Understanding Causes and Realizing Effects, Ceasing Evil and Cultivating Good

Wholesome causes have wholesome fruits, unwholesome causes have unwholesome fruits, and causes that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome have fruits that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome; everything lies within cause and effect. All these causes and effects are realized exactly as they are by the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha impartially brings to fruition all karmic causes and retributions, in accordance with its inherent laws of cause and effect, and there will absolutely never be any wrongful convictions or miscarried cases. Part of what we do in learning Buddhism and cultivating practice is to change and eliminate those unwholesome causes, conditions, and retributions, and to continually increase wholesome causes, conditions, and retributions, so as to attain the ultimately pure Buddha-fruit without remainder.

Karmic causes are created by the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) within worldly dharmas, and the retributions are likewise realized within worldly dharmas. Since they are worldly dharmas, they are illusory dharmas, not real and unchanging dharmas; all are illusory appearances conjured up by the tathāgatagarbha—the marks exist, but their substance is empty. Sentient beings, because they cling to all the dharmas of the five-aggregate world as truly existent, are able to create all kinds of karmic actions for the sake of the five aggregates. If one truly realizes that the five aggregates are not the self, and eradicates one's clinging to the five aggregates, one will no longer easily create unwholesome karmic actions.

Although karmic causes and retributions are empty and false, when one undergoes the retribution it is still extremely agonizing. Therefore, it is necessary for us to understand causes and penetrate their fruits, to refrain from creating unwholesome karma and only create wholesome karma, enjoying wholesome fruits life after life until we attain buddhahood. Out of compassion, the World-Honored One came to this evil world of the five turbidities and, using all manner of words and teachings, instructed sentient beings to break the wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) of taking the five aggregates as the self, so that sentient beings could finally attain liberation and return to their self-nature. We should follow the World-Honored One's teachings, sever evil and cultivate goodness, eliminate all afflictions and defilements, purify the mind-ground, benefit both ourselves and others, and attain the Buddha Way and perfect the Buddha-fruit as soon as possible.