Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Karma & Rebirth

Question: What relationship exists between the kamma of parents and those who are their children? Is it an illusion to want to repair or ameliorate the unskillful behavior of our parents? And do our children carry with them part of our own kamma in them? Thanissaro Bhikkhu: The fact that you were born to your parents means that you have some kind of kamma in common. Either you did this kamma together or you did it separately in separate places, but it’s still similar kamma. That’s why we have the phrase in the chant “kamma-bandhū”: We’re related through our kamma. But each of us has our own individual kamma. Your parents do not infect you with their kamma, and your children don’t carry on part of your own kamma. However, if you’re the child and you want to improve your parents’ kamma, it is possible. You set a good example. But you know how difficult it is for children to teach their parents, so you have to be very diplomatic. The best way to teach is through example....

"We’re both the creator and the watcher: the creator and the audience of all the little plays or movies we create in the mind. And those movies can have a huge impact on us. This is where our actions come from. You visualize yourself doing something and then you decide whether it’s worth doing it or not. When you meditate, the question is, “How do you create that image? And is it a reliable image? And who’s doing the building? Who’s doing the deciding?” You want to get interested in this, because otherwise you’re just watching movies all the time. And it’s not an innocent process, because sometimes the movies will inspire you to do things you later regret. So you have to watch out. Think of yourself as being behind stage, instead of out in the audience. You get to see how the play is put on and you begin to see how artificial it all is. That helps you see through some of the illusion." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Behind the Scenes"

"There were people in the time of the Buddha who said that actions didn’t exist at all. The only things that really existed were unchanging elements. Everything else was an illusion. The Buddha, though, said No. Actions really exist. They’re shaped by your intentions and they’re going to give results in line with those intentions. Those results can happen either in this lifetime or in future lifetimes, but the possibilities of future lifetimes are shaped by our actions now. Now, the Buddha didn’t say he could prove that to anybody ahead of time. At least he couldn’t give an empirical proof. But he did give pragmatic proofs. One is that if you accept this teaching, you’re much more likely to behave in skillful ways. You can reflect on your behavior, and there’ll be a sense of well-being that goes with that reflection because you can see that you haven’t harmed anybody. A second pragmatic proof is that it doesn’t make any sense to cut yourself off from possibilities. I...

"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 dif...

"The Buddha teaches a path of action to put an end to suffering, so to follow that path you need to make certain assumptions about action. • The first assumption is that actions are real and not illusory. • Second, your actions are the result of your choices. They’re not just the result of some outside force acting through you. In other words, they’re not determined simply by the stars or your DNA. You’re actually making the choices. • The third principle is that actions do have effects. You’re not writing in water, where everything you write immediately disappears. When you do something, it will have an effect both in the present moment and lasting through time into the future. • The fourth principle is that the effects of your actions are tendencies. They’re not strictly deterministic; they don’t lead to ironclad outcomes. • The fifth principle is that the effects of your actions are dependent on the state of your mind, one, while you’re doing the action, and two, when you’re re...

"There were people in the time of the Buddha who said that actions didn’t exist at all. The only things that really existed were unchanging elements. Everything else was an illusion. The Buddha, though, said No. Actions really exist. They’re shaped by your intentions and they’re going to give results in line with those intentions. Those results can happen either in this lifetime or in future lifetimes, but the possibilities of future lifetimes are shaped by our actions now. Now, the Buddha didn’t say he could prove that to anybody ahead of time. At least he couldn’t give an empirical proof. But he did give pragmatic proofs. One is that if you accept this teaching, you’re much more likely to behave in skillful ways. You can reflect on your behavior, and there’ll be a sense of well-being that goes with that reflection because you can see that you haven’t harmed anybody. A second pragmatic proof is that it doesn’t make any sense to cut yourself off from possibilities. If you were to ...