To love the law of cause and effect is to love fairness

The outstanding feature, the wonderful beauty, of the law of cause and effect is its fairness. Someone hearing about the law of cause and effect for the first time may still ask hesitantly: "They say every cause has its effect, but how can that be proved? Can we not see, on the basis of science, whether those who are kind really meet with good and those who do evil really meet with evil? Because in life I see wicked people who are still rich and kind people who are still poor. I trust the Buddha's teaching that the kind will surely meet with good and the evil with evil. When I hear that the law of cause and effect is fair, I love it, but I still hesitate and doubt, even though I very much want to believe."

Many of us do not yet have enough wisdom to see the law of cause and effect operating fairly. Only the Saints have enough wisdom to see it; ordinary people like us lack the power to see. Nevertheless, we still believe and accept it. But why do we accept it when we cannot prove it? Because cause and effect is fair. Although we understand that we lack the power to know whether this principle is real, we love the fairness of cause and effect, and so we naturally accept the law of cause and effect. That is why we accept living by it and teaching our children and grandchildren to believe in it. So is a person who believes in cause and effect a person of ethics? Certainly they are. Only people of ethics love fairness, and when they love fairness they accept the law of cause and effect.

If someone gives as a reason, "I do not believe in the law of cause and effect and do not accept it, because science cannot prove it", we understand at once that this person is not ethical. Why? Because they lack one thing: they do not cherish fairness. A person who does not cherish fairness is not ethical, and will certainly do wrong in one way or another. If they have great power and rank, they will certainly abuse that power to bully others for their own gain. If they are just an ordinary person, their mind will always be on how to turn the money in other people's pockets into money in their own.

In economics there is a definition: "How do you make money?" "Making money" means finding a way for the money in someone else's pocket to become money in your own pocket; it is as simple as that. In fact, it sounds simple but is not simple at all, because "money is part of one's own flesh and blood." The money in people's pockets is their blood and bones, their heart, their flesh, their entrails; it cannot easily be taken and put into our own pockets. The only easy way is theft and robbery: putting a knife to someone's throat and pulling the money out of their pocket into our own. Ordinarily, if we want the money in another person's pocket to move into ours, we must do something that pleases them, or supply something they want. For example, if they want to buy gold and we have gold, or want to buy a vehicle and we have one to sell, then their money can pass into our pocket. That is, we must give something in return, some effort, some service, some property; making money is not simply taking money from other people's pockets and putting it into ours.

Many people, because they do not cherish fairness, want to make money easily by fraud, scheming and theft, and we call that wrongdoing, lacking ethics. People who do wrong like this will first be judged by the law, and then by cause and effect. When the law of cause and effect judges, it is truly severe. There are things that society's law cannot fully judge, but the law of cause and effect judges without missing the slightest particle. It is truly frightening!

Because human beings cherish fairness, they have set up laws and courts to judge. We are human beings who cherish fairness; if not, we would be no different from the beasts in the forest. The beasts in the forest live by the rule that the strong win and the weak lose. When a tiger tears its prey apart there is no deliberation in its head, only an awareness of strength: if it can eat, it eats. Human beings are not like that. When one person beats and bullies another, the law and the courts intervene immediately. Rich or poor, everyone is equal before the law. We are human beings in the true sense, and shine far above the animals, because we know how to set up courts and laws.

In ancient times the law was very simple, and the later it became, the more refined the law grew. For the more civilised and wise people become, the fairer they become. In what way fairer? In the series about Judge Bao, we see that the law was very simple: whoever kills must pay with his life. When a murder case occurred, after investigating and gathering many clues, with witnesses and evidence in abundance, once the culprit was found he was immediately beheaded without mercy, with no mitigating circumstances. At that time, although Judge Bao was a very upright, incorruptible and wise official, the wisdom and civilisation of humanity then were not equal to those of humanity today. Nowadays, when a murder is tried, the motive, the circumstances and the details are all considered; it is not the case that anyone who commits murder is sentenced to be beheaded as in the past.

There is a story, much told, of a boy still under age who killed his stepfather and was arrested. Afterwards, some people who knew about his family explained the reason: the stepfather had been extremely cruel. That man had tormented the boy's mother and siblings ruthlessly for a long time since they began living together. The resentment built up and was suppressed until the boy could bear it no longer; he took a knife, killed his stepfather and committed the crime. First, it was murder, but when the court tried him, he was still a minor. Second, he was extremely distressed and the fault lay largely with the victim, who had kept making his family suffer for ten years. To deter others, the court passed a prison sentence but suspended it. The courts of today differ from those of the past in this way.

