Own Cause, Own Effect ― No Exceptions
Until I started listening to Buddhism, there were cases when the idea that one’s own causes bring one’s own effects was simply unthinkable to me. At those times, I would tell myself that “this too is an example of own cause, own effect,” and I would try to accept this as true.
However, Buddhism teaches that “all effects one experiences, no matter what they are, are brought about by one’s own actions without a single exception,” and that this does not change just according to one’s own convenience.
When we are struck by misfortune, we cannot help but wonder, “How could this be the fruit of seeds I have sown?” In this way, we outright reject the truth that runs through the three worlds and the ten directions. This happens because we forget the seeds we ourselves have planted.
However, when I was asked specifically where I was and what I was doing this time last year, I realised for the first time that we remember so few of the seeds we ourselves have sown. Since we can’t even remember the deeds we did with our mouths and our bodies, there is no way we can say what we were thinking in our minds at the time. This is to say nothing of the seeds we planted in our past lives.
Thinking of this, I felt that I could receive any kind of result. All deeds we do remain as karmic seeds and become causes. When the right conditions come along, these then bring about results. Seeds not sown will never grow; seeds sown will never fail to grow. I have been shown anew just how momentous these words are.
Each of us has an eternal life force that flows through the three worlds, and all effects that we harvest come from the seeds we planted ourselves. With gratitude in my heart for having been taught this, I will move forward on the straight path of listening to Buddhism.
Naoko Ujibe, Osaka
Source: The Buddhist Village Times #47 | 2015, Own Cause, Own Effect ― No Exceptions
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