Question: “I am secular. I agree with the Buddhas philosophy, but mind cant really jump onto the bandwagon of reincarnation, karma, or any supernatural forces. I just can’t will myself to belief based on faith. Is this anti-Buddhist?”
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s “anti-Buddhist,” but rebirth and karma are very important aspects of Buddhism. It’s hard for a lot of people to grasp those concepts because, like you I think, look at it from a supernatural perspective instead of a logical and scientific perspective.
Everything around us, literally, is in some way, shape or form a product or byproduct of “reincarnation.” The table you’re sitting at or chair you’re sitting on is a form of reincarnation; it has taken natural objects like wood and metal, and is now rebirthed into frames, nails and pieces into the object we now call a table and chair.
Look at water and how many times it is reincarnated into liquid, gas and solid. Rain and snow don’t just appear. Water evaporates into the clouds and brings down rain or snow to make water again, and the cycle constantly repeats itself.
Same thing with karma, don’t look at it like it’s some mystical or supernatural thing that someone or something controls, it’s not. I don’t really like to use the word “karma” because of the ‘supernatural’ notion is carries with it. Instead, cause and effect is much more logical. Again, everything around us is a product of cause and effect. Our life certainly shows that. If we went to school, only two things could of happened: we either graduated or didn’t graduate. How? Because if we studied, took notes, did our work and paid attention, then the effect is us graduating! Likewise, if we didn’t study, didn’t take notes, didn’t do our work and didn’t pay attention, the result is failure and not graduating.
We can then ask ourselves why we were born in the place, time, and family we were born into? People have good families and bad families. Some are born into rich, middle class or poor families. Some are born in good countries, others are born in countries where they’ve never seen clean water before. We can judge our “karma” by the life we have. If it’s a good one or at least better than most of the world’s, then we can assume our past lives have done enough good deeds for our fortunate rebirth. Likewise, if we don’t have that good of a life or live in poor conditions, then our past lives must have not done that much good. However, if we do happen to live in poor conditions or in “the ghetto,” then we most certainly can help ourselves and get ourselves out of that. By working hard and studying hard, we can save enough money or get scholarships, grants and loans to get an education and then use that education to get a good job and get out of the poor conditions we were in.
“Karma” isn’t just, “oh someone cut me off and now they got into a car accident. That’s karma b***h! Absolutely not! Someone cutting you off and them speeding is their cause, the effect is the accident. There’s no “karma” there, just a natural reaction to deeds.
Smile and be well!