The Multidimensional Fabric of Karma Individual, Interpersonal, and Collective Levels of Buddhist Karma Doctrine

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Newman, John

Keywords

Buddhism, Karma, Collective Karma, Buddhist Ethics

Area of Concentration

Religion

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates that Buddhism's ethical-causal doctrine of karma is multidimensional, and that an individualistic understanding of karma is basic but not sufficient. Karma may be shown to function on three levels: the individual, the interpersonal, and the collective. A multidimensional reading of karma doctrine enables us to understand the causal-conditional dynamics between beings, as well as the significance of group actions and experiences. It illuminates the ethical dimension of the interdependence of beings and phenomena. Although most Buddhologists focus on karma's implications for individual �actors� and �experiencers� of the fruits of action, this study points out that a number of seminal Buddhist texts, Hinayana and Mahayana, provide the precedent for a more comprehensive understandings of the doctrine. The task at hand is, thus, to reconstruct and consider the implications of Buddhist karma's multidimensionality.

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