Causes and Effects Must Also Be Examined Wisely
Causes and effects are a very important teaching in Buddhism. But it is not enough to understand them simply as good results for good actions and bad results for bad actions. Countless conditions and states of mind work together in any one result.
Even the same words can be received in completely different ways depending on the listener's condition, relationship, expectations, and past experiences. Words that pass lightly when the mind is peaceful may feel like a deep wound when someone is tired and sensitive.
Therefore, we should trust causes and effects, but see them wisely. When something happens, do not cling to only one cause and decide the matter there. Examine the many conditions at work within it, together with the reaction of your own mind.
This does not mean turning every fault back onto yourself, nor does it mean removing responsibility from the outside. It means setting down fixed judgment and discrimination, attachment and clinging, and looking more widely.
Today, may we not decide what has happened from only one side, but wisely examine the flow of causes and effects and the response of our own mind.
Causes and effects cannot be explained by only one cause and one result. The same words and actions work differently according to conditions, relationships, and the state of one's mind. Today, please examine the flow of causes and effects with wisdom rather than quick judgment.
