Page 180 - Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated) and Symbols

Buddhism provides the answer to this great mystery of inequali-

ties and imperfections of mankind. e Buddha taught that ‘all

things spring from a cause’ and he clearly laid down the nature

of good and bad Karma. Reduced to its most elementary mean-

ing, Karma is action; it refers to the fruits of actions as well as

the effects of causes and so on. If there is a cause, an effect is

inevitable, where there is an effect, there must be a cause. us it

is quite easy to understand that ‘what happens today is the result

of yesterday and the cause of tomorrow’. is reasoning springs

from what the Buddha has said:

“If you wish to know the past, then look at the present

which is the result of it.

“If you wish to know the future, then look at the present

which is the cause of it.”

e above teaching describes the oneness of cause and effect and

also explains the inequalities of birth which are but the effects of

causes generated in past lives. Understanding this Law will help

us to put to a stop all the evil actions of our body, speech and

mind — the three karmic vehicles. e three evils committed by

the body are killing, stealing and adultery. e three evils of the

mind are greed, anger and delusion and the evil deeds that are

committed by the mouth are vulgar speech, false speech, harsh

speech and duplicity.

rough such unwholesome actions of our body speech and

mind we generate bad Karma which, when it ripens, will cause

us to fall into states of misery either in this world or another. It

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