Law of Cause and Effect -- The Three Worlds

                   We've learned so far from the Law of Cause and Effect, that every effect has a cause.


                   So of all the various ages, time periods, and decades we could have been born in... what exactly determines when is the moment we're born?

Original Photo Art by Alan Cleaver available on Flickr.com

                   Answer: the Law of Cause and Effect.

                 There are now more than 7 billion people alive today with nearly 200 countries in the world. We could have been born in so many different cities and places on this planet. So what determines where in the world we're born? Or how we even came to be born to our parents?

Original Photo by woodleywonderworks available on Flickr.com

                   Answer: It's still the Law of Cause and Effect.

Good Cause,    good effect.

Bad cause,    bad effect.

Own cause,    own effect.

                  Let's review briefly.

                  Cause refers to our deeds or actions.

                  Effect means our resulting experiences.

                  Good deeds lead to good results; bad deeds lead to bad results. Our own actions determine the good or bad experiences that happen to us.

                  So, for example, let's say you were born in United States. The cause for your birth had to occur before you were born.

                  The Law of Cause and Effect applies throughout all of the Three Worlds. In Buddhism, the Three Worlds represent time.

                 The Three Worlds are the Past World, the Present World, and the Future World.

                 The Past World includes all our lives from before our present life. 

                  The Present World is the span of our life from birth to death. 

                  The Future World represents our afterlife.

                  We've performed countless deeds in our past lives. All these past actions from before our human experience are what determined in this lifetime what our gender would be, the city we were born in, and even our date of birth. We could have been born at a time of war or a time of peace. Our family could have been richer or poorer when they had us. All of these karmic factors are determined by the deeds of our past life.

                   Children born to the same parents have different faces, personalities, and talents. This is because each one of them has their own individual karma.

                     Our destiny changes over time as a result of each choice we make in the present.

                   Now if someone chooses to take the life of another, they may face the death penalty for their actions. But why is it that if someone takes the lives of 10 people, or even 100 people, they can still only be put to death one time? Under ordinary law, the consequences for the other murders can't be prosecuted. 

                   But if a worker is paid a salary of $100 a day and then works for ten days straight, would it make sense to only get paid $100? No, of course not. Ten days work would deserve $1,000. One hundred days of work would merit $10,000 of wages. 

                   If the causes vary, then the results should also vary. 

                   A murderer can face the death penalty in this life only once. However, under the Law of Cause and Effect, they have to face the repercussions of every life they extinguished in a future life.

                   And just because a bad seed remains undetected does not mean that the person who planted it is safe. It may take time, but the bad effect will most certainly emerge for that person.

                   A seed that is planted will surely grow.

                  Let's review a scientific example of a cause with a delayed effect. More than 30,000 years ago, a squirrel buried the fruit of a flower in the arctic region of Siberia. Forgotten over the ages, it became covered over with an icy cold permafrost and remained perfectly preserved in sub-zero temperatures. Then in February of 2012, Russian scientists were able to grow a healthy, living plant from the fruit of that flower.

Original Photo by captainmcdan available on Flickr.com

Original Photo by tasaarni available on Flickr.com

                 Likewise, karmic seeds that we planted long ago before we were born can still become effects within this lifetime.

                   This means that all those bad things that we ourselves have done and kept secret in our hearts and minds for sure, will come back to us one day.

                   Every cause in the universe has an effect. According to Buddhism, this has always been and will always be the truth. 

                   In order to reveal to us how our destiny is shaped, Sakyamuni Buddha shared this insight within the Cause and Effect Sutra:

If you want to know the seeds of the past, 

look at the fruit of the present. 

If you want to know the fruit of the future, 

look at the seeds of the present.

                         What does this mean exactly?

                         The way to know what you did in the past is to look at what's happening to you right now. Whatever you're doing at present will determine what type of experience you'll have in the future. 

                          There are many practical examples where this can be witnessed easily. Someone with good grades now is someone who studied hard in the past. Someone who's lazy now and makes no effort can't expect good results in the future.

