Karma (or kamma in Pali), is the fifth of the Five Daily Recollections. It points to the natural law of cause and effect unfolding moment by moment. Joseph Goldstein describes karma as “resting on the tip of intention,” emphasizing that it is the quality of our intentions — more than the action itself — that shapes the ripples of experience. Each intention plants a seed; each choice conditions how the heart-mind inclines in the next moment, much like a pebble cast into a still pond.
But how does karma function when there is no fixed Self to receive its results, and when all phenomena are inherently empty? If experience is a dynamic flow rather than a possession, what does it mean to be “the owner of our actions”? And how might a deeper understanding of intention help loosen habitual patterns and open the possibility of more skillful responses?
Sonia led our Sangha this week. You can listen to the talks she played here:
“Karma”, by Joseph Goldstein
https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/15978.html
“Karma and Intention” by Gil Fronsdal
https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/transcribed-talks/karma-and-intention/
