I am studying basic buddhist practice and decide to go back to the meaning of karma. I like the physics of the concept - and one book to try is The Tao of Physics. Thanks to Science Daily for the image.An clear observation comes from BuddhaNet [note references were male, but I have changed this] where it says that karma the should not be confused with fate. Fate is the notion that a person's life is preplanned by an external power, and there is no control over destiny.
Karma on the other hand, can be changed. Because a woman is a conscious being she can be aware of her karma and thus strive to change the course of events.
Karma is a Sanskrit word from the root "Kri" to do or to make and simply means "action."
It operates in the universe as the continuous chain reaction of cause and effect. It is not only confined to causation in the physical sense but also it has moral implications.
Now human beings are constantly giving off physical and spiritual forces in all directions. In physics we learn that no energy is ever lost; only that it changes form. This is the common law of conservation of energy.
Similarly, spiritual and mental action is never lost. It is transformed. Thus Karma is the law of the conservation of moral energy.
With each action-influence she sends out and at the same time, receives, she is changing. This changing personality and the world she lives in, constitute the totality of her karma.
To learn more visit BuddhaNet.
