Karma and Its Results

Every single thing you do, say or think affects your karma. We often don’t consider these effects, as we are blinded by our habitual patterns to seek pleasure and avoid pain, even at the expense of our future happiness. When we understand what affects our karma, we can make more informed decisions about how to live our lives, guaranteeing future happiness.

Yes, you can change your karma. Once we’ve begun to grasp the truth of positive and negative motivations and actions, and the results that necessarily ensue, we can begin to work with the mind and purify our karma, which benefits not only ourselves but everyone around us.

Not only can you purify past karma, but you can improve your karma in the present by acting, speaking and thinking differently. Improving our karma guarantees less future suffering. The ability to work with our karma starts with the understanding that everything is interrelated. How we think, talk and behave, indeed everything we put into our minds has a huge effect.

The Buddhist understanding of karma is far more nuanced than “what goes around comes around” but in a sense, yes, karma always comes back. Fundamentally, the more we indulge in selfish thoughts and emotions, the less happy we are. Working for the benefit of others is what leads to genuine happiness.