“Sin” is a word that people have used to make many people feel guilty about their actions, and some might even call that a system of control. This Buddhist view is gentler on the soul. The idea isn’t to reprimand yourself, and especially not those around you. Firstly, the object is to correct your own behaviour. In Wat Tham Krabok, and even in Thailand in general, I heard this phrase a lot: “Up to you.” Sometimes that can be frustrating when you’re asking someone for their advice, but monks will use this phrase with the understanding that ultimately, your own actions are your own responsibility, and to an extent, so are the consequences. To say “Up to you,” is to affirm a person’s autonomy, to remove the possibility of assigning blame for their actions, to allow the space that lets one take their actions with intention.

Good karma is good action

Some think of karma like Santa’s list, where good deeds and bad deeds are marked, and everything done to someone else will eventually return to you in the same form. Others hold the concept that karma is simply cause and effect – doing good things for people with good intent is much more likely to lead to good consequences.

My monk friend said that your karma is like a barrel of water with some salt in it. Every time you put a drop of pure water in the barrel, it becomes more pure, and every time you put salt in it, more impure. The water will never be completely pure, but it can always be more pure. We can never completely remove the consequences of our past actions, but we can correct our bad habits and take right action into the future, slowly creating a better world for ourselves and others.

Right action is good karma, because of the positive consequences, and in many cases karma can be instantaneous. Going to the temple gives us time to reflect. Meditation allows us to clear our minds, to see more clearly and act with purpose. Giving allows us to affirm abundance, to help others in need, to see clearly how much our actions matter in the well-being of those around us.

Forever is now

In science fiction, it’s common for time travellers to be acutely aware of the fact that a small action in the past can have drastic consequences for their present. One shower-thinker on Reddit pointed out how unusual it is that we don’t think about how our small actions in the present can have lasting effects on the future.

It’s true; your actions last forever.

Learn to walk again

One day my monk friend showed us a walking meditation. First, you stand with your feet about shoulder breadth apart, with your weight evenly balanced between them, and between your heels and balls of your feet. With every step, one focuses on the individual parts. Lift your heel, raise your leg, move it forward, lower it, put down the ball, put down the heel, shift your weight, and so on. The more advanced you are at the meditation, the more you break down the action of walking.

After that day, I would find myself walking around the temple and suddenly become aware of the way I was walking, putting my heel down first or shifting my weight before feeling the ground. Many times it would take me half an hour to walk the 200 metres from the hall to the house, because I was so focused on every movement. I told my friend and he said everything is like this – everything can be remade with presence. You can learn anew your every habit and every act.

Control and happiness

I don’t have any control over the past, nor do I have control over others. I do have influence, and even control, over myself in the present. A good rule to lead to happiness is, focus on the things you can control. So, I am grateful for the control I have over my mind, speech and actions.

When bad habits arise, it’s normally due to a lapse in consciousness. We forget the control we have over ourselves. It only takes a moment to restore, and once again we are faithful to the moment, respectful of what has been bestowed on us. We are truly alive.