Closing words

The law of cause and effect operates throughout this life, so nothing is by chance. Everything that comes to us is governed and adjusted by cause and effect.

The law of cause and effect is infinitely deep; no one has the strength to understand all its paths except the Buddha. We understand as much as we have practised; with each small advance in practice we see a little more clearly, and no one would dare to beat their chest and say: "I understand all about cause and effect." The cause and effect of each realm is complex and different. We live in the human realm and so undergo the cause and effect of the human realm. Those reborn in the heavenly realms undergo the cause and effect of the heavens, which has many more mysterious, wondrous and different features. A Bodhisattva who goes to guide living beings must also have hidden karmic causes for doing so. A Bodhisattva who wants to deliver living beings does not use supernatural powers to appear sitting suspended in mid-air teaching the Way so that people come to listen; rather, he must sow some cause, the right cause for the right result, and only then do people come.

So let us dream together: "One day, all the schools in the world will teach the study of Cause and Effect to their students, to create a firm foundation of ethics." This vast, wide world would become a happy paradise, because everyone would love one another, everyone would restrain themselves to avoid making one another suffer and would wish only to bring joy to one another. That dream is perhaps not yet attainable now, so let us dream a little smaller: that all children of the Buddha remind one another to have faith in and understand the law of cause and effect, and also teach their children and grandchildren to understand the law of cause and effect. In that way, we can build paradise in our own hearts, in our families and villages, in the small world around us.

We speak with one another about the law of cause and effect so that from now on we know how to direct our lives toward what is noble. If we want to be beautiful, let us love others, live gently and cultivate our inner life. If we want to be wealthy, let us use money correctly. If we want the karmic result to multiply many times, let us give and help others with all our heart... We will steer our lives to the place we wish to reach. Not only that, we will also pass on this moral principle of cause and effect, and this reverence and faith in the Buddha's teachings, to many people. First, to help our children and grandchildren, our family, then our village, neighbours, friends and relatives, so that everyone believes in cause and effect and everyone believes in the Buddha's teachings; then this life will become a beautiful paradise.

The law of cause and effect still holds many profound things that are hard to explain, but what it brings is truly wonderful. As long as we apply it correctly, we will open the door to success in life as well as in practice.

Let us all join hands and put our strength together to build a peaceful and happy society, and a flourishing Buddhist Dharma.