Hello everyone Amituofo! Today I would like to
share with you The four principles of
Cause and Effect. That is, the four Laws of Karma. We all know that Karma is just like a law of nature. It does not matter whether
you believe in Buddhism or not, believe in the Law of
Cause and Effect or not, it exists in the nature
of this universe. It affects our happiness,
suffering, and joy all the time. Given our awareness that the Laws of
Cause and Effect, as well as Karma, constantly affect us, it becomes essential to learn and comprehend the workings of Cause and Effect and how to mitigate
adverse consequences. This way, we can clearly understand how to plant causes of joy as we cultivate in this lifetime, to lead to the fruition
of joy in the future. So what are the four Laws of Karma? The first Law of Karma,
Karma determines the outcome. The first Law of Karma,
Karma determines the outcome. The bad Karma, good Karma, or
morally indeterminate Karma of body, speech and mind
we have created today, will continue to the next
second, the next minute, tomorrow, next year, the
end of this life term, as well as the next life, until the Karma comes to fruition. The continuous stream of
one's Karma. This is the first Law of Karma. The second Law of Karma is that
Karma will infinitely grow and expand. In other words, a good deed you did today, its good Karma won't disappear
just because you don't do it tomorrow. No. The good deed we did today, even if we don't do it tomorrow, its good Karma is always there. Not only till the end
of this lifetime, but to the next lifetime. On the other hand, if what we
have done today is a bad Karma, a bad cause, it doesn't mean that if
we won't do it tomorrow the bad Karma we created
today will disappear. No. The Karma will infinitely
grow and expand. What I just discussed were the continuous
and unceasing characteristics of Karma. It will last from today to tomorrow
to this life and the next. It’s not just continuous.
It is also expanding. The concept of expanding is akin to the notion of a sapling
sprouting and thriving. Both good and bad Karma will continue to grow and expand. It will continue with
our lives every day, and on. So this is the second Law of Karma, which is that Karma will
infinitely grow and expand. The third Law of Karma is: Karma is not encountered
unless it is created In other words, if we do
not plant the cause, the result will never happen to us. Regardless of whether the
result is good or bad, it is undoubtedly caused
by our own actions. Thus, we bear the
corresponding consequences. This third Law of Karma is: Karma is
not encountered unless it is created. It means that for the Karma you
did not create the cause for, it won't be attributed to
you by someone else, bestowed upon you by someone else, or falsely accused against
you by someone else. You must have created it yourself. This karma of body, speech and mind. The fourth is that the Karma that
has been created will never disappear. As I explained earlier, Karma has the property
of being continuous. So this Karma will not disappear. it will continue to exist. So this is the fourth Law of Karma. The so-called Law of Karma doesn't mean that once something
is set, it can't be changed. In fact, Cause and Effect are
changing every second. Some might appear to be hidden. For example, when a group
of friends dine out, everyone takes a little advantage. Among ten friends, I am the tenth. The nine friends realized that the boss had made an error
in calculating the bill. Each person should have been
charged a hundred dollars, but he overlooked one
individual in the tally. These nine friends made a decision to not to inform the boss. Instead, they handed over
the money for nine people, totaling nine hundred dollars. Even though in that moment, you felt it might not be right, and it appeared somewhat dishonest you did not prevent them from doing so. So you just followed suit and collectively
fulfilled this karmic action, which is to give 900
dollars to the boss, overlooking one individual. So this Karma doesn’t seem
to be done by us. We are just following
everyone's decision. So is this not also an act we make with our body and mind? Does it not have its power, not have its consequences? yes. If, as you listen to my video now, you find that the Law of Karma is
immensely profound and can very well assist us in crafting a happier life, then you are already altering
your destiny at this very moment. Because you now hold the reins, you have shifted from passively, passively accepting all the
consequences of the past, whether good or bad. You have now become proactive. You have the serve, and you actively
create good Karma. This good Karma can be cultivated by making
positive aspirations and committing to action while listening to me discussing
this Dharma right now. At this very moment, you are already
in the process of generating good karma. And this good Karma will definitely
bear fruit in the future. The Karma we created, regardless whether it’s
bad or good Karma, or like the situation
I just described, not voluntary on our part, we are merely passive participants in this action, this mind activity also has its power. This power is Karma. This is my short sharing of today. I will create a second video about the Law of Karma. I will further share with you how we can properly repent for the negative Karma
we have created in the past. At the same time, how do we
accumulate our good Karma? Let us be happy and peaceful. I think that this is what I am sharing
with you today. I hope it can be
helpful to you all to better understand what
the Law of Karma is. So I'm very rejoiced that you are joining me in this
vast ocean of Buddhism. Learn what the Law of Karma is. I also hope this video
will benefit you. I'll see you next time. Amituofo!