We see that the more civilised and wise people become, the more they cherish fairness. The law of cause and effect is precisely that fairness. The civilised wisdom of human beings fits very well with the fairness of the law of cause and effect in Buddhism, which makes it naturally easier for people to accept and to love Buddhism. This is something we can be proud of when we kneel before the Buddha's image in worship, because we know this is a Saint who brought a principle of fairness to the world. Thanks to this, countless people in this world have learned to restrain themselves, not allowing themselves to do wrong but encouraging themselves to do only what benefits the world and creates merit. So we do not hesitate to bow to him with all our reverence.

Fairness is also shown in this story. A robber noticed that a certain family had hidden some valuables. Taking advantage of a lapse in their guard, he broke in and tied up the householder, then put a knife to his throat and cut off strips of flesh one by one to force him to reveal where the valuables were. The householder, in agony and bleeding heavily, could bear no more and had to point out where the gold was buried. The robber dug it up and took the gold, then cut the householder's throat, killing him, and fled; the law did not find him. The police investigating the case suspected that he was the culprit, but he used money to bribe them and block the investigation. So the suspicion was turned in another direction, and until the day he died the case remained one of "culprit not found".

Worldly law, the worldly fairness that human beings have established, has not been enough to settle and deal with all the good and evil in this life. But the law of cause and effect does not let anyone off. That criminal escaped the fairness of the law, but not the fairness of the law of cause and effect. He began to be tormented by painful illnesses, with cancerous tumours rising on exactly the places where he had cut the householder's body. Wherever the victim had been cut, the same place on his body became ulcerated and painfully sore, and would not heal. Where he had cut the victim's leg, his leg became ulcerated; where he had cut the armpit, his armpit became numb and immobile and as painful as if it had been cut. The pain lasted for many years. He could not sleep peacefully but always had nightmares, seeing in the darkness scenes of being chased, killed, burned, stabbed... terrifying, crying out and fleeing in panic with no one to save him. His wife, lying beside him, would shake him awake and see him drenched in sweat without knowing what was happening. He had to endure the painful karmic result in his body and be tormented by nightmares until he died. So had he finished repaying the karmic result? Not yet. After he died, he fell into hell and continued to be tormented there. In the invisible realms there is a place that the Buddha called hell. It is where those are punished whom the law of the world has missed and not fully judged. Those who have committed grave crimes go down to hell after death and continue to bear the karmic result and continue to suffer, being burned, stabbed, cut and tormented in the most wretched ways.

The question arises: why, when someone has committed the crime of killing one person and has already suffered a terrible and painful karmic result at the end of life, must he still go down to hell after death to bear the karmic result again? We should know that a criminal act does not affect only the victim but also many other people. It is not that the householder was cut and had his throat slit and that was the end of it. What happens when his wife and children discover that their husband and father is dead and the property is all gone? The suffering cannot be put into words. The suffering in the heart because a loved one has died has no price that could compensate for it. Anyone among us who has suffered when a loved one died unjustly or in a terrible way will understand that this is the utmost pain. That pain is beyond imagining. So for the suffering of the wife and the children, no number of lifetimes of repayment would be enough.

At the same time, all the property was lost, so the children could not continue their schooling, had to struggle hard to earn a living, and their lives rapidly went downhill. The wife, having lost her husband, had to toil to find food to keep the family alive; worn out by labour over many years, she fell ill and died early, leaving the children orphaned. If the children keep their moral character, that is good; if they do not, then once their parents are gone and they have become poor and turn to robbery, it is truly tragic. The consequence of killing one person and robbing them produces countless bad consequences in this life. That robber killed one person, received the karmic result of cancer and died, and still had not finished with his wrongdoing; he had to go down to hell and repay for hundreds of years or countless years, and then, reborn as a human being, he would still go on repaying his karma. Why would he still have to repay his karma? Because he caused others to lose their father and mother early, so he must receive the karmic result of being orphaned, without schooling, struggling hard and scrambling for a living in the world.

We see that worldly law judges simply: executing the robber settles it, or a prison sentence of a few decades ends it. But the law of cause and effect counts, bit by bit, the consequences and the suffering that the person caused in this life, and judges without missing a single small thing. We need to remember that this is what the law of cause and effect is like.

On the other hand, take a different case: a young man who lives very decently, is not dishonest or greedy and has some education but has no job. Through acquaintances, we introduce this young man to a company: "I see that this man is well behaved, ethical and qualified, but has not yet found suitable work. I also happen to know that your company needs staff, so I am recommending him, hoping the company can take him on and give him the chance of employment." That is, we have used kind and courteous words and our own good standing to get the company to take this young man on. If the job pays well, he can look after not only himself but his whole family. What matters is that every night he no longer has to worry about food, clothing, rice and money, and nothing can compare with that peace of mind. For people with no work, who eat a bowl of rice today without knowing whether they will have anything to eat tomorrow, that haunting insecurity weighs terribly on their minds. So when we help someone else lighten their worry and be happy and at peace, no money can repay it, because it is priceless.

