We believe in [yin-guo] cause and effect.
In Chinese, “yin” is cause,
and “guo” is effect.
Many people encounter this kind of situation,
where you do a lot of good deeds, a lot of kind acts,
but then you end up with negative results.
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
We have to believe in the “three time periods” –
that is, past, present, and future.
It might not be everyone,
but certainly there are people who do many good things
but don’t receive good results.
One reason is due to the karma accumulated in previous lives.
But a more positive way to think,
another way we can consider it,
is that these encounters train us to grow.
Good results are good times,
and bad results are just a challenge,
a kind of help to allow me to grow as a person.
Therefore, the blows we receive become a kind of training, a discipline.
If it’s a good situation, it’s just like taking a free ride.
A bad blow is like going upstream,
rather than downstream. Going downstream is very relaxing,
but going against the current is very hard.
Although it is so hard to go upstream,
it helps to train our bodies and minds to be healthier,
it trains our bodies to be strong, and it trains our minds to have fortitude.
So actually, all kinds of circumstances we find ourselves in are good, there is no such thing as a bad circumstance.
When we encounter bad things,
we should regard them as a kind of training or exercise,
not necessarily as past-life karma.
We believe in karma,
but a bad situation might not necessarily be karma.
So we can treat it as an opportunity that trains us to grow as people.
So in Buddhism’s view of life,
we see everything as good, there’s nothing bad.
When we think of it as good, then it is good.
Everything comes from our mind.
Good and bad are very subjective.
What is good?
You might say something is really great,
but then the circumstances change just slightly, and it changes into something bad.
And then bad things, they can also change into positive things.
So, good and bad are very subjective.
From the perspective of the Dharma,
as long as it is to help others and to accomplish good things for others,
then everything is good.
As long as we can let go of ourselves,
everything is fine.
As the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch says,
“A true practitioner never sees the faults in the world.”
True Buddhist practitioners don’t see faults in the external world,
nor do they notice the mistakes of other people.
The Brahmajāla Sūtra also has a saying,
“Evil things for yourself, good things for others.”
This means that all the bad things, I will bear them myself.
And all of the good things, I will share them with other people.
This is the way to practice the bodhisattva’s path.
Therefore, those who practice this bodhisattva path
can use the bad things they experience as a way to help them grow and learn,
to develop their wisdom, to enhance their compassion.
If we have good experiences, then of course it’s great,
so if we have these, we can help even more people.
So we can say that whether an experience is good or bad,
to someone practicing the bodhisattva path, cultivating their compassion and wisdom,
every experience is good.