Today's Quote

[restless]

"In mentioning Karma, here I think that it is important to point out and understand that sometimes due to one's misunderstanding of the doctrine of Karma, there is a tendency to blame everything on Karma and try to exonerate oneself from the responsibility or from the need to take personal initiative. One could quite easily say, 'This is due to my past Karma, my negative past Karma, and what can i do? I am helpless.' This is a totally wrong understanding of Karma, because although one's experiences are a consequence of one's past deeds, that does not mean that the individual has no choice or that there is no room for initiative to change, to bring about positive change. And this is the same in all areas of life. One should not become passive and try to excuse oneself from having to take personal initiative on the grounds that everything is a result of Karma, because if one understands the concept of Karma properly, one will understand that Karma means 'action.' Karma is a very active process. And when we talk of Karma, or action, it is the very action committed by an agent, in this case, ourselves, in the past. So what type of future will come about, to a large extent, lies within our own hands in the present. It will be determined by the kind of initiatives that we take now."

--His Holiness, The Dalai Lama.