In the same way, for the good things we bring to others, the karmic result that comes back to us is also excellent. When we find work for someone, it is not the case that we then win a lottery of a few hundred million and that is all; the consequences extend very long and very far. Joy and good fortune will last our whole life and even into the lives of our children and grandchildren, who, when grown, will find work easily and steadily. Even in old age we will be at peace and happy to see our children and grandchildren successful. That is how fair cause and effect is.

Because we love fairness, we do not want this world to be unjust. If there is injustice, it is only temporary. For example, a bad person holds a high position and always relies on his power to oppress those below him, not allowing talented and capable people to advance; that is injustice. But we believe that this injustice is only temporary, and that in the end this life is still fair, this universe is still fair. That bad person will be exposed and lose his post, and one day those talented, gentle people will rise to do good in the world.

We love fairness, and so we believe in the law of cause and effect.

Why do good people believe in the law of cause and effect? Because they love fairness. So we judge whether someone is good by whether they love fairness. Good people should enjoy good things and bad people should be punished; that is fairness. Therefore, whoever loves fairness is ethical and believes in the law of cause and effect.

Why do bad people not believe in the law of cause and effect? Because they do not love fairness. But why do they not love fairness? Because they do only bad things and so greatly fear fairness. If there is fairness, one day they will have to pay for their wicked deeds. Take someone who steals and swindles as a trade: does he believe in the law of cause and effect? Certainly not. He does not believe it because he does not want to bear the karmic result.

And those who do only good throughout the year: do they believe in cause and effect? They will, because they know that one day there will be a reward for the good things they do. That reward is not handed out by any spirit, any heaven or any god, but comes from the natural principle of the universe, the natural fairness of the universe. Gods and Saints are real, but they only observe and arrange; the gods and Saints too must obey the law of cause and effect.

For example, when we go to a shrine or temple to bow to gods and Saints, we easily make a mistake, thinking that they bestow good fortune on us. In truth, if we could meet and speak with them, we would learn that they do not bestow good fortune on people; they only observe how many good deeds people have done in order to bring them good luck. That is, they too are merely instruments of cause and effect.

They are like an official in the unseen realm. When a good person comes to ask, they grant it; when a bad person comes, he will not get what he wants, because he has not yet learned to practise and has not yet helped anyone, so coming to ask is not yet enough. They too are only judges who arrange matters according to cause and effect, wrongdoing and merit, not people who give out favours at will. Therefore we need not exert ourselves in prayer; we need only strive to do as many good deeds as we can, and we will receive a response.

When we go to worship at a shrine or temple, we must know clearly where the spirits there come from; we should not bow at just any shrine or temple. If we pay no attention to this, it means we have betrayed the Buddha. For when we took refuge in the Buddha, we were told that from then on we must not be superstitious and must not take refuge in heterodox teachings, spirits, ghosts or objects. Our reverence is reserved for the Awakened One and for the teaching that leads to liberation; that is, we do not bow our heads or kneel before power, but bow only in reverence before principle, morality and awakening. For example, when we hear that some powerful god can bestow blessings or send down calamities on people... we are not afraid and do not go to kneel and bow. Conversely, if there is someone with no magic powers but with morality and principle, we will accept kneeling before that person. A disciple of the Buddha must be this bold.

In the popular beliefs handed down to us, we respect the culture of our ancestors and so may visit shrines and temples, but we must know the origin of the one being worshipped. We must know clearly what miracles that figure has performed and what service he has rendered to the country and to our ancestors since ancient times. Once we are sure of this, we go and light a stick of incense to express our gratitude. For example, when we go to burn incense at the temple of Saint Trần, we know clearly that he is the one who deserves credit for defending the country and helping it avoid foreign invasion, and also a serious practitioner of Buddhism, and so we pay our respects and bow.

No one escapes the law of cause and effect. If someone says, "I practise, so I am free of the law of cause and effect", that person has fallen into wrong view and misunderstands Buddhism. A genuine practitioner is one who clearly understands cause and effect and can create the good causes he desires. That is a person who lives very rightly and very beautifully. As for those who want to avoid the law of cause and effect, who shut their doors to practise and think they are not governed by cause and effect, the more they practise, the deeper they go into a wrong path.

A gentle practitioner who spends every day both refining his mind and serving the world will, after long practice, become a Saint, because he follows the right cause and the right effect. What matters is knowing which cause gives which effect. One does not practise in order to change one's fate, but to know cause and effect, to plant the right causes and reap the right results.