Ajaan Fuang said the whole issue of past lives is not the important thing to believe. The important thing is that you shape your experience through your actions

"When I first went to stay with Ajaan Fuang, I asked him about the whole issue of past lives, because I had heard some people say that the Buddha never really taught about past lives, while other people said that he had. Ajaan Fuang’s answer was: The important thing to believe in when you’re practicing here is not that issue. The important issue is the principle of karma, that you shape your experience through your actions. How long you’ve been doing it is not the issue. The issue is that you’re doing it right now. The meditation is an exploration of exactly how you shape it, and how much you shape it, and learning other ways to shape it skillfully."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Up for the Challenge"

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