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Karma

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development of the doctrine of Karma, broadly of reaping what you sow, from the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism down to today.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the doctrine of Karma as developed initially among Hindus, Jains and Buddhists in India from the first millennium BCE. Common to each is an idea, broadly, that you reap what you sow: how you act in this world has consequences either for your later life or your future lives, depending on your view of rebirth and transmigration. From this flow different ideas including those about free will, engagement with the world or disengagement, the nature of ethics and whether intention matters, and these ideas continue to develop today.

With

Monima Chadha
Professor of Indian Philosophy and Tutorial Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford

Jessica Frazier
Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

And

Karen O鈥橞rien-Kop
Lecturer in Asian Religions at Kings College London

Producer: Simon Tillotson

In Our Time is a 大象传媒 Studios Audio Production

Reading list:

J. Bronkhorst, Karma (University of Hawaii Press, 2011)

J. H. Davis (ed.), A Mirror is for Reflection: Understanding Buddhist Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2017), especially 鈥楤uddhism Without Reincarnation? Examining the Prospects of a 鈥淣aturalized鈥 Buddhism鈥 by J. Westerhoff

J. Ganeri (ed.), Ethics and Epics: Philosophy, Culture, and Religion (Oxford University Press, 2002), especially 鈥楰arma and the Moral Order鈥 by B. K. Matilal

Y. Krishan, The Doctrine of Karma: Its Origin and Development in Br膩hma峁噄cal, Buddhist and Jaina Traditions (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1997)

N.K.G. Mendis (ed.), The Questions of King Milinda: An Abridgement of Milindapa帽ha (Buddhist Publication Society, 1993)

M. Siderits, How Things Are: An Introduction to Buddhist Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2022)

M. Vargas and J. Dorris (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology (Oxford Univesrity Press, 2022), especially 鈥楰arma, Moral Responsibility and Buddhist Ethics鈥 by B. Finnigan

J. Zu, 'Collective Karma Cluster Concepts in Chinese Canonical Sources: A Note' (Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol.24: 2, 2023)

Available now

51 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 Jun 2024 23:00

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Guests and related links

Contributors:
of the University of Oxford
of the University of Oxford聽
of King鈥檚 College London

Related links:


Broadcasts

  • Thu 20 Jun 2024 09:00
  • Sun 23 Jun 2024 23:00

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