The Buddha said that what you do right now can have an impact on what you’re experiencing right now. When you realize that there are things you can do and they do make a difference, that empowers you.

"[The Buddha] said that what you do right now can have an impact on what you’re experiencing right now. Your kamma coming in from the past is raw materials: the twigs and the branches. But what you’re doing right now makes a difference between whether the twigs and the branches just sit there on this side of the river or whether you tie them together and make them into a raft. Or worse than just sitting here, the worst thing, of course, is piling them up on your shoulder and carrying them around. You have the choice.

When the Buddha points out that “Yes, your actions in the present moment, your thoughts, your intentions in the present moment do make a difference,” he’s giving you a real basis for deciding, that there is such a thing as what should be done and what shouldn’t be done. As he says, if you have a teaching that doesn’t even give you a basis for having the concept of what should and shouldn’t be done, you’re still left bewildered the way you were when you were a little child. Especially when you’re told there’s nothing you can do, it makes you totally helpless. But when you realize that there are things you can do and they do make a difference, that empowers you.

On top of that, he tells you the best things to do. This is his gift as a teacher to you: providing for your protection, ending your bewilderment, and answering that question, “Is there someone who knows a way to put an end to the suffering?” There is, and this is is how it’s done. Now it’s up to you to do it."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Appropriate Attention (2023)"

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