were like in the past.

Go ahead; look at the circumstances of your present life. Buddha taught that a human life with all the right conditions to practice spiritually is incredibly rare. To have a human life with what are called “the ten endowments” is the result of a great deal of spiritual practice in our past lives. So you’re pretty extraordinary! (Haven’t you always suspected that?)

Additionally, when you look at what you’re doing today with body, speech and mind, you can know what your future will be like. In fact, every moment presents an opportunity to shift our destiny! So go ahead, examine the choices you’re making right now and get a glimpse into your future. 

When we truly understand karma, our perspective begins to shift. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” we begin to ask ourselves questions like:

“What lesson must I learn to break this cycle?”

“How can I respond in a way that creates a better future?”

Buddha emphasized that belief in the law of karma is important because it encourages us to be ethical in our behavior. Our actions today create our future experiences. And if we believe that our actions don’t just shape this life but ripple into future lives, we naturally become more mindful of how we live. 

The good news? Karma isn’t fixed. Bad karma can be purified. 

Can you get rid of bad karma?

Absolutely! You can get rid of bad karma. We call it “purifying bad karma” in Buddhism. There are many traditional purification practices to help you cleanup your karma. However, even the act of regretting a harmful action begins to purify that karma. Just remember not to beat yourself up. Have compassion for yourself and whomever you harmed.

In Buddhism, we never think people are bad. We think people are sometimes controlled by their bad habits like anger, jealousy, or greed and do harmful things. No living being is bad or evil or beyond redemption. All are deserving of compassion, including yourself.

And just think—if you’re here, engaging with these teachings, that itself is the ripening of incredibly positive karma. It also creates the karma to meet with spiritual teachings, teachers, and community in the future. Your future is so bright, you need to wear shades! 

Keep going. Your journey toward deeper wisdom and peace has already begun.

Written by JoAnn Fox, 

Buddhist Teacher and Host of the Podcast Buddhism for Everyone

References:  Bhikkhu Bodhi.  Sutta Central.  Sangha: https://suttacentral.net/mn9/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

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