The teaching on karma is telling you that what’s important in life is what’s you’re choosing to do right here right now, rather than what’s happening someplace else, some other time.

"A chant we have regularly — that we’re the owners of our actions, heir to our actions — is basically a reflection on the teaching of karma. Ajaan Fuang once said to me, “That’s the one thing you’re asked to believe: the principle of karma,” which is the principle of action. This means, one, that action really does take place. It’s not an illusion. There were actually people in the time of the Buddha who taught that action was illusory, that the only real things in the world were substances that didn’t change, and because action was movement and change, it didn’t really exist. The Buddha said, “No, that’s not the case. There really is action.” Two, you really are responsible for your actions. It’s not some outside force like the stars or who-knows-what acting through you. You do have the choice to do things. Three, actions have results, and the quality of the results depends on the quality of the intention underlying the action.

This is a very empowering teaching. It’s not a difficult thing to believe. Some people prefer to have the power but not the responsibility that comes along with it. Once there’s the power in our own mind to act for good or for evil, we want to reap the results of the good actions and leave the other results behind. That’s where there’s some resistance. But otherwise, karma is basically a teaching that you are in charge. You do have the power to shape your life. You don’t have to depend on outside forces.

It’s also teaching you that what you do is not insignificant. Sometimes you can think about cosmic time, and say, “Oh, eventually the Sun is going to go nova and the Earth is going to be burnt to a crisp, so what does it matter what we do?” That’s a very defeatist way of thinking. Because, of course, who knows where you’re going to be at that point? Most likely in some other world, experiencing the results of the actions that you do now and on into the future.

The teaching on karma is also telling you that what’s important in life is what’s you’re choosing to do right here right now, rather than what’s happening someplace else, some other time. Think about what the media is telling you. You read newspapers, look at TV, and they’re all telling you that the important things in the world are things that somebody else is doing someplace else. As for you, you’re expected to have a lot of free time to sit there and read and listen, as if your life didn’t have anything else going on. That’s the basic message. Well again, the teaching on karma is that what you’re doing is the big factor shaping your life. You need to have a strong sense of its importance, so that you’ll be careful and watch for what you’re doing. Think about the consequences of your actions. When you do, you’ll find that your life really does take on new shape as you act in more and more skillful ways."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "How to Save the World"