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Entitled people act as if the world revolves around them. But as annoying as they can be, sometimes these folks — more specifically, their misfortune — entertain us, too. (Just think of a greedy parent who says they can't contribute to raising their kid but when the court takes away their custody, they have to give up $1,750 every month.)

The subreddit '[Jerk] Tax' has plenty of these satisfying examples. According to its 'About' section, the online community is devoted to "stories of customers being charged more, through skipped discounts or other methods, when they have deserved it for infractions such as being rude, demanding, or otherwise a pain."

It also accepts the reverse, cases of the so-called decency discount for when customers pay less because they were not the jerk. But this time, let's focus on the vengeful side of karma. Continue scrolling to see what it looks like and don't miss the talk we had with Srini Pillay, M.D., chief medical officer of Reulay and author of 'Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind.'

Those who treat people poorly may lack empathy. "Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of empathy: cognitive empathy and emotional empathy," Pillay told Bored Panda.

"In the brain, they both involve different sets of anatomical structures. For a person to have empathy, these two brain systems must be able to function, and in people who lack empathy, they do not function well."

"For example, in psychopaths, the emotional empathy system is not activated as much as in people who are not psychopathic," the Harvard-trained psychiatrist and brain researcher explained. "Some regions involved in cognitive empathy (the ability to see things from someone else’s point of view) also do not function well. There is a range of capabilities when it comes to lacking empathy."

Pillay said that there are no standard therapies for conditions where egoistic behavior is prominent such as antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders.

In such cases, especially when an early developmental trauma led to these conditions, long-term psychotherapy is usually recommended.

"However, there are approaches such as transference-focused psychotherapy and anecdotal use of psychodynamic-based psychotherapies with some success," the brain researcher added. "So, overall, there are therapies that can help this but the treatments are challenging."

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Scrolling through these pictures, you might feel disappointment or even anger toward their villains. But that's perfectly normal. "If you are an empathic person, seeing someone being hurt as a result of a jerk will activate your own mirror neurons, making you feel the pain of the victim," Pillay added.

"Also, we carry impressions of social rules in our brains, and when these are violated, we may even have exaggerated reactions."

"Reactions are partly due to moral emotions but may differ by culture," he said. "For example, one study revealed that reactions to violating someone's autonomy are similar in India and Britain, but Indian participants express more moral outrage than do Britons when there are violations of community."

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However, if you want a more spiritual or philosophical explanation of the pictures, we can look at the idea of karma which originated in Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Of course, the notion that good and bad deeds will be rewarded with the same results is widely spread in the West too. The popular saying "What goes around comes around” and the much older proverb “As you sow, so shall you reap” are excellent examples of that.

This line of thought teaches us that everything that happens to us is ultimately due to our own influence—whether intentional or not—and that coincidence is in reality an illusion.

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Self-described Buddhist physician Alex Lickerman, M.D., thinks that general causality is something everyone understands and believes, namely that every effect has a cause.

"We may not be able to identify what particular cause is responsible for a particular effect, but it's difficult, if not impossible, to conceive of an effect that has no cause," he wrote. "Buddhism, however, takes this principle of general causality even further. It denotes the principle of cause and effect as a universal law that governs not just the physical universe but our own lives as well."

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BobTDG
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they added 50% first it's actually 15 and if they took it first it's still 15.

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#8

I Have A Boyfriend!

I Have A Boyfriend!

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ShyWahine
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You were trying to do the right thing...she rudely brushed you off - score!!!!!!

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Basically, it works like this: everything we say, think, and do serves as a cause that will, at some time in the future, when circumstances are right, manifest an effect.

"In one sense, this seems obvious: if you get angry (cause) you might get punched (effect). But Buddhism takes this even further, arguing that all the causes we make are recorded at some level in our lives as if they were transactions in a bank," Lickerman highlighted.

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"Making a good cause would be like depositing money that can be withdrawn at some point in the future while making a bad cause would be like borrowing money that at some point in the future will have to be repaid. So if, for example, you slander someone today, that might result in them slandering you tomorrow (if they hear about it)—or it might result in you breaking your leg."

#12

Haggling With Tattoo Artists Is Never Advisable

Haggling With Tattoo Artists Is Never Advisable

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Francis
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cOulD gEt It ChEaPeR sOmEwHeRe ElSe. Well then go there and don't bother me. I hated people like that when i worked in retail a few years ago

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However, the lines are often blurry. "The chain of causation that connects original causes (e.g., slander) to their manifest effects (e.g., a broken leg) is simply too sublime to trace from beginning to end, making it difficult, if not impossible, for us to believe such a chain even exists," Lickerman acknowledged.

"In fact, according to Buddhist thought, it requires nothing short of a great awakening—enlightenment itself—for a person to perceive the workings of this law of cause and effect in his or her own life."

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This Lasertag Place I Went To Today

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#14

I Think This Fits Here

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Headless Roach
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Should have let her walk out if she needed so 😈 EDIT: I know how pressure works, thank you very much.

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#16

Preemptive Block!

Preemptive Block!

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Aiden Brough
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I have to hear "Why haven't I received my invoice yet?" (Because Royal Mail have either lost it or it's due to the strike) "BUT I'VE RECEIVED MY OTHER MAIL!!" (But I don't work for RM - Can I email it to you?) "NO, I WANT A PAPER COPY!". Or a classic... "I told the engineer what the problem was so why didn't take so long to fix it and why is the part more expensive than on Amazon?" (Why not fix it yourself then? PROBLEM SOLVED!!)

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However, if we accept the possibility that we ourselves have made the causes of all the effects we currently experience in our lives, does that then mean the woman who suffers abuse at the hands of her husband or boyfriend is to blame for it? Or even worse, deserves it?

"From the Buddhist perspective, we are indeed responsible, but importantly not to blame, for every effect we experience (blame accruing only if we intend to yield a particular effect at the moment we made the cause for it)," Lickerman said.

#18

Karen Plays Herself Out Of 20¢

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#19

Excellent Special Pricing Section

Excellent Special Pricing Section

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Krista Leslie
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What does student of life mean and why charge $20 for it. Lol aren't we all students of life

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"Whether or not you deserved it isn't even a consideration," he explained. "Through the inexorable workings of cause and effect, you received the effect of the cause you made. The law of cause and effect is impartial, impersonal, and strict, just like the law of gravity, requiring no higher power to make it run."

However, the physician thinks there's a silver lining. "It explains how bad things can happen to good people (everyone has made bad causes in the past, and each cause carries with it an effect that must at some point be experienced in the future). It also, most importantly, places the power to change our destiny firmly in our own hands."

#20

Found This At Good Burger

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#22

New Sign For The Barber Shop

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