                            However, because of all the countless past causes contained within our Alaya-consciousness (storehouse consciousness) since the beginningless past, there are a vast, incomprehensible combination of consequences that can occur to us while we're alive. The only missing component preventing them from occurring is the right condition to bring them about.

                            The Law of Cause and Effect as it relates to concept of time and condition is known in Buddhism as the Law of Causality in the Three Worlds.

  Looking deeply 

into our present 

reveals both 

the past and the future.

    The present is thus the key to the past and the future.

This is the reason 

why Buddhism teaches 

the importance of the present self 

and being in the 

NOW.

                           But did you know even the word "now" is in the past before you finish saying it?

                           When you say -- "Now!"-- as soon as you utter the sound "N-" from your lips, it enters the past by the time you arrive at the "-ow!" It's a tiny, one-syllable word, and yet with this example we can clearly see how time within the Three Worlds is all connected.

Original Photo by katerha available on Flickr.com

                           The more we strive to understand the Law of Cause and Effect, the more we strive to discard bad intentions and practice good intentions.

                           We aim at getting rid of bad thoughts, so that they don't occur to us later on. The result of doing bad things only brings more bad results into your mind.

                           We want to set our minds on positive thoughts, but then follow through with them so that they become actions as well. 

                           Because whatever we choose to do now... these choices will be the results we are going to end up harvesting for ourselves later. This is why we should fear evil and turn to the light with all our hearts.

Original Photo by _Virdi_ available on Flickr.com

                            If you don't want bad results, stop doing bad deeds. If you want to be happy, do good deeds.

                            This is the conclusion of this series on Law of Cause and Effect. I encourage you to read lessons on Law of Cause and Effect here on this blog. Continue to review and study it often, because this universal truth is both the foundation of Buddhism as well as the compass that points the way for all toward a happier life.

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Source: Arctic Flower Article from New York Times

On Alaya Mind & the Wind of Impermanence

            People are travelers. We travel from yesterday to today. Today to tomorrow. We do this year after year. Japanese poet Ikkyu said that New Year's Day even though on the surface is a cause for celebration is actually just a milestone toward the afterlife. The idea of man as a traveler has been used in songs, poems, and stories for centuries. 

Original Photo by Dru! available on Flickr.com

              Our trip can be sunny, rainy or windy. It can be mountainous or deep into a valley. Or it can be as simple as a walk on a flatland, because so many things can happen on the journey. We have many encounters with various characters throughout our voyage. Misfortune comes our way. Some days are just normal. We say goodbye here and there to many good people we've met. The weather is fine on some days and bad on others.

               The nature of our soul's journey is limitless. It flows in a continual stream from the beginningless past, forward into the eternal future. The journey of this body may be short, 100 years at best. And during this time, not a single person can understand us to the core.

               Sakyamuni Buddha said, "Alone we are born, and alone we die. Alone we come, and alone we depart." Our physical bodies may have company, but our souls are all alone. We have lived our eternal life in complete solitude, and not even family can understand us at the deepest level.

           For example, husbands and wives are separate individuals, even though they are married and may act together as a family. This world may seem like a universal place where we are all sharing a common reality. However, each person is experiencing something different from their own point of view.

           We all have an Alaya Mind (Storehouse Consciousness), and this is also known as our True Self. It represents our eternal life. The Alaya Mind forms its own world from the various deeds of our distant past that are contained within it. The deeds we perform now in the present are stored into our Alaya Mind which then shapes our future.

             So in short, we're all living right now in the world of our Alaya Mind. Putting this into perspective, that means hundreds and thousands, even millions or billions of worlds are existing together in separate Alaya Minds around us. Each one lives in its own unique reality.

             A wife just can't see what life looks like through her husband's eyes, no matter how hard she tries. To understand him completely is simply out of the question. The husband can't even get a real glimpse despite his strongest efforts. A husband and wife can only know their own Alaya Mind. It's not possible to understand another person's world as they see it. It is an exclusive experience to the individual, and that is why it is said that we are born alone and die alone.

             It's also why whether we know it or not, there is a deep, restless loneliness within us. Our soul is yearning for true company. We devise numerous diversions -- joking, singing or dancing -- yet it doesn't wipe away our loneliness. Not for long at least. There still remains a recurring empty solitude, because no one gets us or understands our world completely.

