What are we alive for? The choice is ours.

"As the Buddha taught it, karma has nothing to do with the popular conception where karma is bad karma or bad fate coming to you. The Buddha taught karma as the power we have here in the present moment to shape our lives and to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to do something really skillful with our abilities.

We do make choices. We are responsible for the choices. So we live in a world where our lives have meaning. If we couldn’t make choices, we’d be just like machines. Or if everything were preordained, predetermined, we’d be like machines. Life would have no meaning at all, just as the running of a machine has no meaning. But the fact that we can make choices and there are choices that have consequences — they shape our world, they shape our lives, they make a difference: That gives meaning to our lives. It offers us the possibility to give as much meaning to our lives as we can. We’re the people who decide what do our lives mean. What are we alive for? The choice is ours.

That’s the wisdom that lies behind equanimity. Equanimity is not simply indifference. It’s an acceptance of our responsibilities, it’s an acceptance of some limitations on our abilities, but it’s not meant to stop there. It’s when we accept our limitations that we sometimes can find our way around them. Or, at the very least, make the most of the opportunities we do have.

That’s why the Buddha taught karma in particular and why he taught it in general. People can change themselves. They can change the world. Even if it’s within limits, those changes are meaningful. This is why we meditate: to give ourselves the wisdom, the strength, and the clarity of insight needed to make the best use of that power."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Karma & the Sublime Attitudes"

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