When someone is born with a handicap or endures great suffering, has that anything to do with 'karma'?
The belief that each person has a succession of lives originates in Buddhism. The word "karma" is often used to refer to the sum of a person's actions in one life which will determine his fate in the next one. If we accept that it is the soul alone that reincarnates and not the spirit (our total identity), then we can see that each soul cycle is complete within itself. Unresolved issues are not carried over from one life to the next. Therefore, although a person is influenced both by the quality of the soul that drives him and the position of the planets at his birth, the misfortunes that befall him are not a carryover from his previous life or lives. It is impossible for every part of the natural world to be without blemish. Of 100 trees that a farmer plants, 97 will grow straight and tall; three will be crooked. How a person deals with his misfortunes will determine his spiritual growth.
