Forget Yourself: When You Pray for the Nation, Cause and Effect (Karmic Law) Will Take Care of You

Master Thích Chân Quang teaches: forget yourself and pray for the nation, hold firm to right view, and cause and effect (karmic law) will take care of us.

Have you ever wondered why some people visit temples year after year, praying for every kind of blessing, yet remain full of suffering (dukkha) and distress, while others who pray little live in ease and happiness? At the start of spring, everyone longs for a good beginning. Some people pick up dropped money hoping for luck, some hope a shopkeeper gives them too much change, some seek out fortune tellers to resolve their misfortunes. Yet these ways are often mere superstition, uncultured, and contrary to cause and effect (karmic law). In a dharma talk at the great ceremony praying for national peace and prosperity, Master Thích Chân Quang pointed to a truly different path: when we forget ourselves, cause and effect (karmic law) will take care of us.

Do Not Pray for Yourself, Pray for Everyone

Many new year prayer services at temples revolve only around praying for oneself and one's family. Master Chân Quang observes that this still nourishes a selfish mind/heart. The more we go to the temple, the larger our selfish mind/heart grows, harming our virtue. Therefore, the master proposes a different practice.

For a long time we have built the ritual of praying for national peace and prosperity. We pray for our country to flourish and thrive. We pray for our people to be at peace, without praying for ourselves individually. Because when the nation is at peace and prosperous, that already includes us, our families, and everyone we love. When we open our heart to think of the people and the nation, morally speaking we have truly raised our virtue a step higher. And according to the law of cause and effect (karmic law), when our mind/heart thinks of the greater good, of many people, our blessings from merit rise a level. But when we pray only for ourselves, our merit is stored in small measure and rarely succeeds. When we pray for this whole nation, notice that in that year we will meet much good fortune. We do not pray for ourselves, yet we receive for ourselves. But if we keep praying only for ourselves, beware that good fortune may leave us behind.

That is an immensely practical message: stop being selfish, be selfless. When we open our heart to everyone, we ourselves will receive the recompense of the law of cause and effect (karmic law).

An Inspiring Story of Sacrifice

The master told of a young Buddhist student who went to America to study psychology, a field that is very hard to get into. Out of two hundred and fifty applications, only five people were admitted. Yet this student did not keep her materials to herself, but wholeheartedly helped her fellow applicants. She shared her lessons, study methods, and precious materials. She always wished for her friends to do better than herself.

But strangely, good fortune kept happening to her. When they reviewed her exam scores from her first year of university through her master's degree, they accepted them as passing. Then came the second decisive round, the oral defense with the professors. About a week before the oral exam, extremely difficult questions of psychology suddenly appeared in her mind. When she walked into the exam room, the professors asked exactly those questions.

This story proves a truth: when our heart cares for others, good results return to us first. Selflessness is not a loss, but a wondrous spiritual force that science has yet to explain.

Steadfastly Guarding Right View

Our heart is fragile. Today we vow to love our country; tomorrow, hearing someone criticize it, we waver. Therefore, the master advises us to hold a steadfast position. Which views must we hold firmly? They are patriotism, love, loyalty, faith in cause and effect (karmic law), diligence in meditative concentration, and a life of service.

Patriotism: cherishing the leadership and the path that guides the nation, without divided loyalty.

Love of the Dharma: gratitude for the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), understanding Buddhism as the religion of the nation.

Faith in cause and effect (karmic law): a foundational truth of the universe, needing no proof, a faith not lost even in death. The master said, "Even in death, I will never lose faith in the law of cause and effect (karmic law)."

Loyalty: loyalty to the homeland, the leadership, the Dharma, and one's teacher. Loyalty means building and protecting, not servitude.

Diligent practice of meditative concentration: to surpass artificial intelligence and protect the world from destruction.

These very views form a solid foundation for our soul, keeping us unmoved by uncultured words or enticements of money and benefit.

Being at Peace with Oneself Is the Greatest Happiness

The master told a story from the film "Deep Undercover": a Russian intelligence officer faced his old friend, a wealthy journalist who worked against his country. The friend asked, "You are a colonel, but what do you have? A small apartment, no car, simple clothes?" The officer replied, "But I am at peace with myself."

"But I am at peace with myself." That is, this person stood firm in a life lived for the nation, never accepting a path of selfish indulgence. He answered, "But I am at peace with myself." It is a single sentence to reply when a friend tempts us toward selfish pleasure. We are the same. Our happiness is not mansions and wealth, but being at peace with ourselves, with our virtue. That is a happiness greater than all other happiness.

Happiness does not lie in grand houses and plentiful money. Happiness lies in the peace within our soul when we keep our virtue and our selflessness. It is a simple yet profound answer.

Live to Serve; What You Give Remains Forever

Finally, the master emphasized that the purpose of life is to serve, to devote oneself, to sacrifice and contribute. Not merely in words, but in concrete action. For example, paying taxes to build the nation. In a vivid comparison, the master said the country is like a hotel: if we evade taxes yet demand five-star construction, where is the fairness? To build a five-star nation, we must pay five-star taxes. That is true contribution.

Dear friends, try living once according to the master's teaching: forget yourself, open your heart to the nation, to humanity, to the Dharma. Do not let incitement, bribery, or the temptations of fame and profit shake your right view. Hold steadfastly to these good principles, and the law of cause and effect (karmic law) will never fail us. Wishing you a new year of joy, peace, and the fulfillment of all that is good.