yes.
wellâŠ
âŠ
hmmmmmmâŠ
why do you think Ferraris exist? hihihi
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Why do Ferraris exist? To destroy the planet with climate change based on egoic craving? As a lesson to our egoic minds?
Karmaâs a bitch, baby.
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Nazeem Hussain
No relation to Sadam.
And heâs totally insane!
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Regarding âkarma,â Andrewâs teachings emphasize it as a synonym for âhabit,â not âwhat goes around comes around.â So, your interpretation is a misapplication of the concept. But hey, judge, jury, whatever. 
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OK you can say âhabits.â But donât habits also have causal consequences? If I have a habit of smoking, then the consequence is that I could get lung cancer or COPD. If I have a habit of saving money, then the consequence is that I will have more money in savings.
And I believe there are collective habits with collective consequences. If a country has a habit of invading other countries, it will eventually have consequences. If we as a species have a habit of dumping CO2 into the atmosphere, it will have consequences. Karma, baby. My understanding of Karma is that itâs about cause and effect.
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Ran out of lovies for today, sorry i cannot heart your replyâŠ
Anyways.
Say hi to ChatGPT Deep Research:
Andrew Holecek on Karma: âHabitâ vs. âCause and Effectâ
Andrew Holecekâs Interpretation of Karma as Habit
Buddhist teacher Andrew Holecek emphasizes that karma is essentially habit â the ingrained patterns of thinking and acting â rather than a simple external âcause and effectâ or cosmic retribution. In his words, âKarma is basically habit. Itâs the momentum of repeated actions that become habitualâ. In this view, every action of body, speech, or mind reinforces a tendency: âKarma is habit, and any action of body, speech, or mind is habit-forming. Think, say, or do something once and itâs easier to do it again.â. Holecek suggests that our habits literally create our reality by filtering how we perceive and respond to the world. For example, he explains that we habitually see the waking world as solid and real, and âthis habitual pattern â in Buddhist terms, this karma â of seeing the world as solid, lasting, and independentâ carries over into dreams, keeping us deluded. By recognizing and changing these habits (e.g. by viewing experiences as dreamlike), we can transform our experience.
Holecek explicitly contrasts his interpretation with the popular notion of karma as a cosmic âwhat goes around comes aroundâ law. Instead of a mystical reward/punishment mechanism, he frames karma as the psychological conditioning we accumulate. He notes that enlightenment (complete awakening) entails breaking all habits: âenlightenment is the alleviation of all karma⊠getting rid of all your karma, all your habits. Only Buddhas are habit free, only Buddhas are karma free.â. In other words, a fully awakened being has no unconscious habitual patterns; they have wiped clean all karmic imprints. Holecek often encourages using karma âin your favorâ by cultivating positive habits. In a Q&A, he said âcreate good habits, create good karma⊠those good habits â the force of habit, karma â is then used in your favorâ. Thus, in Holecekâs framework karma is an internal momentum of habit energy that can either carry us into suffering or, if redirected, towards awakening. This stands in contrast to viewing karma as an external, deterministic fate.
Karma in TheravÄda Buddhism: A Law of Cause and Effect
In classical TheravÄda (Early Buddhism), karma (PÄli: kamma) is traditionally defined as intentional action that brings about corresponding results. The Buddha famously said, âIntention (cetana), monks, is karma. Having intended, one performs actions by body, speech, or mind.â In other words, volition is the essence of karma. Every intentional act plants a seed that will eventually bear fruit (vipÄka). As one reference explains: âKarma is action, and vipaka, fruit or result, is its reaction. Just as every volitional activity is inevitably accompanied by its due effect⊠Karma is like a potential seed; vipaka could be likened to the fruit arising from the tree â the effect or result.â. This reflects a moral law of cause and effect operating across time: wholesome intentions lead to positive outcomes (happiness or fortunate rebirths), and unwholesome intentions lead to suffering or unfavorable outcomes. In the TheravÄda view, karma is a natural law (Dhamma-niyÄma) of ethical causation â âas we sow, so we reapâ â rather than any divine judgment.
