karma

In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, the deeds carried forward from one life to the next through rebirth or reincarnation. The aim of believers is to free themselves from the cycle of rebirth, attaining union with God or nirvana.

In Hinduism and Sikhism, all the actions of a person, whether deliberate or unintentional, are carried forward with the transmigration of the soul, resulting in an improved or worsened fate. In Buddhism, karma is affected only by deliberate deeds, resulting in a set of tendencies carried on from birth to birth in the cycle of samsāra. No permanent personality is envisaged, as Buddhists do not believe in a distinct and separate soul that can pass from life to life, a concept known as anatta, or ‘no soul’. Karma is dispersed with the attainment of nirvana.