               Children hold secrets from their parents, and parents don't tell everything to their kids. Husbands and wives keep quiet on a lot of issues. That is the nature of our true mind. It is one of complete solitude and hidden darkness. There is no soul that can bare it all, all the time.

              In bustling metropolises like Los Angeles, Tokyo, New Delhi, Berlin, London, or Moscow, we are constantly surrounded by people. How is it that though we are surrounded by millions, we can still feel so alone and desperately lost in the crowd? We just have no true companionship for our soul.

Original Photo by R. Mitra available on Flickr.com

               This doesn't mean we don't need to understand others or shouldn't bother to get very close to people. We must of course try to get to know people and care about them. But it is an oversized ego that believes it can truly get another person completely. It denotes someone who is 100% in the dark about their own self.

                Our Alaya Mind is hurting. There is no way we can figure out how to solve this situation. We long to bare all of our soul and need to be able to understand it. Only by knowing who we really are can we obtain absolute happiness. Listening to Pure Land Buddhism, we come closer to arriving at this life-changing moment. We come to learn our True Self fully, realize the roles of the countless buddhas, as well as fully grasp the role of Amida Buddha and the Pure Land. By listening steadily and knowing these concepts -- not just believing in them blindly -- we can finally celebrate in not being alone for the first time in our eternal life.

                 Until we find the truth, life seems to have a mysterious sadness to it. People will dwell on all sorts of thoughts to distract themselves from it -- yet it returns, again and again. We rely on systems of politics, ethics, morals, laws in an attempt to restore balance to this desperate world. 

                 Every month we have holidays with fireworks and festivals filled with people who want to escape for a while. They want to forget their solitude in the fun, but they can't seem to leave that emptiness behind when it's time to pick up trash after the party. Fireworks don't last, but it's also what makes them wonderful to look at. At best, could they go on for an hour straight, a whole day, or a full month like that? Would it even remain as exciting at that point? The thrill comes from the rareness of the experience.

Original Photo by bayasaa available on Flickr.com

               The various fireworks of our lives flicker quickly, in and out, here and there throughout the years, and a lifetime of even 100 years can disappear quietly into the smoky dark without notice. In the end, the greater the fireworks display, the greater the sorrow.

               Life is the same way. Once it's over, we're left to the hell of our own bitter solitude at death, and the fact that our soul has no accompaniment. Right now, we're billions of lonesome travelers waiting for death while fighting for survival. We hang in this critical balance day to day. 

               Our fate can change drastically just by the choices and actions we make in a single moment. Life-or-death events happen to us and our loved ones all the time, but soon even they just fade away becoming the farthest thing from our mind. We move on to the next challenge. "That's life," we say. But how long can we keep that up for?

"When at last I came to the peak that I had thought would surely be the last,

I turned my eyes to the way beyond -- mountain piled on mountain."

--Anonymous

                The Wind of Impermanence is always blowing along our journey whether we feel it beating down on our backs or not. Nothing lasts; everything changes. The Wind of Impermanence can be compared to a ghastly tiger stalking its unsuspecting prey.

               There is a tiger behind you right now, even as you read this blog. If there is a room with 100 people, there are 100 tigers lurking behind those people. This tiger waits and waits and waits. It creeps up on all of us with the utmost stealth and suddenly attacks when we least expect it. One day -- BAM! -- it has you in its jaws, clenched in its teeth. It's a huge, hungry, and vicious tiger, and it doesn't wait for you, anyone, or anything. You could be washing your face or right in the middle of a sentence.

               A professor of religion at the University of Tokyo, Hideo Kishimoto, battled with a very serious case of cancer. Kishimoto likened the idea of death to "sudden, unprovoked violence" and left a detailed account of his personal struggle with the disease:

"Death always comes suddenly. 

No matter when it appears, the one visited by Death 

looks on its arrival as a sudden intrusion. 

For the mind filled with a sense of security 

is totally unprepared for death. ...

Death comes when by rights it has no business coming.

