Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Karma & Rebirth

"You’re chipping in the right direction as you’re focused on the appropriate line of questioning: “What am I doing right now? Is it skillful or unskillful? What can I do to make it more skillful?” That quality that the Buddha said lay at the heart of his awakening, which was not resting content with skillful qualities: If you see there’s room for improvement, you’re happy to improve, happy to try to figure out how to do it. If you haven’t figured it out yet, keep your eye out in that direction." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Abandoning the Effluents (1)"

"As you’re engaging the whole mind, that’s when you get to know the whole mind. You have to take responsibility for what’s happening. There’s a quality of integrity underlying all of this. The mind doesn’t settle down? Well, you have to figure out what you’re doing, what you’re doing wrong, and be cheerful enough to admit when you’ve done wrong. A lot of people don’t like the idea of right and wrong. Sometimes they come to the Dhamma, thinking, well, you can get beyond right and wrong just by willing yourself to transcend them. But you can’t get beyond them that way. You get beyond right and wrong by figuring out what’s right and what’s wrong, dropping what’s wrong, working with what’s right until it’s completed the job. Then you can let go of that, too. Until you’ve completed the job, though, you have to be very much concerned with what’s right and wrong, what’s skillful and what’s not." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Engaging the Whole Mind"

"[The meditation] aims at a happiness that’s totally reliable and totally harmless, one that’s not subject to change. It’s going to found within. And how are you going to find it? Through your actions, your karma. A lot of people have problems with the teachings on karma, but essentially this is what underlies the whole project we’re undertaking here. What we do is going to make a difference. We can’t be sure about the extent that what we do will make a difference in the world outside, but in the world of our experience, what we do shapes everything. And if we can train our minds, it will make a big difference in our lives. After all, when you’re asked to believe in the principle of karma, what are you being asked to believe in? One, you’re responsible for your actions. There’s no outside force like a god or the influence of the stars acting through you. You make your choices; you’re responsible for them. Two, the quality of your choice comes from the quality of the ...

"You’re chipping in the right direction as you’re focused on the appropriate line of questioning: “What am I doing right now? Is it skillful or unskillful? What can I do to make it more skillful?” That quality that the Buddha said lay at the heart of his awakening, which was not resting content with skillful qualities: If you see there’s room for improvement, you’re happy to improve, happy to try to figure out how to do it. If you haven’t figured it out yet, keep your eye out in that direction." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Abandoning the Effluents (1)"

"[The meditation] aims at a happiness that’s totally reliable and totally harmless, one that’s not subject to change. It’s going to found within. And how are you going to find it? Through your actions, your karma. A lot of people have problems with the teachings on karma, but essentially this is what underlies the whole project we’re undertaking here. What we do is going to make a difference. We can’t be sure about the extent that what we do will make a difference in the world outside, but in the world of our experience, what we do shapes everything. And if we can train our minds, it will make a big difference in our lives. After all, when you’re asked to believe in the principle of karma, what are you being asked to believe in? One, you’re responsible for your actions. There’s no outside force like a god or the influence of the stars acting through you. You make your choices; you’re responsible for them. Two, the quality of your choice comes from the quality of the intention unde...

"You’re chipping in the right direction as you’re focused on the appropriate line of questioning: “What am I doing right now? Is it skillful or unskillful? What can I do to make it more skillful?” That quality that the Buddha said lay at the heart of his awakening, which was not resting content with skillful qualities: If you see there’s room for improvement, you’re happy to improve, happy to try to figure out how to do it. If you haven’t figured it out yet, keep your eye out in that direction." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Abandoning the Effluents (1)"