Episode 80 - Karma Chameleon

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The only thing that goes with us into the next life is our karma. Our friends and relatives, our wealth, even our body we will leave behind. When Buddha states this truth, it is to encourage us to focus today on creating good karma and engaging in spiritual practice. If we look into the mirror of karma, what we are doing today shapes who we become and what we experience in the future, both in this life and future lives. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Relatives, friends, and companions </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rejoice </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When a long-absent person</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Returns from afar</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just so, in passing from this world to the next, </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The merit we have made</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Receives us</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a family does the return of a beloved relative.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">--Buddha, The Dhammapada</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Links and References</strong></p> <p><a href= "https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Buddha.The+Dhammapada.+Translated+by+Gil+Fronsdale.&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Buddha.</span><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Dhammapada.</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">Translated by Gil Fronsdale.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 44.</span></p> <p><a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Stages-Enlightenment-Lamrim-Chenmo-ebook/dp/B001ULD0M8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1551103766&sr=8-1&keywords=%C2%A0Great+Treatise+on+the+Stages+of+the+Path+to+Enlightenment%2C+by+Je+Tsongkhapa%2C+Volume+1"> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Je Tsongkhapa. Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,,</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Volume 1</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. P