anyone else feel awkward when someone's response to an injustice occurring is, what goes around comes around? the basic premise of the thought is solid in terms of if 2 people on equal footing harm each other, the other can/may reciprocate. but in REAL LIFE, victims are usually not on the same footing as their attacker (political, legal crimes, etc).

do you really think that people who hurt others are justly punished somehow? or does it seem more likely that we'd simply like to think that there is some omnipotent system in place that gets revenge on "bad" people for us without any effort on our part?

 

Most people don't lead perfect lives. Most peoples lives exist in cyclical natures of good and bad; desired and less desired. As such, one could easily argue that the karma system is just synonymous, thereby describing the cycle of life. It's not so much does karma exist, as much as your question is; does anyone here believe that the scales of the universe are balanced over time by forces beyond, and that the universe is interactive in that, those who take away from the universe have things taken, and those that give to the universe are given in return.

What I'm getting at is that the karmic event is simply an eventuality, so yes 98% of those who dish out inevitably get theirs. The implications of that lies in if you are spiritual or not. Really anyone with a spirituality would believe that the universe is interactive, atheists would say it's mother nature, and agnostics could swing either way. To answer your question bluntly, yes I am a believer that the human spirit supersedes this consciousness, and at times a rather vile and bloise three dimensions. I certainly believe that you get what you give, and when you give pain you usually get it back in heap fulls. Please note that I'm not necessarily saying that they should get that judgement, for no man should have or perceive to have an authority for universe to cleanse itself, I do however believe the universe is always justified in casting its judgement [lastly note, I do believe we're all allowed to voice our sincere beliefs to the universe for consideration, just never command it].

 

I think most people who do bad things likely recognize their actions as such, and subconsciously I believe this "preoccupation" leaves them vulnerable to slip-ups, negative encounters, and the like, which they then perceive as some form of karmic vengeance.

 

hey op, read this book

http://www.brianweiss.com/thebooks.html#mlmm

 

Sometimes people don't realize what they'v done. Sometimes people let things go because they've done the same thing to someone else and at the current time can let it go. Sometimes people just prefer to move on with their life than dwell on some perceived injustice that can't be reversed by outrage.

People who intentionally, consistently hurt others are reacting out of their own pain. They already live in their own hell, why put yourself in there with them by choice? Simply move one, the way you do when it snows on your way to work but rains when you get off.

 

why do you think that those who harm others are in their own hell? human nature clearly shows that people can and will take pleasure in exercising power over others. how do you know they are not living it up and getting zero punishment in return?

 

I suspect many people spit in your food. That sort of qualifies, right?

 

spit in the food is pretty worthless if the consumer doesnt ever realize they consumed it.

 

Because 'hell' is a state of being. No rational, logical, good natured person harms others. Those who harm people, are operating on a neurological circuitry that is different from that which your standard, indifferent person runs on. As CUAT9K said, this circuity tends to lead to abnormal (as in higher than normal) chances of slip-ups, finding yourself into precarious situations, lesser than situations. It's a self created, self perpetuating 'hell'. Let us be clear 'hell' is not a place; as much as it's a state of being in the place that you stand. The thing about being in a state of 'hell' is it veils an illusion over their eyes, to perceive that they're not. "This is simply my life," tends to be the complacent attitude, which hands over their life to their own self destructive habits and intentions, without realizing it as such. The saying, "The devils greatest trick was convincing the world he didn't exist," is metaphoric to describe the convincing delusion that animalistic tendencies are simply "the way the world turns." Most people living in 'hell' don't realize they're in hell, because of complacency. Their punishment isn't always external; infact the punishment is largely internal. You may never be able to quantify the 'hell' that the person next to you is living in; because you do not see the reality that they are perceiving. No one is ever 'cast into hell', au contraire... they booked their first class tickets on Expedia themselves. If you measure reward, or punishment only through that which is externally quantifiable as such, then you're in for a big surprise.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44084236...alth-behavior/

Losing ones self, and thus the connection of self to surroundings is hell, it's internal. Just because they have a Bentley, an a mansion doesn't mean they're happy, it just means they've fooled you into thinking they are. It's usually the other way around. One might attribute this to the 'stress and work' of what it takes to get rich. Wrong, it's the stress cause on the mind and body, of rejecting ones self and tying ones self to their external value and worth, dictated usually by money, goods, or the perception of their own value by others. Think about it; you have to be completely disconnected from your own humanity, as well as the humanity around you to have record profits and still lay people off. Of course, I'm only talking about the 'rich' state of hell since this seems to be what you're eluding to by 'living it up'. Unless you mean 'living it up' by partying, sex, drugs, socializing etc to extremes... well quite frankly, that takes the same disconnect from one self. Two fold; internally, as well by clouding ones mind into complacency through substances. I don't think I need to explain the self created hell in places like the projects, where animalistic survival methods are employed [to well, survive] and ones 'hell' spills out to the innocent.

TL;DR: Read a book on the 'mental quality of life' of many 'rich' people, you'll learn that their world isn't the rainbows and gold roads it appears to be. It's rusted silver, with really thick coats of paint.

 

But I just told you..