American Buddhist Net

There is an important distinction to be made between Buddhism and science.

Science works with empirical evidence that can be confirmed by many people though repetition of experiments.

Buddhism works with empirical evidence that is mainly confirmed by the individual alone. The kinds of evidence Buddhists seek is essentially particular to them. Buddhist practice places full weight on the existential reality of the individual.

At the same time, the teachings of the Buddha contain may general statements that have valid, general applications to individuals. Examples: we will be happier (and so will others) if we follow the Five Precepts; we progress best by using the three trainings "morality, meditation, and wisdom"; the more we see through the illusion of the self, the more we will see ultimate reality, and so on.

Karma fits in here as a general statement that has valid applications to individual situations. On a basic level, we can understand the law of karma to mean that if I hold onto feelings of anger, more anger will spring from me. If I hold onto feelings of compassion, more compassion will spring from me. If I treat others well, they will treat me well. The basic rule is I must pay attention to the causes I create because I will suffer or enjoy the results of them.

You say "karma...seems to conflict with that other faith-the faith in science and in the infinite nature of our ignorance."

Karma is a general principle that has many differing individual applications. At any moment of time, the conditions that comprise your life are so complex even you cannot fully understand them.

Karma is a general principal that helps us understand how to deal with the present and the future. If something unpleasant happens to us, we take responsibility for it and look to generate good causes that will improve our conditions. If something unpleasant happens to someone else, we do not blame them for it, but simply look to what we might be able to do to help bring about better conditions for them.

I suppose a central question in your mind is this: is karma a general principle like those found in science, does it have universal application, and if so, does that not mean that we are living in a universe that is centered on a moral law?

I believe different Buddhists would answer this differently. Some would say, it is hard to believe that we live in a universe centered on a moral law, but I like the teachings and they help me, so I will reserve judgment on the matter.

Others would say, yes we are living in a moral universe. For that type, Buddhist teachings basically break into two or three streams. One stream says that the moral principal is a sort of "absolute" law, there is no self, nirvana is indescribable, and once you have attained it these questions about karma will be framed in a very different way.

The other stream would claim that there is something like a "soul" in people and that this soul is subject to something like God (how else can a karmic judgment be made if not by a supreme intelligence?). This type would say that the Buddha's teachings on "no self" were directed toward practice and not meant to be taken as an ultimate philosophy.

A third stream might say that the law of karma is just a very good way of thinking for unenlightened people because if we follow this law we will eventually become enlightened. At that point, we may look back and see that karma is not an absolute or subject to the judgment of a higher intelligence, but simply the best way to free ourselves from the entanglements that bind us to delusion. Once we are free, there is no longer any such thing as karma; the reality we see at that point completely supercedes anything we may have thought or said about karma, which all along was entirely "empty."

There is a fourth type that would say the teachings on karma are useful inasmuch as they improve our practice and life, but can become a waste of time if they obstruct practice of the other teachings. The Buddha's metaphor of the man shot with the arrow fits in here.

I also think that it is very important to realize that our judgments of what is good or bad karma can be very limited. We all know the basics in this (broke my leg, had to stop, thus was not killed by an avalanche), but there are other levels, which include karmic events as being examples or lessons for others or necessary conditions for deeper change.

As for the "infinite nature of our ignorance," this could mean that ultimate knowledge is not possible for us or the Buddha, that people in one thousand years (assuming there are any) will know more than we do today, or something else. I suppose only a Buddha could answer this one and I further suppose that his answer would be the Dharma itself--the best way for us to learn how to answer it ourselves. Also, in this vein, Buddhist practice does make us better people who live richer lives that are gentler and more interesting than without Buddhism.

One could also say in this context, as many Buddhists do, that human consciousness has many levels and that at its deepest levels it is centered on the ultimate reality of the universe. One can only test this statement by doing Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and other practices.

See also this for a wonderful take on our human condition: Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy's Couch

Hope this helps.