Karma

Occasionally people who do not have a proper knowledge of karmic law say that such and such person is very kind and religious, but he always has problems, whereas so and so is very deceptive and negative, but always seems very successful. Such peopl may think that there is no karmic law at all. There are others wo go to the other extreme and become superstitious, thinking that when someone experiences illness, it is all due to harmful spirits. However, there is a definite relation between causes and effects: that actions not commiteed will never produce an effect; and that once committed, actions will never lose their potentiality.

-the Dalai Lama

The idea of karma first suggests to a lot of people the idea of a supernatural equalizing force. If I do bad things, I will be repaid in kind, and if I do good things, I will be rewarded with good things happening to me. However, this is the universe we're talking about here. It doesn't work that way. On the other hand, as the Dalai Lama points out, that doesn't mean the concept of karma is worthless; it just means we've misunderstood it. My own personal understanding is that, except in the case, perhaps, of sociopaths, that bad behavior will indeed lead to bad effects: bad mental effects, such as guilt, shame and anger. Good actions will lead to a happier state of mind. Similarly, bad actions do have a tendency to come back and bite us, and our good behavior is sometimes reciprocated. This is only a very general rule, though, and performing good deeds with an expectation of external approval or an external reward s a good way to be frustrated.