It goes coolly where by rights it has no business going, 

like a desperado striding with dirty boots into a freshly-cleaned parlor. 

Death's behavior is outrageous. You may ask it to wait a while, but in vain. 

Death is a monster beyond human power to budge or to hold in check."

              The fearsome tiger has no compassion hunts all of us down without a shred of mercy. Its terrifying size and insatiable hunger calmly waits for the perfect opportunity to strike us. When the tiger comes closer, we may try to escape by going to the doctor and taking various medicines in order to prolong our life. But the moment will come when the tiger appears for his final lethal bite. Once we're bitten, our time here as a traveler will be over.  

Original Photo by fpat available on Flickr.com

               All of us must face the Wind of Impermanence.

               This is why we must seek the truth for who we really are and obtain absolute happiness in the here and now. Without sensing that our life is fleeting, we do not feel inclined to move into action. We must seek to know what the afterlife holds in store for us as soon as possible, before it is too late. Listening to Buddhism brings us toward the real solution to these problems. Let us listen to the teachings with sincerity and reflect deeply on the crucial matter of our afterlife.

Law of Cause and Effect -- Past Karma & Conditions

             Now that you have learned the basics on the Law of Cause and Effect, we can go into some of the more technical aspects of how it functions. Let's review an important passage before we go further.

Good deeds bring good results.

Bad deeds bring bad results.

Your own deeds bring your own results.

           Each deed you perform through mind, mouth, and body remains as invisible, indestructible energy called karma, and this karmic power is stored within what's known as the Alaya Mind. 

           Alaya is a word in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, meaning storehouse. Back in the day, all precious goods from homes were kept outside in storehouses made of strong, fire-proof material. The picture below displays an old storehouse near Tokyo, Japan.

Original Photo by shig2006 available on Flickr.com

            Similarly, good and bad deeds are protected and stored in the Alaya Mind for eternity because this is the part of us that lives on forever, our True Self.

            This karmic energy from the beginning-less past flows to the present moment, carries on into the endless future, and never disappears. 

             Many people think that reincarnation means their personalities have gone through various lives just like in the recent movie, Cloud Atlas. But egos exist only within the physical self which last only from birth to death.

             This physical self can be compared to a bubble that forms on the surface of a great river. It floats just a short while in this Present World and then disappears.

Original Photo by LollyKnit available on Flickr.com

Original Photo by ikewinski available on Flickr.com

                            Our Alaya Mind and the Three Worlds

                                      Birth                                 Death

  --------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------->

Past World (Before Birth)      Present World (This Life)         Future World (After Death)

               Our Alaya Mind (represented by the arrow above) is what travels through various lives of past, present, and future storing all of our deeds.

               Deeds remain stored in the Alaya Mind as causes until they encounter a condition. 

               Every effect requires a condition.

               For this reason, the Law of Cause and Effect could be called:

The Law of Cause, Condition, and Effect

               A condition combines with a cause to develop into an effect. Take rice for example. In order for a rice seed to grow, many conditions are required. 

               These include water, sunlight, soil, and proper temperature. Without them, the rice simply cannot grow.

                Q: So, can a cause without a condition still take effect?

                 A: Nope, it cannot take effect.

                No condition = No effect!

                 It's like planting seeds on a table. There's no way they will grow there without soil.

Original Photo by Phil and Pam available on Flickr.com

                 Let's take a look at another example of how cause and condition combine into an effect.

               
                 Imagine that you were just involved in a serious car crash.

Original Photo by snof_grof available on Flickr.com

                  A reckless driver sped through a red light while you were crossing the intersection with the right of way. There were many other cars in vicinity, but let's say you were the only one badly injured. Why were you hurt while others weren't? You could have avoided the accident if you had left your house just seconds earlier or a few seconds later. Why did you have to be right there at that exact moment?

                  Having received that effect indicates there was some cause for you to be in the accident other people didn't have. 

 

Bad deeds bring bad results.

 

Your own deeds bring your own results.

