Buddhism and Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddhism and Psychology - Essay Example Why does a person become a victim of trauma or violence? Is it due to his Karma? The word, Karma, is from the Sanskrit language and means both action and duty. Karma according to Buddhist philosophy exists at two planes, at the individual plane, and at a collective plane. At the individual plane, every person gets born into circumstances, depending on his actions in his past life. And at the collective plane, a â€Å"certain category of beings live in a certain location and tend to perceive their environment in much the same way, because that particular shared situation is the fruition of their former actions.† On this depends whether a being is reborn as a human or an animal. However, the Karma Theory is not a deterministic one. At each point of time, one has a choice of adopting either an elevating course of action, thus ensuring a better birth in the future. Therefore, although Karma may have put a person into circumstances, which are difficult, including becoming the victi m of trauma, it decrees that one accepts this and treat those who wrong him with compassion. One must understand that Buddhism does not exalt suffering as a means to having a better life in the next birth. Not at all. A person who does not suffer and a person who suffers have both the same chance of being in similar circumstances in the next life. But since one’s current circumstances are the result of past actions, how one deals with it (with patience and forgiveness to those who harm you, if anyone does) ensures a better life in the next birth.