Itâs important to note that TheravÄda doctrine does not portray karma as rigid determinism; it operates amid other causal laws and present choices. Classic texts clarify that karma refers only to the action, not the result. The result is termed vipÄka, and oneâs current situation is influenced not only by past karma but also by present actions and other factors. One Buddhist scholar writes: âKamma is volitional action, nothing more, nothing less⊠Kamma never comprises the result of action⊠Kamma forms the cause, or seed, from which results will accrue to the individualâ. Thus, TheravÄda largely frames karma in cause-and-effect terms â a chain of intentions and results â while acknowledging that habits can form when actions are repeated. For example, practicing kindness regularly will incline oneâs character toward kindness, whereas indulging in anger will strengthen angry tendencies. These are habits born of repeated cause-and-effect cycles, but the primary definition in TheravÄda remains karma as a willed cause that yields an effect, particularly influencing oneâs rebirth and experiences. This is analogous to the common idea âwhat goes around comes around,â though Buddhism emphasizes psychological intent rather than external âjustice.â
Karma in MahÄyÄna Buddhism: Karmic Seeds and Habitual Tendencies
MahÄyÄna Buddhism fully accepts the basic cause-and-effect mechanism of karma but further elaborates on how karma works internally. In MahÄyÄna philosophy (e.g. the YogÄcÄra school), every action leaves a subtle imprint on the mind â often called a âseedâ (bÄ«ja) or habit-energy (vÄsanÄ) â which will later germinate when conditions are right. Thus karma is seen as a process of conditioning that molds oneâs mind and experience over time. As one summary of Buddhist thought explains, in later Buddhism âintentional actions, driven by disturbing emotions and craving, create impressions or âseedsâ in the mindâ. These karmic seeds accumulate in the storehouse consciousness (ÄlÄyavijñÄna) and ripen into future experiences or habits. This is essentially a description of karma as habit formation on a deep mental level â our repeated volitions groove patterns into the mind.
MahÄyÄna teachings often emphasize the importance of purifying these mental imprints and cultivating wholesome seeds. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, for instance, speaks of âhabit energiesâ driving our behavior. He uses the seed metaphor to illustrate how karma builds character: âThe seeds we plant contain the potential to grow when conditions support them⊠From intention springs the deed, from the deed springs the habits. From the habits grow the character, from character develops destiny.â. This quote from a Buddhist text concisely shows the progression: a single intentional act (karma) repeated becomes a habit; habits solidify into character traits; and our character shapes our destiny. In this MahÄyÄna view, karma is not just a one-time cause and one-time effect, but a reinforcing cycle of behavior. Good intentions and actions plant good seeds that incline us toward enlightenment, whereas negative actions plant weeds that entangle us in samsÄra.
Itâs also in MahÄyÄna that the emptiness of karma is explored philosophically: ultimately, because no self or action has independent existence, karma is not a fixed fate. Still, on the relative level, MahÄyÄna texts urge ethical action because âintentional actions keep one tied to rebirth in saáčsÄraâ. In sum, MahÄyÄna agrees that karma is a cause-and-effect process, but it places greater stress on karma as ongoing habit patterns or mental conditioning (conditioning that one can transform). This provides a bridge to VajrayÄna interpretations like Holecekâs, which focus on the moment-to-moment habits created by karma.
Karma in VajrayÄna (Tibetan Buddhism): Transforming Habitual Patterns
VajrayÄna Buddhism (which Andrew Holecek teaches) inherits the MahÄyÄna understanding and makes it even more practice-oriented: karma is often equated with the âhabitual patternsâ that obscure our innate Buddha-nature. Tibetan teachings frequently speak of karmic patterns or karmic traces (bag chags in Tibetan) that accumulate until purified. While VajrayÄna fully acknowledges the moral causality of karma (one is advised to adopt virtuous conduct and abandon harmful actions to avoid negative results), there is a strong emphasis that karma operates through the mindâs habits â and by working directly with mind, one can alter or even transcend karma.
