Mindful things to ponder in your Zen, yoga  Buddha, or meditation garden. 

What goes around comes around. But not always in the ways you would expect. A " cosmic boomerang" is the description i like best. The boomerang will always come back to the thrower.

According to the Buddhist tradition, the lord Buddha gained full and complete insight into the workings of karma at the time of his enlightenment.
Buddha asserted that it is not possible to avoid experiencing the result of a karmic deed once it has been committed. That is why so many who meditate, do so to become more mindful. Origins of the concept of Karma. The concept of karma originated in the Vedic religion, where it was related to the performance of rituals, or the investment in good deeds to ensure the entrance to heaven after death, while other persons go to the underworld.

The principle of karma is a driving force in Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, in the belief that the choices you make in this life have an impact, positive or negative, on your reincarnation. The theory of karma is a cycle of cause and effect. For every intentional action or thought, there is a reaction that will affect us at some point in the future.

In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action driven by intention (cetanā) which leads to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth in samsara, the cycle of rebirth. Karma isn't about reward and punishment for your deeds - that's too simplistic. It's a cosmic form of  justice. Good and bad Karma can mean many things....good and bad luck, for instance. 
I like to stockpile good deeds in the hopes of nurturing good karma.

Create a bird and butterfly habitat. For an amazing scent, you can grow honeysuckle vines along a fence near your seating area, on an arch,  metal fence panels or trellises. Or you can create a Moonlight Garden, for your evening relaxation. 

For help in choosing plants, we have a design plan you can see, here.  And another, here.

The sight and sound of birds around you is a wonderful thing. The lotus flower is a symbol of karma in many Asian cultures. There are many decorative garden items, like candleholders, sculptures and floating lotus flowers that would look beautiful in your serene retreat. Many different Buddhas, especially the meditating Buddhas from many cultures, are depicted holding or seated with lotus flowers around them. If you wish to kneel when meditating, there are several styles of meditation benches for your garden.

Create a seating area - for yourself or guests. A small, cozy nook, with bamboo backless benches, or rattan outdoor benches in an asian style, adding a water feature and floating lotus flowers, or lotus-shaped floating candles, wind chimes, solar lights on paths, and fairy lights for highlighting your plants, and adding fragrant landscape plants. As you reflect or meditate, consider your acts of kindness, and take note of others that you'd like to perform.

Don't forget the incense - there are fabulous scents to provide the atmosphere you wish for your meditations. My suggestions are the long-burning incense sticks - 2-4 burn time. It I use outdoor incense in my refuge when the sun goes down and it's quiet. The flickering lanterns, fairy lights and garden statues make reflection very easy and soul-soothing. I use it indoors, as well. Incense helps keep insects away, and fills your gardens with a trailing scent. Choose your favorite scent in sticks or cones. Place them in a decorative burner or bowl.  My favorites are Nag Champa, Song of India Indian Temple Incense, and Sandalwood. I like to burn cones outdoors inside my pagoda style lantern sculptures. There's a hole in the lid and a place inside for a candle or incense cones.

Here are several quotes about Karma, mindfulness and living a good life that I've chosen. Use them for yourself and share with others who are close to you. If you journal or scrapbook, create one with beautiful Buddhist, Hindu, Thai themes, or with celestial themes and images, and pretty fonts for the quotes. 
Sit quietly, read and reflect. You can also create "Karma cards". Print quotations with beautiful images and refer to them each day in your retreat. You can use the design templates available for download online from most printing companies for free. I use outdoor incense in my refuge when the sun goes down and it's quiet. The flickering lanterns, fairy lights and garden statues make reflection very easy and soul-soothing.

Karma Quotes

“Remember to honor the hand which reached out for you when you needed it, by being that hand to someone else who is struggling.” -Greg Dutilly

“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” - Frederick Buechner

"Karma is not a system of rewards and punishments meted out by God but a kind of natural law akin to the law of gravity. Individuals are thus the sole authors of their good and bad fortune." - Damien Keown

"The movement of beings between rebirths is not a haphazard process but is ordered and governed by the law of Karma, the principle that beings are reborn according to the nature and quality of their past actions; they are 'heir' to their actions" - Peter Harvey

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life – happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -are always attained by giving them to someone else. – Peyton Conway March

Karma is the destiny man weaves for himself.” – L. H. Leslie-Smith

"Karma is a potent reminder that justice is always in the works, even if it seems slow." - unknown

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. – Mahatma Gandhi

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When you plant a seed of love, it is you that blossoms.” — Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

"Life is a constant echo of your actions." - Unknown

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." - Confucius

"You will never understand the harm you have done to someone until the same thing is done to you." -Proverb

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” – Jung

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 7:12

“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." - Matthew 26:52

“There’s a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broke and alone.” - Sylvester Stallone

“Karma: getting what you deserve and deserving what you get.” —Unknown

“Karma is like a rubber band. You can only stretch it so far before it comes back and smacks you in the face.” —Unknown

"Karma is the silent witness to every injustice, ensuring that balance is restored." - Unknown

"Sooner or later in life, we will all take our own turn being in the position we once had someone else in.” – Ashly Lorenzana

“Everything happens for a reason? No. Everything happens and we’re the reason.”– Karl Kristian Flores

“Before you act, you have freedom, but after you act, the effect of that action will follow you whether you want it to or not. That is the law of karma.” —Paramahansa Yogananda

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Karma isn’t fate. Nor is it a punishment imposed on us by some external agent. We create our own karma. Karma is the result of the choices that we make every moment of every day.” – Tulku Thondup

“You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequence of your choice.” – Unknown

“One thing about tables is that they always turn”. – Unknown

"Live a good and honorable life. Then, when you are older, you can look back and enjoy it a second time.” —Dalai Lama

“Realize that everything connects to everything else.” —Leonardo da Vinci

“Some people create their own storms and get mad when it rains”. – Unknown.

“Karma has no menu; you get served what you deserve”. – Unknown.

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer (RIP)