Even though our past karma may be such that we have a body that has diseases — some of us have more than others — we don’t have to suffer from them. If your present karma is skillful, the mind doesn’t have to suffer.

"This is an important lesson in our practice: that even though our past karma may be such that we have a body that has all these diseases — some of us have more diseases than others — we don’t have to suffer from them. That’s the difference between past karma and present karma. The present karma is what makes all the difference. If your present karma is unskillful, you can suffer from even really fine conditions. If your present karma is skillful, then no matter how bad the situation in the body, the mind doesn’t have to suffer. The minds of arahants are totally free from suffering. They’re like the rest of us in that their bodies have pain and pleasure and neither-pleasure-nor-pain, but none of these things make inroads into the mind."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "No Arrows, Nothing"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Question habits and intentions. However, faith in karma should be maintained as a working hypothesis all the way to Nibbana.

There are lots of things about karma that are not fair, the Buddha didn't design it

Have some positive feelings toward this teaching on kamma. It’s not there just to punish you. It’s there to offer you opportunities. It’s there to remind you that your actions are important.