can experience well-being
so long as their actions
have not yet borne direct fruits.
However, when the results
of their actions ripen,
the painful consequences
cannot be avoided.
Dhammapada v.119
We might like to think that we can get away with doing something that is wrong so long as nobody else knows about it. However, we know about it; and we know that we know about it. We have to live with ourselves every day and every night for the rest of our lives. We have to be ready to remember every intentional action that we have ever performed. Once we appreciate this, then hopefully we come to see that the wise way to approach life is to try to do only those things that we wish to remember. If we have already accumulated memories that give rise to regret, see regret and remorse as part of the healing. Such suffering is a message, and it is inviting us to look at it, to receive it, so it can teach us to be more careful in the future.