Some VajrayÄna teachers caution against understanding karma in a simplistic, linear way. For example, Buddhist teacher Ken McLeod notes that itâs a misunderstanding to equate karma strictly with Western notions of causality: âThe first misconception⊠is the notion that karma means cause and effect.â. He explains that the Tibetan term for karma (las rgyu âbras) literally means âaction-seed-result,â implying an organic process more like growth than mechanical cause-effect. âKarma describes the way actions grow from seeds into results,â McLeod writes, highlighting that an action planted in the mind will grow and give rise to a full-fledged outcome over time. By analogy: âAn acorn doesnât cause an oak tree. It grows into an oak tree. Actions donât cause our world of experience. They grow into our world of experience. Karma describes growth, not causation.â. This aligns closely with Holecekâs usage of karma as the momentum of our mental and behavioral habits.
In VajrayÄna practice, therefore, working with karma means working with oneâs habits and perceptions in the here and now. Advanced practices (such as dream yoga, MahÄmudrÄ, or Dzogchen) aim to recognize thoughts and emotions the instant they arise and let them self-liberate, rather than fueling them. By not perpetuating habitual reactions, the karma is âcutâ on the spot. We saw Holecek echo this: âIf you let it go the instant it comes, you will simultaneously let go of karmaâ. The goal is to exhaust all karmic conditioning â positive and negative â to experience reality directly. As one Tibetan text puts it, âSamsara only stops when we no longer create karma,â i.e. when all habitual clinging and aversion cease. Until that point, VajrayÄna also teaches using karma skillfully: one can âpurifyâ negative karma through meditation, mantra, and ethical conduct, and cultivate positive karma (good habits) to accelerate spiritual progress. In everyday terms, this means diligently replacing unwholesome habits with wholesome ones â exactly the strategy Holecek advocates (using the âforce of habitâ to oneâs advantage).
Summary: Karma â Habit Energy vs. Cosmic Justice
Across Buddhist traditions, karma fundamentally means âactionâ (especially volitional action) and the impact of that action on oneâs future. TheravÄda Buddhism tends to stress the ethical cause-and-effect aspect: karma as good or bad intentional deeds that later bring corresponding results. This is the basis for the common saying âwhat goes around comes around,â though Buddhism frames it as natural law rather than external judgment. MahÄyÄna and VajrayÄna Buddhism agree with this principle but put additional emphasis on the internal, habitual aspect of karma: our actions leave lasting imprints that shape our tendencies, character, and experience (in this life and future lives). In these traditions, karma is deeply tied to habitual patterns of mind â often called karma-vÄsanÄ or karmic seeds â which must be understood and transformed as part of the path.
Andrew Holecekâs teaching on karma aligns with this deeper interpretation. He explicitly redefines karma as the habituated momentum of past actions, rather than a simple ledger of deeds. As Holecek puts it, karma is âbasically habitâ. What this means for our understanding is that karma is not something imposed on us; it is something we are actively doing. The âresultsâ of karma are essentially the continuation of a pattern we ourselves have set in motion. So instead of saying âif you do good, good will come to youâ in a magical sense, Holecek would say: do good repeatedly, and you become a person who dwells in goodness, thereby naturally experiencing positive outcomes. âBeing a good person and helping others creates the momentum that will carry you gracefully through the bardos,â he writes, indicating that our habits of virtue shape our destiny.
In short, Holecek shifts the focus from external consequence to internal continuity. Karma is the continuation of our acts through the habits they form. This clarification helps refine the common view â âwhat goes around comes aroundâ â by explaining why it works that way: what âcomes aroundâ is just our own pattern cycling back. Understanding karma as habit empowers practitioners to work on their patterns here and now. As various Buddhist scholars and teachers note, every action is reinforcing or weakening a habit. Holecekâs perspective reminds us that by changing our habits (our karmic patterns), we change our future. This nuanced understanding is well grounded in Buddhist thought: karma is both cause-and-effect and the habits born from that cause-and-effect. Holecek simply highlights the latter to dispel misconceptions of karma as an inescapable cosmic punishment. Karma is something we create and carry with us â our ingrained habits â and therefore something we can shape and ultimately overcome.
