Do you know the 12 laws of karma? Surely on some occasion you have heard someone say that life “is about karma”, or that something good or bad has happened to them because of karma. The truth is that this concept so closely linked to Buddhist philosophy is closely related to the idea of justice that is found throughout that religion.
But this is not a model of justice that must be followed under the threat that others (people or gods) will punish us if we do not do it, but rather, according to the laws of karma, we must make that notion of justice part of our lives for ourselves.
The concept of laws of karma arises from Buddhist philosophy, a religion that is based on a set of knowledge, habits and teachings that, through meditation and small everyday gestures, allow us to carve out a transformation. of our inner self.
Many people maintain that this Philosophy makes us wiser, opens our conscience and makes us more consistent people with our actions. In fact, the influence of Buddhism has had a decisive impact on great European philosophers, such as the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who was greatly influenced by this current of Eastern thought when developing his ethics.
In search of karma
Buddhism has a particular way of understanding existence and relationships between humans This religion states that life is a process of constant change, a process that requires us to adapt and reeducate our mind to make us stronger. This can only be achieved by being people with discipline (and, therefore, self-control) and by being generous and grateful towards others. In this way, we may be able to improve our mental state, achieving focus and spiritual calm.
People who practice this discipline often say that Buddhism in general and the laws of karma in particular allow them to better connect with their emotions, achieve better levels of understanding, and be closer to happiness and well-being. Besides, and Buddhism seeks spiritual development based on a holistic and humanistic understanding of reality, trying to make us be careful with the way we relate to other human beings. The laws of karma are a way of expressing this philosophy of life, in which harmony is sought between oneself and others, in a series of specific points that can be verbally communicated.
What are the laws of karma and what do they explain to us about life?
First, let’s start by defining the concept of ‘Karma’. It is a term of dharmic origin and comes from the root kri, which means ‘to do’. Therefore, Karma is a concept closely related to action, to doing Karma is an energy that transcends us, and is the direct effect of the actions of each individual.
exist twelve laws of karma that explain how exactly this transcendental energy works These laws allow us to know the ultimate meaning of our existence, through the teachings and advice of Buddhist philosophy.
It should be noted that Buddhism is not a traditional religion, from a Western point of view. Buddhism is a religion non-theist, since there is no omnipotent and creative god. In Buddhism, laws come from nature, and the freedom of each human being is trusted to adhere to the advice of this philosophy, or not. In short, doing well or not so well is an individual decision and, based on these decisions that we make every day, we are equally responsible for the consequences and effects that we have created for ourselves.
The 12 laws of karma and their explanation
But, What are these essential laws of karma that Buddhist philosophy proposes to us? And more importantly: how can we apply them to our lives to be a little happier and live a life full of love and respect for others?
We explain it to you in the following lines.
1. The essential law
As you do, as you receive It is the law of laws when we talk about karma. We reap what we have sown during our lives. This has an obvious relationship with the principle of cause-effect: everything you do has a return. Above all, the negative things we do will come back to us multiplied by 10.
The mission of every human being is to be a participant in life, and that implies creation We are an inseparable part of the world and the universe, and with them we form the same thing. Ours is the responsibility to take the good that we find in the part of the world that we inhabit, to build our own life.
3. Law of humility
Everything we deny ends up influencing us negatively If we only see the bad side of things and other people, we will be giving up humility, that virtue that allows us to grow morally and intellectually.
4. Law of responsibility
We must accept responsibility for the things that happen to us If bad things happen to us very often, we may be doing something wrong ourselves. This is one of the laws of karma that focuses on the direct consequences of everything we do, which can be good or bad. Every act has its consequences, let’s learn to assume and face them.
5. Law of connection
Everything is connected Each act, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, is connected to many other elements of the universe. As they say, the flap of a butterfly’s wing can start a tsunami. Reality is complex and absolutely all our actions have their echo in the future.
6. Development law
We are in constant change, in a permanent flow Whatever we do in our lives, we must be aware that we are sovereign of our destiny, and for this we must evolve spiritually. If we are able to improve our mind, everything around us will also change… for the better.
7. Law of targeting
We are learning things little by little, in a sustained way We are not able to access high levels of wisdom without having first been in intermediate stages. We must pursue certain objectives in our life, and move little by little towards them. Effort almost always pays off.
8. Law of generosity
It is vital that we act with generosity and kindness towards other human beings Living in a mental state of respect and compassion towards others makes us more connected to our condition as beings who inhabit the same planet.
And the laws of karma are not independent of our way of relating to others, since our actions have consequences on others, and also have an effect on our identity.
9. Law of the present
Living thinking about the past, about what could have been and was not, is a perfect way to disrupt our present and our future. Everything that anchors us to the past must be reviewed: we must renew ourselves to be able to move forward and find what makes us happy.
Thus, this law of karma places emphasis on not creating artificial problems by uncontrollably fueling worries based on what took place in the past and what could happen in the future.
10. Law of change
Misfortune tends to repeat itself until we find the courage and the means to change our lives This is achieved based on the knowledge and experiences acquired, from which we learn and improve. With them we must be able to correct our course and build new objectives.
11. Law of patience
The fruits that we collect after a lot of work taste better The more dedicated we are to the tasks at hand, the greater the happiness we will be when reaping the reward. We must make patience a fundamental value in our lives.
12. Law of inspiration
The more effort, energy and value we dedicate to our daily lives, the greater the merit of our successes Eye! Even from mistakes we learn, as we have seen in the previous laws. Karma recognizes that we are individuals with the ability to create and evolve, even in not entirely favorable circumstances. At some point the fruits will arrive, and we will have traveled a path of effort and courage, in accordance with the laws of karma.
