I don't believe in karma in the sense that if you do "bad things", "bad things" will happen to you. Creation isn't interested in revenge, and it keeps no records of wrongs or rights. That's how the mind believes the Universe operates, because that's how the mind operates, with duality and judgment.
I also don't think you get rewarded for doing good deeds. A Balanced Human does "good" because it is in Harmony with Creation. They spread Love the same way the Sun shines upon the Earth, without expectations or conditions. A person who does "good" because they're expecting some sort of reward is just being ego-centered. It's the thought behind the thought that really counts, but most of Humanity just concentrates on the surface.
My understanding of karma (and sin for that matter) is that it is the same as attachment. A person with a lot of attachments is never really happy. You could call it punishment if you want, but the person is really just punishing themselves through their own choices. There is no "good" or "bad" karma, seeing things in such a dualistic fashion is a sure way to limit your experience of Reality.
Many equate karma with action, and for many people they might as well be the same thing, but there is a difference. For an unconscious being, all the doing, all the action, is invariably going to build up karma. They can't help but have a involuntary re-action to all their actions. Even after the action is over the reaction keeps going, but eventually it must be dealt with. Karma is not the actions themselves, which are an integral part of the experience in this realm. Karma is the reactions people have to all the actions occurring around them.
A Conscious Being responds to an action instead of reacting. The difference between a reaction and a response is simple, a reaction is something automatic, a person isn't really conscious of why they're doing it. A reaction is always rooted in fear. A response is a conscious choice, and for a Master, that choice can be made before the action even takes place. After the action, the "work", is done, it is let go of, and hence creates no karma at all.
