Resting on One’s Laurels is Hazardous to One’s Happiness

Once after giving a talk on Buddhism, my hostess said she had not previously heard a monastic talk so much about cause and effect. Thinking back on that, I realized that she had probably not heard many, if any at all, monastics from the schools in Chinese Buddhism. Her background lay primarily with Tibetan Buddhism and Zen.

After Buddhism came to China in 67 AD, the Mahayana teachings were gradually incorporated into the foundation of Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism emphasizes filial piety and the individual's relationships to other people. Taoism emphasizes cause and effect. So Chinese Buddhism often emphasize the Buddha's teachings of cause and effect. Since my teacher, Ven. Master Chin Kung is from China, he speaks often of causality, and thus so do I.

When I was a teenager and read about cause and effect, it answered the "Big" questions for me. So it was only reasonable that when my conditions matured and I was ready for serious study and practice of Buddhism—three decades after my initial encounter—that I should be drawn to a teacher who spoke so often of cause and effect, and conditions.

Also, I write and talk a lot about causality because I believe it is so important for us to realize how it totally permeates our lives. And since it is so dominant, we need to be constantly vigilant and not rest on our laurels, thinking we've done everything necessary to insure our happiness.

We cannot think that just because something we worked at happened that it will last forever and then stop working at it.

We cannot think that we can stop doing the things we did that won the heart of the person who loves us deeply or of the person who cares about us a great deal and assume they will always love or care about us.

We cannot take anything for granted, thinking it was long meant to be and will thus continue for a long time.

We cannot forget about conditions.

Just as we worked hard in past lifetimes to be able to receive something today, we need to continue working hard to ensure we will still have it tomorrow. If we fail to continue to create good conditions, what we have will be gone. We cannot fall into the trap of thinking something is our due or that we have done everything we were required to do.

We cannot stop thinking the good thoughts, saying the good words, and doing the good things that brought to us the good things we now enjoy, and would be wise to appreciate.