The Law of Cause and Effect

       The law of cause and effect (karma) governs the workings of the universe. Once we set body, speech, or mind into motion, a result will inevitably follow. Whether visible or invisible, great or small, wholesome or unwholesome, our actions immediately pervade the universe and return to shape our experience. This is the essence of the saying, “you reap what you sow.” In this sense, every day we experience the results of our past actions.

The Power of Intention

       When a thought of compassion arises – even if unspoken and unacted upon – that invisible intention already reverberates throughout the universe and will return as a positive result. The same holds in reverse: if we harbor anger or inwardly curse others, even without words or outward deeds, the consequences do not fall on those we resent; they return to us. By generating unwholesome intentions, we plant seeds of suffering in our own minds. 

A Truth Realized, Not Invented

       Few traditions outside Buddhism emphasize karma across past, present, and future lives, or the workings of the six realms of rebirth. Brahmanical traditions speak of them, but not with the precision and depth found in Buddhist teachings. 

       The universe has always operated by this dynamic law but few have truly realized it. Shakyamuni Buddha, having attained unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, directly realized this truth and proclaimed it plainly and completely, so that we might accept it in faith and know what to choose in life. This law of the universe was not his invention but his discovery.

Cause, Condition, and Effect

       Between cause and effect lie “conditions.” If a cause is like a seed, conditions are the soil, sunlight, water, and nutrients. Only when cause and conditions come together does a result arise. As the saying goes, “Plant melons, harvest melons; plant beans, harvest beans” – results correspond to causes. Without the right conditions, even the best seed will not sprout.

Transforming Karma through Practice

       If in past lives we did wrong out of ignorance, how can we avoid the painful results? By refraining from supplying unwholesome conditions and by cultivating wholesome ones: keep a kind heart, speak kindly, and do good. Lacking adverse conditions, those seeds cannot ripen into suffering.

       Conversely, when we have planted good seeds – love, generosity, consideration for others, even accepting loss without complaint – we should provide abundant wholesome conditions so the good results ripen sooner, and small causes yield great effects.

       In sum, we should stay close to virtuous people, cultivate wholesome conditions, and practice kindness in thought, word, and deed, becoming truly good persons.

The Name That Embodies All Virtue

       Among all worldly and  transcendent teachings, only the name Namo Amitabha Buddha embodies infinite virtue and accords with ultimate reality. If, moment by moment, thought after thought, we invoke this name of the Buddha and unite with it, then “this mind creates Buddha; this mind is Buddha.” In that very moment, we and Amitabha are one in body and mind.

(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team;
edited by Householder Fojin)