ABSTRACT
The basic framework of Buddhist thought and practice is that human and other sentient beings are caught in a cycle of rebirth, sasra, imbued by suffering and governed by karma. But it is possible to attain liberation from the cycle through a variety of practices that enable to attain enlightenment, nirvana, and thereby overcome suffering. Without rebirth, it would seem much more difficult to accept karma as traditionally understood—at least this is the perspective of many Western observers. According to Richard Gombrich, one prominent Buddhist scholar, karma is "fundamental to the Buddha's whole view of life". In scholarship concerning Buddhist ethics, fewer concerns have been expressed about nirvana and related Mahayana issues than about karma and rebirth. All that remains of karma is a very "tame" concept according to which the intentional and unintentional actions of sentient beings have many effects.
