Cause and Effect Sutra 1 (Introduction) " All Dharmas are empty, Cause and Effect are NOT empty"" May I always call upon the name of the BUDDHA, and may the BUDDHA AMITABHA always be with me" Dear Cultivators of the way,AMITABHA BUDDHA,Do bring forth the mind of kindness,And be sincerely Mindful of the BUDDHA,NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA,And say the name of the BUDDHA for once, Until Hundreds, Thousands and millions of times........May the Merits and virtues Accrued from the mindfulness of the buddha, Be the opening Verse for the reading of this book. The life of A human being is within his one breath..... The Human's life exists within the process of one breath. Once the breath is stopped, the man will die! Supposed I were able to live for one hundred year. (Indeed, among the millions of people, how many can really live for one hundred years?) Just take an average count of breathing of a man who can breath for sixteen times within a minute, then in an hour, he will breathe 60 x 16 = 960times. In a day which consists of 24hours, he will breathe for 24 x 960 = 23020 times. In a year which consists of 365days, he will breathe for 365x23040=8409680times. Then in hundred years he will breathe eight billion four thousand million time. Every time when take in the air and sent it out, I will be losing one breath... Oh, poor me, everyday I lose 23040 breath. In a year's time, I will be losing 8409680 breaths. Our lifespan which amounts to a few tens of years will come to an end when I have finished sending out the last breath. From here, we can see that life is indeed short and impermanent!Some people say," As soon as a child is born, he begin to die".Indeed, the day we come to the human realm, is also the day when we start walking towards death! In this Saha World, what is that in life which is really worth our clining to?Because I want to be liberated from the Saha World of five turbidities, I am mindful of The Buddha, " NAMO AMITABHA". May I be born in the pure land of ultimate bliss! The Reward and Retribution of CAUSE AND EFFECT The working of cause and effect extends to the three periods of time. The relationship may involve the former lifespan and future lifespan. It may be the relation of yesterday, today and tomorrow. It can be further be shortened to the last minute, this minute and the next minute; until the former kshana, this instant and the next kshana. There are some people who practice good deeds but get a bad ending on their death. Why? This is beacuse the good causes which they have planted have not rippened yet. Instead the bad effects have rippened first! On the contray, some evil men who have created all bad deeds throughout their life receive a good death. This is because they have not finished exhuasting their reward. In future when the evil retributio ripens, they will have to pay for their crimes. Just as the saying goes: " The good men reap the reward, while the evil ones will have to undergo the retribution. If the effects do not come upon thm, it is because the time is not ripe yet!" People who believe in cause and effect understand that good deeds done will bring corresponding reward in future. People who believe in cause and effect are willing to take a loss. They are always ready to let others enjoy all bnefits. For they know that " To take a loss is always the winner". On the cover of this book, there is an example of the relationship of the cause and effect;" In the past he killed me and this life I kill him". At the back of the book, we can see: "You eat him in this life, In future you will be eaten". This is also another example of the working of cause and effect. All dharmas are empty. But the cause and effect are not empty. This process of killing will continue forever. There is really no true peace in this world.