moralobjectivity.net: copyright Robert M. Ellis 2008

'The Trouble with Buddhism' Chapter 4 (The trouble with karma) part d

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Buddhism without karma

After all the criticism of karma and rebirth in the previous sections of this chapter, it might be a good idea to return to a positive note before concluding this chapter. What would Buddhism look like without the doctrine of karma? For many this idea is almost unimaginable, yet the idea of Buddhism without karma is far more coherent than the more commonly entertained idea of a Western Buddhism without rebirth but with karma.

The basic answer is simple: Buddhism without a doctrine of karma would be free to concentrate on asserting only the existence of probable moral consequences which we can actually experience, within a certain credible time frame. It is not difficult to trace the effects of hatred in producing more hatred, or of love in producing more love, within our experience. All we have to do is focus our attention on these processes, which is what practices of meditation and reflection in Buddhist tradition often do.

To believe in the probability that if I allow hatred for a certain person to develop, it will only lead to more hatred, is quite enough of a motivator for efforts to reduce hatred. Nor does the hatred necessarily have to have bad effects on me personally in the future, for imagining its bad effects on others might also motivate me.

A small shift, it might be thought, from talking about a universal law to talking about a probability traceable in experience. But the consequences of such a shift in Buddhist language should not be underestimated. Then, at last, it might be possible for Buddhists to get on with their useful practice without being distracted by argument about metaphysical claims, or being held back by attachments to ideas that have been dug in against experience.

In such an ideal future practice of Buddhism, the word “karma” would not appear, even in ritual. The word would not be fudged and modified and subjected to any other dishonest manipulation, but rather abandoned. Instead all Buddhists could pledge themselves wholeheartedly to the avoidance of the bad consequences which they are likely to experience from bad mental states and bad actions, whilst good consequences following from good mental states and good actions would be cultivated. How many more people might apply themselves to Buddhist practices if it could only become that straightforward! How much the world might benefit!