The following is from a teaching given by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling:
We must take care not to fall prey to actually disbelieving the infallible truth of the law of cause and result, not to hold incorrect or wrong view, which would be again, thinking that there is no truth to this law. If I practice Dharma, for example, there will be no good result, so why should I bother, these types of attitudes. If I accumulate non-virtue, if I just do whatever I want, if I engage in negativity, there is no lower rebirth, it doesn’t matter. And so, thinking in this way is definitely the wrong direction. All of us must know this and focus on the Buddha’s teachings, initially, the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering, that there is non-virtue. We all know that there is suffering, because we are experiencing that and knowing the truth of the cause, that there is the cause to the result of our suffering and so Buddha taught the truth of the cause of suffering and the truth of suffering is the result of that cause and so now, while we are free to do something about accepting and rejecting, that’s precisely what we should do. If we have intelligence, we would figure out that is the way we would lead our life.
Believing in the laws of cause and result is virtuous. Not believing in the law of cause of cause and result is non-virtuous and so that marks the difference between being noble and a wholesome individual on the path of wholesome conduct or being ignoble or going into the wrong direction. So when we are going into the wrong direction, because of not acknowledging the law of cause and result and engaging always in non-virtue then that’s why we get left behind so to speak. There’s not much progress in our life. When we notice everyone else is going along and having some positive directions and some progress and we’re not, this is the reason.
By going to school nicely and being wholesome and having dignity, careful in what we do, then we will come to know this truth, we will see how this works in our life by observing, by listening, by checking. We will see the truth of the law of cause and result. If we don’t come to know that and see that in our lives, then we’ll always be overwhelmed by the passions and poisons of the 10 non-virtuous results, which includes desire and jealousy, anger, delusion, based on those passions, killing, stealing, adultery, lying, slander, gossip, ill will, craving, incorrect view, all of these non-virtues will proliferate, based on delusion because of not knowing the law of cause and result. And so by not knowing this, then we are always accumulating causes for lower rebirth especially in the three lower realms of the hell beings, the deprived spirit beings and the animals, where there is inconceivable suffering. These are the real places of samsara, the places of rebirth in samsara, these lowest realms, where there is no happiness.
Like for example, in this life, if one takes the life of others, then it shortens one’s own life and it also brings about many different illnesses and diseases. The reason that we have a short lifespan or we acquire some disease or illness is because of having taken the life of others in the past as well so that affects us in this life. From having stolen, then in this life, no matter how hard one tries, one is always poor, lacking endowments, lacking abundance, never quite being able to get it together financially. So this is the ripening, the fruit of the cause. These things don’t come about for any other reason.
So that’s why now it’s so important to listen to one’s parents and to follow the guidelines of whatever religious tradition one believes in. Certainly there is good in all spiritual paths, so whatever one is able to believe in, learning that, contemplating, thinking carefully and following the guidelines of knowing, coming to know what to accept and what to reject so that qualities can develop in your own stream of mind to become a decent person and to have a happy life, otherwise, not following any guidelines, not believing in anything, having no discipline, just doing whatever you want, being careless, it’s really worse than an animal. Even an animals don’t do that. And so it may seem, if you are still young, that that is OK, you can get away with that, because temporarily you are still under your parent’s wings so parents are taking care of you and feeding you and giving you shelter and you are still young so you not sick yet and in fact you don’t even think about it or worry about it, you have no fear of death. Even if the Lord of Death came before you, you would be fearless because you are still young and everything is great. But sooner or later, when all of that shifts and changes, because it will, then sickness comes, poverty comes and everything turns upside down if you haven’t learned how to be a decent human being who knows how to follow rules and practice what to accept and reject. Everything turns upside down and everything becomes like your enemy and when you die and go to lower realms, it’s also even worse and so that’s why it’s so important to think about these things now while you can, while you are able to.