Sources: Andrew Holecekâs The Best Possible Habit (Tricycle, Fall 2013); Dream Yoga by Andrew Holecek; Andrew Holecek interview transcripts; Fundamentals of Buddhism (Nyanatiloka Mahathera); Buddhanet: Karma and Vipaka; Jack Kornfield, âKarma & Habitâ (quoting a Chinese Buddhist text); Karma in Buddhism (Peter Harvey, et al.); Ken McLeod, Karma: What It Is, What It Isnât.
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Andrew sometimes replies to a question by saying âIt depends upon who you ask.â
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Amen Brother
Amen Brother
âOnly a True Buddha can fully explain the infinite complexity of Karmaâ- Master Holecek
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I agree with all of the above about karma as habit. And . . . I think there is collective karma as habit as well. Whole cultures and nations have karmic habit patterns for good or for ill, and these bear karmic fruit.
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Repost but worth it . . .
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Re: Collective karma. For instance, America is still reaping the collective karma of stealing land from the Indians and enslaving Africans, taking land from Mexico during the Mexican-American war, among many other things. And of course, we have done some good things as well. And all nations ad peoples have their good and bad karma.
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A map of Mexico in 1824. Something to consider when thinking about the current controversy over expelling illegal immigrants from Mexico.
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mexico_1824_(equirectangular_projection).png#/media/File:Viceroyalty_of_the_New_Spain_1800_(without_Philippines).png
Spanish territory in 1800.
Notice that the Gulf of Mexico was called âthe Gulf of Spain.â
Maybe we should go back to calling it the Gulf of Spain! 
Would that settle the current dispute?
Probably not.
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Itâs interesting how our perspectives on karma differ, and thatâs perfectly fine. I used to subscribe to the traditional cause-and-effect view of karma. However, Andrewâs âPreparing to Dieâ program significantly shifted my understanding. He emphasized that karma, particularly concerning the bardo and reincarnation, isnât solely about past actions dictating future consequences in a linear, âeye-for-an-eyeâ way. Instead, he presented karma as the power of habitual patterns.
Essentially, itâs the repetition of actions and thoughts that shapes our experience in the bardo and influences our subsequent rebirth. To illustrate, imagine someone with a history of negative behavior who undergoes a profound transformation, diligently cultivating positive habits and mindfulness. According to this perspective, even if they havenât fully atoned for past misdeeds, their newly established positive habits would dominate their bardo experience, leading to a more favorable rebirth.
I see a distinction between simple cause-and-effect and karma. For example, smoking causes lung cancer. Thatâs a biological consequence. Traditional karma might interpret it as punishment for harming oneself and others through secondhand smoke. My perspective, however, focuses on the habit of smoking itself. The repetitive act, the ingrained pattern, is the karma. In the bardo, this habit could manifest as continued smoking, potentially triggering negative thought patterns related to self-harm and harming others, influencing the rebirth.
Conversely, if that individual successfully breaks the smoking habit, even after causing harm through secondhand smoke, the absence of that pattern in the bardo would facilitate a more positive rebirth. The key is the transformation of habits, not a strict accounting of past deeds.
I understand your perspective on karma, and I hope you can appreciate mine. While our views diverge, I believe we both share a fundamental interest in understanding this complex concept.
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I donât think our views are that far apart. Iâm just saying habit patterns have consequences so their is a cause and effect aspect of habitual patterns. And yes, changing the habits can change the karmic results.
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Agree with this statement wholeheartedly. I think the only minor discrepancy isâŠ
How the above portion is defined.
Iâd say to this statement:
Consequences are a bitch, baby 
.
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Yes. And itâs how we learn and grow. Bad habits = bad results. Perhaps eventually we will learn and start to change. Both individually and collectively.
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