Karma means action. It means to do something, but the action specified here is not mechanical action. It is not unconscious or involuntary action. It is an intentional, conscious, deliberate, willful action. How is this possible? It is because every action must, no matter what, have a reaction.
So, based on the law of karma, when we perform an act that is intentional, we reap the results or effect, either good or bad. Therefore, if we perform an act of kindness, the effect or result will be some kind of kindness.
There are times when you think of something you want, but you may not get what you want right away. This is because the universe does not know whether your thoughts are for good or for bad. So the universe may take time to figure it out first, then deliver what it thinks is closest to what you were thinking. But until the universe responds, the immediate cause (thought) could be either wholesome or unwholesome. The person will not know till the end result is accomplished.
According to karma, there are three doors of action. These three doors are body, speech, and mind. If we break these down into groups, we have three unwholesome actions we must avoid for each group. When we start with body, the three actions we must avoid are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. As for speech, we must avoid four unwholesome actions. These are lying, slander, harsh speech, and malicious gossip. In the final group, which is mind, there are three unwholesome actions to avoid. These are greed, anger, and delusion.
If you avoid all ten unwholesome actions, you will avoid the consequences that result from doing them. The reason you need to avoid the unwholesome actions is that they only cause suffering for those who are the recipients of the actions.
This is why those who do bad things continue to do bad things. In their minds, this is all they know. The reason people act and think the way they do is directly related to their thoughts.
Those who are good and upright people, and practice this on an everyday basis, always have good coming back to them.
The old saying “what goes around comes around” is very true. This is also part of the laws of attraction and karma. To accept these laws, you accept the universal laws as set up by the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. Act in harmony with them and you will do well; act against them and you will suffer.
