Sometimes it is very useful to accept that whatever we are, whatever we go through now, is the result of our previous actions. But for the future, everything is in our own hands. We plant the seeds of our future in this life, in this present moment. We can really change our future, definitely! Sometimes, because they misunderstand the nature of karma, people think that Buddhists are determinists or fatalists. They think karma is very solid, very real. However karma, whether positive or negative, is not really fixed. I always give the example of the body and its shadow. As long as the body is solid, it has a shadow. When we realize the empty nature of everything, karma dissolves; it no longer exists. Knowing this is a source of happiness, because whatever bad karma we may have accumulated, it can be changed. Therefore we shouldn't get depressed, feeling that we are sinners without any way out. It doesn't have to be that way. Of course we have made many mistakes, but as long as we can learn from our mistakes, we really have a great potential.

Karma is no excuse for feeling hopeless and for making the same mistakes over and over again. If we improve, it will definitely have a snowball effect on our environment. Buddhism is very practical. If we become wiser, calmer, more stable, our relatives and friends will come to us to take advice. They will listen to us because our judgement is impartial, not based on our own ego and interest. In Tibet, we say that if a man wants to win the respect and esteem of his family, he cannot achieve this by selfish means. His first job will be to make his wife and children happy. ............go to whole chapter