Karma - Nothing Happens by Itself: Why Nothing, Not Even You, Happens Without Others

Last sitting in December we touched briefly on dependent origination, or dependent arising, and I want to come back to it here in a very simple way. A plain way to say it is this is "Everything exists because of something else".

Nothing we experience just appears out of nowhere. Even something as simple as us sitting in meditation together doesn’t happen independently.

It can feel as though we did it all ourselves: We decided to come. We chose the time to leave home. We walked, cycled, or drove. It was our own effort that brought us here.

And all of that is true. And yet, it’s not the whole picture.

We were able to come because we had enough health in our bodies. Enough time in our day. Enough support in our lives to pause and be here.

We were able to come because roads were built - because someone planned them, someone made them, because there were materials, tools, weather, time and care involved. Much of it offered by people we will never meet or know.

Our sitting today rests on all of that.

Inner Experience Works the Same Way

Thoughts, emotions, moods and reactions also arise because certain conditions are present. When the conditions change, the experience changes too.

And this matters why?

This matters in daily life because if something arises because of conditions, it means it can also pass when those conditions change. So when irritation arises, it’s often not because “this is just who I am.” It may depend on fatigue, stress, or being overstimulated. Seeing conditions doesn’t mean explaining everything away. It means that instead of immediately reacting, or thinking “that’s just how I am,” we begin to pause and ask: "What’s actually going on here?" And that pause is already freedom.

And This Is Where Karma Comes In

Karma is often misunderstood. It’s not a cosmic punishment system. And it’s not an evil genie waiting to jump out and get us when we do something wrong. Karma simply means that all our thoughts, words and actions have effects.

Because everything arises from conditions, our thoughts, words and actions matter - within ourselves and in our relationships with others. What we repeatedly think, say and do becomes part of our lived conditions.

If we keep reacting with anger, we strengthen anger - in ourselves and in the spaces around us.

If we respond with kindness, patience, or care, those qualities are strengthened instead.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about understanding cause and effect.

Why Practice Is Possible

Because conditions are always changing, nothing is fixed. This is why practice is possible.

In meditation, even something as simple as noticing the breath changes the conditions. Awareness itself becomes a new condition. And when awareness is present, different things can arise - maybe a little more ease, maybe a little less reactivity. This may not feel very dramatic. Actually, it’s very ordinary. But also very powerful.

Simply explained it is this:

Things happen because of conditions - and we are part of the conditions. When we see that, we don’t need to blame ourselves or others so much. We just pay attention, and gently choose what we’re cultivating.

For example:

Conditions: lack of sleep, stress

Contact: someone criticises you

Feeling: unpleasant sensation

Reaction: irritation, defensiveness

Mood: lingering anger or heaviness

The emotion wasn’t “you,” and it wasn’t random. It was conditioned.

Why Seeing This Changes Things

When we start to see that mental states are conditioned, something softens.

There is:

Less self-blame - “this isn’t me, it’s a process”

Less identification - “anger is arising, it’s not who I am”

More space to respond rather than react

As the Buddha put it very simply:

“When this is, that comes to be.

When this ceases, that ceases.”

This is not abstract philosophy.

It’s a practical way of living with more understanding, more kindness and a little more freedom.