“What do you Buddhists believe?” 

When we get asked this, we often mention rebirth and karma. Rebirth can be a stretch for many people, so for them we may not want to linger too long on it. Cause and effect usually proves easier to discuss.

But wait, if the person isn’t comfortable with the concept of rebirth, how do we explain causality?

We could ask some questions, like what happens if she misses a deadline at work?

What happens after she goes out of her way to help another? As she ponders the questions, tell her that our action will set into motion a karmic train. She nods and tells you that she has gotten sullen looks from coworkers before. But also a grateful hug from someone she had helped.

Explain how, with awareness, patterns can be discerned. Acting in certain ways, certain things happen: adverse actions often result in distress while those that are positive most often lead to feelings of well-being. Then, with enough time and effort, we do more than just accept this truth. We look for opportunities to do what we know is right.

Our lives will never be perfect here in samsara.

Striving to become a better person, trying to follow the guidance we receive, we can become frustrated when running into obstacles and seeming contradictions. At such a point, we can become discouraged. Why are our good actions failing to produce good results? And why haven’t we progressed further? Because change takes time. It takes patience and hard work to remain focused on our vow to end suffering and attain lasting happiness.

There will always be obstacles in samsara. As the warning goes, “Good work, more trouble.”

Our sincerely trying to improve does not eliminate our karmic consequences. Nor will obstacles just go away, allowing us to progress smoothly in our practice. Nothing is easy here in samsara. Neither is there perfection. Accepting this will help us to be resilient, to keep plugging away, when we encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The obstacles are temporary, and as long as we do not give up, they will be overcome.