Cause and Effect Is Not Simply "As You Sow, So Shall You Reap" – Lessons from Venerable Thích Chân Quang

We often hear sayings like "Sow the wind, reap the storm" or "Plant melons, harvest melons," yet when we face pain we cannot understand, these phrases seem insufficient as explanations. If I do not remember my past lives, why must I bear the consequences that "someone else" sowed? And if we probe deeper, we reach a dead end: Who is this "I"? Where did it come from? This is the most difficult question in spiritual study, and it is the subject Venerable Thích Chân Quang devoted great care to in a question-and-answer session.

Asking for Favors or Practicing? – The Boundary Between the True Dharma and the Age of Decline

Venerable Thích Chân Quang opened the session with a reminder about the spirit of practice. According to him, when people come to the temple seeking to gain rather than to transform themselves, it is a sign that the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) are fading. He said:

"The Dharma falls into decline when people begin to ask and beg for things. And the Dharma remains in its true form when people wholeheartedly practice in order to transform themselves."

He also warned about the intrusion of foreign culture, when some people mistake colorful Tibetan forms for Vajrayana Buddhism. He emphasized that Vajrayana is esoteric and pure, not exposed statues or elaborate rituals. A Buddha altar must "not suggest a wish for luck; rather, our altar suggests reverence."

The Buddha and the Arhat: The Difference Lies in Wisdom

A question was raised: If both the Buddha and the Arhat have attained enlightenment, how do they differ? The Venerable explained that in terms of liberation from samsara (cycle of rebirth), they are the same. But the Buddha far surpasses the Arhat, especially in wisdom. He gave an example:

"When someone asks an Arhat a question, the Arhat answers without hesitation, answering immediately and very precisely. But that answer may not bring lasting and universal benefit to the listener. The Buddha, the moment the question is asked, sees through countless future lives into that person's capacities, and sees where the words that person will pass on to others will reach."

For this reason, the Buddha's wisdom always meets the needs of sentient beings across many lifetimes, not just the person asking. That is omniscience, surpassing all levels of noble ones.

Cause and Effect: Neither One nor Different

The most fascinating question concerned the fairness of cause and effect (karmic law). If we do not remember our past lives, was that past life really "us"? And if we bear the results of another's actions, where is the fairness? The Venerable pointed out that this is the stumbling block of many philosophies. When the Buddha was asked who creates suffering (dukkha), he answered with great depth: not by oneself, not by another, not by both oneself and another, and not by chance either. The Venerable explained:

"What does it mean to say it was caused by oneself? It means caused by oneself in this very life. The Buddha said no. Because cause and effect is a chain spanning many lives, not just one life. To say it was caused by another means the person in a past life created it while the person in this life bears it. The Buddha said no. No. Because in truth, the two people are spoken of as two, but they are one."

Then the Venerable offered a profound truth: "neither one nor different" (not the same, not separate). In the universe, everything both exists and does not exist, is both wave and particle, like light. For this very reason, Nagarjuna wrote the Middle Way Treatise to dismantle all extremes. The Venerable concluded:

"That is the truth, and that is what our Dharma teaches. That is why Nagarjuna wrote an entire treatise, the Middle Way Treatise, saying it is not this, not that."

Non-Self or No Soul? A Fatal Misunderstanding

A common misunderstanding among practitioners, according to the Venerable, is equating non-self (anatta) with "no soul." The Buddha taught that there is no permanent self, yet he still acknowledged the continuity of karmic force. The Sanskrit word "man" carries two meanings: soul and ego. When the Buddha spoke of non-self (anatta), some traditions misunderstood this to mean that nothing exists after death. The Venerable said:

"The Buddha said there is no ego, but the Theravada tradition understood it as no soul, that death is the absolute end. And for thousands of years since, it has been insistently said that the Buddha taught there is no soul, and this has created a very great misunderstanding. The Mahayana tradition broke free of this immediately. Mahayana speaks of the intermediate body, of consciousness, of all such things."

In truth, after death, a subtle form of mind continues, known as the intermediate body, the subtle body, or the continuing consciousness. This allows cause and effect (karmic law) to operate fairly within the stream of continuity.

Love Yourself in Your Next Life

Finally, the Venerable offered practical advice: We cannot know what we did in past lives, but we can decide what our next life will be through our actions today. He shared:

"In this life, strive to make this self as good as possible. Then this self will pass away, and a self will appear in the next life. In that next life, that self will enjoy much peace and much happiness."

So do not let the question "is it fair or not" lead us into pessimism. Instead, devote ourselves to practice and transform body and mind. In doing so, the true Dharma remains alive in our lives.