We are all destined; everything we say or do can be derived from “constants”, things that never change.
However, it is possible to change our destiny. As there are constants in this Universe, there are also variants, things that change according to how we decide to live our lives.
Take for example, if a man was destined to be nothing more than an ordinary man, doing an ordinary job, then that is what he will be so long as the variants are not there or are too small to notice.
When he or she does things to the extremes (good or bad), then destiny changes. Depending on the nature of the variant, good kharma or bad kharma will sway the person’s destiny to another side.
We should avoid bad kharma at all costs, and approach good kharma with open arms. Kharma being just the life in the deeds we do, the amount, the measurement. Let’s all be good and transcend our destiny.
Donn, fragments 
First, Karma does not imply what you’ve indicated it does. It’s an entirely different concept, completely indiependent of the “nature” of our deeds. It is neither good nor bad it is simply the results of our actions. You invite your girlfriend to the house and decide to have sex with her on the kitchen table in front of your parents during what was supposed to be a pleasant dinner. One could argue that this is a bad thing, but to me it sounds good, and to others (most others, admittedly) it will sound “bad”, still I like it, anyhow the point is that you then have the karma of dealing with how she may perceive this overt act of intimacy in their presence. Maybe she wants to get married now, maybe she wants to do this all the time (yay!), maybe she’ll start treating you poorly because she can’t handle being so vulnerable…whatever the case may be, you have to deal with it in some way. The easiest thing to do is to not deal with it. that is disengagemnt from karma. However it is also true that you should simply stop reading all that crap about karma and start determining for yourself the course of your life from a perspective that you develop by your self, from your self. Do you think you aren’t smart enough? What the fuck mad buddha so special? Who cares? Did you know him?
“However it is also true that you should simply stop reading all that crap about karma and start determining for yourself the course of your life from a perspective that you develop by your self, from your self. Do you think you aren’t smart enough? What the fuck mad buddha so special? Who cares? Did you know him?”
Firstly, about the definition of karma: the word “karma” I used appears different from that of yours. “Karma” is used in many different contexts, and the context from which I used it was from traditional eastern (Chinese) buddhist text.
Buddha is so special because people think he is special — aren’t all special people special because others thought they were special? And no, I do not, and did not, know him.
Thinking about life is a philosophy. Different ways of thinking about life, for example existentialism, determinsm, karma, are just that: thoughts.
Perhaps you might wonder why anyone would want to believe such “crap”. But why would anyone not want to believe in it? Believing in karma might for some make them passive; but the karma I stated shows that one can overcome one’s karma by doing more good.
Personally I do not believe in it. But I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone did, and that’s why I shared it. People would be more willing to do more good and less evil, and everyone wins.
“When he or she does things to the extremes (good or bad), then destiny changes.”
1. “Good” and “bad” are ambiguous words. “Kharma” and “destiny” are also vague. We must define words that refer to abstractions to keep our thinking and communication clear. To me, how “good” an act is in a particular situation = the likelihood of the act causing more happiness than suffering x how much more happiness than suffering. How “bad” is the same as how “good,” but with “suffering” and “happiness” switched around. (My definitions of happiness & suffering are at https://donn.wordpress.com/2003/09/atheist/#comment-123)
2. People don’t have to do extreme things to make a difference. Little things can lead to a big difference. People are more likely to do little things. It’s better to encourage people to do good little things than to expect them to do extreme things, which would likely discourage them from making any changes or make them rebel and do bad things.