Thoughts from Great Master Yin Guang on Cause and Effect

Cause and effect is the best method used by all sages, lay and monastic, to help people liberate themselves from suffering and attain enlightenment. If there was no cause and effect, then it would be difficult to advocate that one practice good deeds and there would be no penalty for those who commit misdeeds. Clearly if one can understand one’s ultimate morality and attain the best merit, one can eradicate one’s afflictions and attain Buddhahood.

Because one knows that cause and effect does exist, one will endeavor to move toward good fortune and avoid misfortune, correct wrongdoings and return to goodness, stop evil thoughts and nurture sincerity, refrain from desire and adhere to discipline. Then, one will be able to attain the sage’s level and be reborn in Ultimate Bliss.

Those with sharp faculties will practice good deeds naturally, those with average faculties will practice good deeds to receive the benefits from practicing them, and those with the lowest faculties will reluctantly practice good deeds. In the end, they all will be successful in refraining from their desires and in giving rise to their consciousness. They will be able to break through delusion and attain enlightenment.

The world’s misfortunes and many disasters we are experiencing today are all retributions from our past bad karmas. Now we are receiving the bitter results. We know these bitter results are rooted by the bad causes in the past. To avoid the resultant suffering, we must eliminate their causes. 

The causes for suffering that were planted in the past can be eliminated by sincerely repenting them and chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name. If we do not seed any more causes for suffering, we can avoid receiving their results in the future. What are the causes of suffering? They are greed, anger, and ignorance—the three poisons. What are the good causes? They are offerings of all kinds for the benefit of others.  

If everyone truly understands cause and effect, then everyone will endeavor to refrain from evil and practice goodness. Naturally, tragedies will not arise. Unfortunately, people today do not understand cause and effect. Immersed in selfishness and desire, they commit much evil. They think only of themselves, not of others. They do not know that benefiting others is benefiting themselves and that harming others is worse than harming themselves.

Comments

[Jeffrey]

Amituofo!
Hi Venerable Wu Ling,


This is a very good message to us all.
Many thanks for your continuous sharing of good dharma passages. It is inspirational to us all. =)


Best wishes,
Jeff
Amituofo!