   Bad Past Deeds  -------------------> Bad Car Accident \ Suffering

                                                   (Cause)                                          (Effect)
 

                  A bad deed from your past brought you to that exact moment of that intersection where the reckless driver was headed. This is the Law of Cause and Effect. Your suffering from the accident was the effect.

                  But an effect can occur only when our past karma combines with a condition. This means the bad driver who ran the red light was the condition.

                                          Cause: Bad Past Deeds ------------------------ Condition: Bad Driver

                                                                                            |

                                                                                            |

                                                                   Effect: Bad Car Accident \ Suffering

                   The cause for your suffering was something bad you did from your past. The Law of Cause and Effect reveals that everything that occurs to us, good or bad, happens for a reason. It occurs because of our own deeds. That means we accept responsibility that our own actions define our destiny. We don't see others as the main source of our misfortune.

                   Of course, the driver who ran the red light must face legal accountability for his actions. But on a karmic level, we accept responsibility that something we did brought us into that situation. 

Original Photo by Anas Qtiesh available on Flickr.com

                   Once you realize how the Law of Cause and Effect really works, you'll begin to see how pointless anger, hatred, envy, and jealousy against others truly is. They only bring about more negative karma for your own future.

                   When one embraces the Law of Cause and Effect, every time good happens it makes you want to do more good. And when bad happens, it becomes a time to reflect and correct yourself. In times of great suffering, tragedy, or misfortune, you focus on just doing as much good as possible in the moment to improve your situation.

                   There is an old story that illustrates the mysterious nature of cause and effect.

                  A rancher had three horses that helped him earn his livelihood. He awoke one morning to find that one of them was missing. This caused him great suffering as his income would now greatly decrease. Then later that day, the horse returned with a wild mustang. To his surprise, the rancher now had four horses! He was brimming with excitement.

Original Photo by A.Davey available on Flickr.com

                The rancher instructed his son to tame the horse in preparation for the expansion of his business. But this mustang was very wild in spirit and it threw his son out from the saddle onto the ground. The son suffered severe injuries to his back.

               The rancher worried for his son and now again for the livelihood of his business. How could he run it by himself?

               Within just a short time, a savage war broke out and all the young men in the kingdom were drafted. Many of the youth ended up being killed in the war, but the rancher's son was spared from duty because of injury. The rancher rejoiced that he could still be with his son.

                    From this fable, we come to understand that their is such a vast, interconnected web of causes and effects in our world. It is impossible for us to fathom them all.

                    But by learning the Law of Cause and Effect, we understand how our actions shape our world. Crimes, war, violence would cease to exist if everyone realized this Universal Truth.

Original Photo by RyanKemmers available on Flickr.com

                     As we continue to listen to the teachings of Buddhism, we'll be closer to discovering more about our True Self. Please continue to read more on this blog about this very profound subject, as it takes much more than just one or two short lessons to master.

Law of Cause and Effect -- Part Two

               Without knowing the Law of Cause and Effect, you can’t understand Buddhism or the teachings of Buddhism.

                 To review, here are the three core principles:

Good causes bring good effects.

Bad causes bring bad effects.

Your own cause brings your own effect.

                Our deeds or actions are like seeds. These seeds become causes.

Original Photo by photofarmer available on Flickr.com

Good Cause = Good Seed                               Good Seed = Good Result

Bad Cause = Bad Seed                      Bad Seed = Bad Result

Good Result = Happiness / Favorable Situation

Bad Result = Unhappiness / Unfavorable Situation

                All humanity is living to obtain happiness. Politics, science, medicine, the arts, all of them exist to make our lives happier.

Original Photo by US Mission Geneva available on Flickr.com

               The most important thing is how can we obtain happiness, and to know this we (as well as politicians) must first understand the relationship of the cause and effect.

                All effects have a cause. This is a true throughout the Three Worlds and Ten Directions. Without knowing the cause of happiness, we can’t enjoy that happiness as a result. We’ll be unfortunate if we are unaware of this principle.

                The emphasis is placed on the Law of Cause and Effect as the sole determinant of our fate.

