Cause & Effect
“What kinds of causes am I making right now?” “What actions am I taking?” The answers to these questions are what will determine our future.
Buddhism explains karma in order to reveal how to transform it. Put another way, to hold the doctrine of karma over people without fully clarifying the means for changing it is to wrongly interpret Buddhism. Such teachings only cause people to remain bound by the shackles of fate.
Buddhism holds that everything is in a constant state of flux. Thus the question is whether we accept change passively and are swept away by it or whether we take the lead and create positive changes on our own initiative.
Buddhism stresses the importance of the present and the future. There is little point in dwelling on the past. Far more constructive is looking to the future and moving forward. What is vital is that we achieve a bright and glorious future through our efforts and perseverance today.
There’s no need for us to be held back by the past or how things have been so far. The important thing is what seeds we are sowing now for the future.
This moment, this instant is important, not some unknown time in the future. Today, this very day, is what matters. We must put our entire beings into the present—for future victory is contained in this moment.
What is the purpose of our lives? What becomes of our life when we die? . . . No matter how much power and authority one might wield now, these become meaningless in the face of death. In the end, the only thing that is important is how one has lived one’s life. We alone must face the consequences of our actions and decisions. When one understands the strict law of cause and effect at work in life, one will inevitably come to correct one’s way of living.
