What is this Karma Test?
This Book reveals the history, and inner workings of Karma. You go through a process of learning, and answering four sections of questions divided into Moral, Physical, Mental, and Emotional evaluations. This will provide you with results according to your true life Karma. You can share these with others.
Step 1: The Moral Test
Step 2: The Physical Test
Step 3: The Mental Test
Step 4: The Emotional Test
Why is there a Moral Test?
Personal Morals define, and distinguish between right and wrong intentions, motivations, or actions. These intentions create Karma. Whether or not you would commit a negative action reflects your morals, and also effects your Karma.
Why is there a Physical Test?
Physical actions you make or intend to make effect your Karma. You can create Karma by performing physical actions. Your Karma will turn out positively or negatively depending on your actions.
Why is there a Mental Test?
Attitude is a result of your mental status. If delusions are clouding your mind then that effects your Karma.
"Delusions are states of mind which, when they arise within our mental contium, leave us disturbed, confused, and unhappy. Therefore, those states of mind which delude or afflict us are called Delusions."
- The Dalai Lama
Why is there an Emotional Test?
Emotions can be delusional. Delusions can create negative Karma. These delusions consist of many emotions. The emotions that effect your Karma the most are: Anger, Attachment, Guilt, Fear, Lack of self-confidence, and depression.
What is Karma?
The History of Karma
Karma stems from 3 major religions; Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is also linked with many others such as Christianity. It comes from Indian philosophy long ago. Philosophers in the Eastern world often debated on whether destiny is fixed or flexible. Indians stated that every person has his or her own Karma. This Karma was based on prior decisions, and actions a person has made or intends to make.
The Idea Behind Karma
Karma is manifested through your intentions; whether these intentions are moral, physical, mental, or emotional. Intentions are characterized by actions.
Karma is not about vengeance, punishment, or rewards. More simply put, Karma is the effects of all deeds actively created by your past, future, and present experiences. Thus, you are responsible for your own life, including the pain and joy it brings yourself and others.
Another easy way to understand Karma is through the law of cause and effect. For every cause there is an inevitable effect. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
How Does Karma Work?
The 4 Basic Laws of Karma
1. Effects are similar to the cause
If you create actions to bring suffering to others, you shall harvest suffering on yourself.
2. Without a cause there is no effect.
Effects do not just appear out of thin air.
3. Once there is action, the effect will not be lost.
Actions also do not disappear into thin air.
4. Karma expands
Once an action has been done more than once, it forms a habit. This action can then seem "normal"
How Are Consequences Determined
- Your intention and motivation.
Positive/Negative intentions harvest like consequences.
- The nature of your actions
Stealing is obviously less severe than murder.
- The actual action.
Murder in self-defense or torturing someone to death for pleasure makes a huge difference.
- The object or basis
A distinction between killing your father or an insect.
- Redundancy
Negative repetition makes the action feel less negative.
- Cumulative effects
Reoccurring negative actions without attempting to be positive creates more severe consequences.
How Do I Remove Negative Karma?
So you want to rid yourself of negative karmic potential. In order for this to happen you must apply yourself in a positive nature. Avoid negative thoughts that can result in negative actions. You must observe and control your thoughts and behavior and destroy negative attitudes. Also, you have to observe, study, or even meditate to encourage positive thoughts that can become positive actions. We can avoid negative karmic seeds to ripen by purifying it, using the FOUR POWERS OF PURIFICATION.
1. Power of the Object: One should practice thinking of all sentient beings one may have hurt. Traditionally, one remembers all sentient beings and the Three Jewels of Refuge (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), by generating compassion for all sentient beings and taking refuge.
2. Power of Regret: This should not be senseless guilt or self-recrimination, which are said to be useless emotional torture. What is intended here is to examine oneself and one's actions and to recognize that negative actions done in the past were very unwise.
3. Power of Promise: As a logical consequence of the above, one should promise not to repeat these negative actions. It is good if one can promise to avoid a negative behavior for a specific time, or at least promise that one will put effort in avoiding repetition. Not being honest at this stage makes the practice useless or even harmful to oneself.
4. Power of Practice: Basically any positive action with a good motivation can be used as practice. Traditionally in Buddhism, one can practice e.g. making prostrations (throwing oneself to the floor - as a means to destroy pride), making offerings (to counteract greed), reading Buddhist texts (to counteract ignorance and negative thoughts), reciting mantras etc.
It is often explained that one needs to clear a field by purifying it from rocks and weeds, then planting seeds by study and meditation, giving water and fertiliser by doing positive actions, and automatically new harvest will grow.