Karma and Samsara: two basic concepts that inform the notions of
dharma and moksha.
1.
Karma: law of
cause and effect by which one reaps what one sows.
a.
“karma” means
“works,” “deeds”
b.
All actions,
particularly moral actions, have predictable effects – each person is
responsible for every action he or she performs; every action will influence
one’s future
c.
One’s present
conditions, character, circumstances are all the result of past actions
d.
Textual and
popular understandings of karma
2.
Samsara: as the cycle of rebirth / as the flux and flow of
creation
a.
The cycle of birth
and rebirth
b.
One’s present
life = one of a long chain of lives, countless lives in human and non-human
forms (including existence as deities)
c.
Hierarchical
order of all species in existence, such as caste
d.
Samsara as the fluid and changing universe