Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Karma & Rebirth

"Wise goodwill [mettā] is based on the realization that we have to live in this world together with all kinds of people, all kinds of beings. There are some that are threatening, there are some that are hard to like, but you can’t let yourself have ill will for them. So you have to talk to yourself, because if anything is natural, fear is. Fear can cause you to want somebody to go away, want them to disappear, want them to just not be in this world. That state of mind that wants total security by wiping out threatening things actually ends up causing a lot more trouble than it resolves. We have to realize: We have to live in the world with all kinds of people, all kinds of beings, and we have to protect ourselves first — with our goodwill. So, think your way to goodwill. If you find yourself reacting to somebody in a negative way, just stop and remind yourself: You don’t have to like the person or like  the being, but you have to think about that person or that being’s well-bein...

"Dangers in your own mind: Ultimately, those are the ones that are really dangerous. Other people can hurt you, they can even kill you, but the results go only as far as this lifetime. But through your actions — your thoughts, your words, and your deeds — you can do yourself a lot of damage that goes beyond just this lifetime, so you need a source of safety that’s nearby." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Near to the Buddha"

"If you can avoid unskillful actions, it’s like a hand that has no wound. You can pick up poison, and the poison doesn’t seep into the blood. If there is a wound, you’re not safe. So as you hold by the five precepts, you can rejoice in the fact that you’re behaving in a safe way, and this is part of the protection that the Buddha provides: not only telling you that there is such a thing as skillful and unskillful action, but also telling you which actions are skillful, which actions are not." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Safety All Around"

"Right view teaches you that your actions are important, that you have to hold on to your actions no matter what’s happening outside. No matter what other people are doing, you make sure that your actions are skillful, and to that extent you’re safe. That, of course, applies to your virtue as well. You think of all the ways in which you could harm yourself and harm others, and all the excuses you can give for doing those harmful acts, and you realize that if you give in to those excuses, you’ve sold away your most valuable possessions. You’re the one who squanders them. Because the world outside can take away your health, it can take away your wealth, it can take away your relatives. But you have to let it  take away your right view, and let it  take away your virtue. You’re the one who gives these things away. You’re the one who smashes those treasures. If you don’t smash them, they’re in good shape. The world can do nothing to destroy them." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A Ref...

"Some people’s way of being heedful is to hoard food, in case of a collapse of civilization. That’s heedfulness with wrong view. Heedfulness with right view is when you want to hoard good actions, skillful actions. If you trust in the principle of skillful action, then you focus your attention there. You realize that this is where your true safety can be found." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Victory"

"In terms of distress with reference to the world, the number one issue that’s hardest to put down is the sense that you’ve been wronged. There’s a very strong sense of self that grows around that and a very strong sense that if you don’t keep that in mind, you’re going to miss out on some justice, so you’re the one who has to keep the issue alive. You have to realize that whether the wrong was deserved or not, it’s an issue that you have to chalk up to karma. You may have done something like that a long time ago. It’s so long ago that you’ve forgotten and it doesn’t seem right that something you’ve forgotten so long ago should come back and hit you, but that’s how karma works. Sometimes things take many lifetimes before they show up. So it’s not a case of whether you deserved it or didn’t deserve it. It’s simply that there was a cause and this was the result. And there’s no need to feel that you have to keep it in mind in order to have justice done, because again, karma will work...

" Your most lasting possessions are your actions. Your body is yours only till death; your loved ones, at best, are yours no longer than that. The results of your actions, though, can carry well past death, so make sure that you don’t sacrifice the goodness of your thoughts, words, and deeds to save things that will slip through your fingers like water. Specifically, this means that if you really want to find safety, your strategy can’t involve killing, stealing, or telling lies. At the same time, you can’t expose yourself to unnecessary dangers by taking intoxicants or engaging in illicit sex. These are the principles of the five precepts, and the Buddha taught them because they really work in safeguarding the people who observe them. If you really want to protect your loved ones and other people around you from danger, remember that the same principle applies to them: Their most lasting possessions are their  actions. So the best way to protect them is to teach them to observe ...

"Concentration teaches you how to be with pleasure and not be overcome by it. It’s in this way that you have a refuge from your past karma, a refuge from your urges to create unskillful karma in the present moment. But even then, as the Buddha said, you’re still in a world that goes up and down, and you’re still subject to the fact that your mind could change. This is why you need something more solid. This is what the noble eightfold path provides. It’s the karma that leads to the end of karma. It takes the mind to a place that really is secure, where you step outside of time, step outside of space, and nothing is being done in that dimension. No old karma can reach you in there, no new karma is being created — and that’s the ultimate happiness. It’s the ultimate security, the ultimate safety, the ultimate refuge. It’s a refuge that lies beyond not only unskillful karma, past and present, but also skillful karma. That’s where you’re really safe." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A...

"If a teaching is going to protect you, the first level of protection has to be on the theoretical level: You have to understand that your present actions are free, to at least some extent, to shape the present moment — for good or bad — and to have an impact on the future. This understanding of kamma would then provide you with motivation for looking carefully at what should and shouldn’t be done right now to avoid causing suffering. And this is precisely the understanding of kamma that the Buddha taught: As he pointed out in AN 3:101 , past actions do have their impact on the present moment, but your experience of that impact is filtered through your present-moment state mind. This is one of the reasons why Buddhist meditation focuses on being alert to what the mind is doing right now. If you’re sensitive to your present actions, you can shape them well enough to mitigate the influences from any past bad kamma and, through your present skillful kamma, to provide conditions for p...

" When you’re dealing with other people, there are going to be a lot of things you don’t like. You can’t let your likes and dislikes get in the way of your doing what’s skillful. If you treat the people you like well but treat the people you dislike in a shabby way, that becomes your karma. It’s not good for you. So you have to remember, you’re not treating people well because they deserve it. You’re treating people well because it’s part of your training. It’s part of your safety, your protection." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Help Others, Help Your Mind"

"You know that you’ve got some past mistakes. There’s going to be some pain coming in the future. This shouldn’t be news. So you develop the qualities of mind that can guarantee that pain and pleasure won’t overcome the mind. In other words, you develop concentration; you develop discernment. Having concentration as an alternative to sensual pain and pleasure puts you in a safe place." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Remorse"

"If you’re consistent in holding to the precepts, you’re providing safety to everybody. They don’t have to fear anything from you. They don’t have to fear that they’re going to be killed or that their things will be stolen by you or that you’ll engage in illicit sex with them or with the people they love. You’re not going to lie to them; you’re not going take intoxicants and behave in ways that are going to be harmful to them. You’re providing safety for them and, as he said, when you’re providing safety in a universal way like this, you’re going to have a portion of that safety yourself. If you can avoid unskillful actions, it’s like a hand that has no wound. You can pick up poison, and the poison doesn’t seep into the blood. If there is a wound, you’re not safe. So as you hold by the five precepts, you can rejoice in the fact that you’re behaving in a safe way, and this is part of the protection that the Buddha provides: not only telling you that there is such a thing as skillfu...