                                                               Result                                               Cause

Good Fate\Destiny         =            Good Actions

Bad Fate\Destiny             =            Bad Actions

Own Fate\Destiny           =             Own Actions

                When we have a good destiny we can accept this, but during a bad destiny we cannot. That’s when we believe “others’ cause, others’ effect.” I must be suffering from what others have done, we think. We blame the judge and jury for our crimes, but if this was true we’d be receiving the effect of their deeds. Buddhism teaches own cause, own effect. If you don’t understand this third point, you can’t grasp the other two principles either.

                Even though we hear the Law of Cause and Effect, we still have this mentality of being persecuted during bad times. The thief who thinks the rope is the cause of his suffering is completely WRONG. The thief is suffering from his own doing. Once of aware of this, he has to reflect on what’s he done. He has to lament what he’s done.

Original Photo by Editor B available on Flickr.com

                We blame others all the time. "It must have been that guy," we say. But then we are just like the thief. We cannot understand this truth of the Three Worlds and the Ten Directions.

                We wonder then intensely how this can be true in the cases of accidents or the victims of violent crimes, especially where children have been injured or killed. Why do they have to suffer? The effect of being hurt was caused by an attacker.

                Is this still own cause, own effect? Yes, it is something they have done in their past, but we just can’t say that politely. Instead we go saying the cause was the murderer, and the victims did nothing. But the Law of Cause and Effect remains true regardless. When we hear about these tragedies in our lives and on the news, we just can’t accept it.

                For example, let’s talk about the Akihabara Massacre which took place in Japan in June of 2008. A man drove a truck into a crowd killing three people and injuring two. He then exited the vehicle and began stabbing those around him. Using a survival knife, he killed four and injured eight others. But why did those victims have to be there at that place and time? If they were just a little further or had arrived an hour before, they would have been spared. Why did they have to be there at that place and that time?

Original Photo by Almir de Freitas available on Flickr.com

                The effect is that they were killed. Why did those 7 people have to suffer is the issue. The effect of being killed had to have had a cause. As we have learned in the Law of Cause and Effect, own cause, own effect. The result of being killed in the accident has to have been caused by something the victims had within them.

                If you believe that the cause is the murderer, you still believe others cause own effect. So again what was the cause in this case?  Own cause, own effect. This principle penetrates the Three Worlds and Ten Directions. The seed had to have been planted by the victims.

                We say again, it can’t be like that. The victims did nothing wrong. But it is the same as the example of the thief and the rope. It is natural to hold a grudge against the murderer, so the point has to be made clearer.

                Own cause, own effect is the truth. There is not even a single case for others’ cause own effect. Good causes bring good effects, Bad causes bring bad effects, Your own causes bring your own effect.

                If being killed is the result, then the cause for this result must be something the victims had within themselves. The victims had cause to be at that site at that moment. Many visitors had passed through Akihabara in great numbers that day, totaling tens or even hundreds of thousands of people. There had to have been a seed the victims had to bring them to that exact place and time. If they didn’t have that cause, they wouldn’t have been there and others would have died instead.

                It was a cause they had that in turn caused them to be killed. Others around them did not have that cause. It is because of own cause own effect. But then does the murderer have nothing to do with them?

                The murder is the condition. An effect needs a combination of cause and condition. In this way, it could better be called the Law of Cause, Condition, and Effect.  A cause itself can’t bring an effect. Only when a condition combines with a cause can effect arrive.
 

                Usually we omit condition, but it is really the Law of Cause, Condition, and Effect. If the law could have intervened in time and brought justice, the effect wouldn’t have come about. This is why we must enforce the law in order to remove bad conditions from society.

Original Photo by Tim Pearce, Los Gatos available on Flickr.com

                The other people around did not have the cause of murder within them. Seven people had their cause and condition combined to have a sad effect. It is a cause they had. All of which happens to you comes from your own cause. When unfavorable results occur, we must reflect on our own doings. We must lament what we have done.

                This must be understood deeply. A mass murder makes people think others’ cause, own effect. But why to only them? Only they received the result. The survivors’ causes must have been different. The murder was the condition.

                There is more to come on this topic. In the next post, we will explore how past causes relate to our destiny and gain insight on the True Self.