Is Karma just a circle?

Question

I mean my husband cheated on me but wants me now. And now I'm cheating on him. Karma for him? And what about me? Will Karma get me by having my new love cheat on me? Then what about him? This seems like a spiral or circle that goes on and on. Serious answers only please. I know it's late.

I am not having an affair as revenge and I don't feel guilty. I needed love and I found it. And you don't know that my love will cheat on me. You are not God. I was just wondering about this Karma thing. Doesn't make much sense to me.

I did not ask about revenge. And what makes you think I'm still with my husband? As of 3 days ago I'm not.

You all seem to have a mindset that I am seeking revenge and I can't seem to get across to you that I am not! I actually don't care what he does now. The fact is I fell out of love with husband long ago and now I've fallen in love with someone else. I was just wondering about Karma because I am technically still married.

Answer 1

Okay a few people told you correctly what karma really is... basically cause and effect and that you're just perpetuating a cycle of SUFFERING by continuing at your present pace with what's going on with your cheating on him.

May I humbly share with you how to STOP your cycle of bad karma, per the Buddha's teachings? Reflect on the fact, as some have told you, that what's happening to you now, via his actions, are the cause and effect of prior acts in a previous life that are coming to fruition NOW like seeds (which are always bigger once they have the right causes and effects to sprout). If you meet this suffering you're experiencing now, by his cheating, with a CALM, PATIENT mind that understands this (above) and start working on cultivating compassion (altruism) and DO NO FURTHER HARM (at BEST) by doing something that is normally labeled as "retribution" or "bad acts that can cause suffering" you CAN begin to STOP the cycle of suffering.

BTW "compassion" doesn't mean we let people do whatever they want and get away with it... it means we simply understand that what they/we are doing is a result of cause and effect. In Buddhism we learn that NOTHING arises or comes into being without something(s) else to help it to arise (just like the right things that come together to help a seed grow), which includes thoughts and emotions, just like "matter". So letting someone stomp all over you is NOT "true compassion", it's wrong compassion. You put a stop to it with true compassion, understanding, fix what you can or punt the wrongdoer to the curb, WITH compassion... i.e. you don't physically harm him or try to exert harm against him with wrong speech. Just ASSERT yourself. Does this make sense?

This is a task (the above) that takes TIME and PATIENCE with HIM and with yourself. It might be of help to grab up on a book of Buddhism if you wish to more deeply understand my miserable, lame attempt at helping and explaining what the Buddha has tried to get across to us. www.buddhanet.net is a great "hub" to peek at and branch out if you like to other sites that interest you and explain things as you like.

I hope this is of benefit to you and all sentient beings.

_()_

Answer 2

in a nutshell yeah you pretty much have it. but the situation that you describe is not exactaly Karma. It is you useing Karma as a way to make you feel better about what you are doing that you know is wrong. useing it to justify your revenge so to speak.

Karma seldom comes full circle in this lifetime. and when it does it is almost never involving the same 2 people.

you cheating on your husband because he cheated on you, and the guy that you are cheating with, these 3 people will simply continue a self destructive circle. yes your new love will cheat on you. what can you expect of a guy that is already having an affair with a married woman (you).

a better example of Karma would be a Homophobic reincarnated as a self hating homosexual, into a society that would never accept him.

or in the short term, you see that someone dropps a 20 dollar bill at the grocery store, you pick it up and use it to fill your car with gas (never saying anything to the person that you saw drop it)

and at the gas station while you are paying, someone scratches your car and leaves without saying anything to you.

this happened to a friend of mine. he saw a person drop a 50 dollar bill, he took it and never said anything to the guy. 2 hours later his car was stolen, and his house was broken into the same day.

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you asked about Karma i gave examples of Karma and revenge.
i never claimed to be god. if you found love, then why are you still with the husband?

Answer 3

What your husband has done or what you are doing are all your own action and it has not relevance to Karma. Yes your husband has done wrong and you can punish him in any way you like and you have chosen to retaliate. It may be alright as per the ethics you have Learned. Carry on. It is for you to analyse either go to him if he wants and repents for his mistake or you take the new man, depending upon the situation you are put into. You try to do what is just right for you and safe.

But it is all not karma - Karma is different and I like to tell you what is Karma-

Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. The results or "fruits" of actions are called karma-phala. Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward. Karma simply deals with what is. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends through one's present life and all past and future lives as well.-

Answer 4

The chain of Karma continues like this...without end

The only way to break this chain... is either to forgive a person for whom there is enough reason to take revenge OR be detached from Karma as Krishna advised in Gita

It is due to the chain of Karma that the world survives...and we enter new births to pay back Karmas

Answer 5

Karma is not as simple as a 'I hit you, you hit me' theory. Just because you are cheating on your husband, does not mean that your current love will cheat on you. You might be punished in some other way.

One thing is certain, though - what goes around, comes around. If you hurt someone, you'll pay for it. If you do good to someone, you'll be rewarded. There is actually no such thing as punishment or reward, but it is in our view point.

For eg, if you jump in slush, you'll get dirty - punishment
if you study well, you'll pass - reward. Life is just cause and effect. If you don't like the effect, don't create the cause.

Answer 6

Karma is the law of cause and effect. Because you decide to punish your husband for his cheating, doesn't free you from your actions. His actions have their own effect, as does yours. If you decide to retaliate for his actions, yes karma will be an endless circle. "Suck it up", and let the laws of karma live out for the actions that have already transpired. "The buck stops here." You can end the cycle for you whenever you choose. You will be rewarded for making the right decision.

Answer 7

Karma means action.

What goes around comes around.

Your circle question: You can break the circle by your decisions and by what you allow to influence your decisions.

Karma is simly the acknowledgement that your actions (decisions) today affect your circumstances tomorrow.

Answer 8

i do not see karma as an endless circle but rather a balance of things. If things remain unbalanced then karma will continue in its work. It is only a circle if we make it so.

Answer 9

Karma is a completion of everything you've done.
If you do some good deeds, it will not go unrewarded. The same thing if you do bad things.

The thing with you is called Devil's Chain and only people involved in this chain can break it.

Answer 10

Yes, and the circle is the most universal shape in the universe, so it applies to EVERYTHING.
"what goes around comes around".