-Answer the second of the eight questions "The sky is high and birds fly"

Xuefeng

Q: 2

The second question-is the operating mechanism of the law of causality really that good is rewarded with good and evil with evil? (The implied premise is the existence of causal laws)

Every reason has its consequences. Well, let's think that it is beyond all laws. Good cause must be good result? It's not the result of good cause, is it? What is the chain between what causes and what results? Buddhism plays a logical game here. The definition of life and death defines that this chain runs according to its moral standards: good is rewarded with good, evil with evil, and there are actually endless possible chains.

Sima Qian questioned: If one good deed deserves another, why did such good people as Boyi and Shu Qi starve to death in the mountains? Why is Yan Hui's life span so short? Why do robbers like shoppers live longer? At that time, there was no Buddhism in China, and Sima Qian questioned China's theory of karma.

How does China's local theory of karma explain the situation of "karma"? The retribution of a person's good deeds and evil deeds will not only be imposed on himself, but also on other family members and future generations; Whether a person experiences well or not is not necessarily due to what he did, but may be caused by what his ancestors did in those years. According to the Book of Changes: "If there is a good family, there must be Qing Yu; If you are poor and weak, there must be more than one. " So people in China pay attention to ancestor worship, ancestral graves and ancestral temples. This is not only because of respect for ancestors, but also because of blessings. When offering sacrifices, you will ask for "ancestors' blessing", and when you encounter good things, you will say "ancestors have accumulated virtue" and "ancestors' graves are smoking".

But this does not conform to Buddhist theory. "Like the Mud Sutra" said: "If the father doesn't do well, the son won't accept it. If the son doesn't do well, the father won't suffer. Good is rewarded, and evil is rewarded. " The Tripitaka says: "Father and son are close relatives, but they are different. Even if you meet, you will not accept it. " Emphasize that karma is borne by individuals and cannot be borne by relatives.

Clever Hui Yuan expanded the scope of karma to past lives and afterlife according to Buddhist scriptures. Hui Yuan wrote "On Three Reports", saying that there are three kinds of retribution in the world: the first kind is "present report", and when people do business, there will be retribution in this life. This is what people often call the "Today's Fate Newspaper"; Second, "karma" is weak, and there will be retribution in the afterlife; The third is "post-reporting", and the karma is weaker. It will not be reported until the second generation, the third generation, or even eternal life.

Let's see, what will this lead to? Because it is impossible to examine what a person has experienced in the past and the next life (under the restriction of today's science and technology), this set of causal theory cannot be falsified, and it can be established under any circumstances: a good person is punished by bad news and interpreted as the result of previous lives; If the bad guys don't get what they deserve, they will say that they will be returned in the afterlife; If good people really get what they deserve and bad people get what they deserve, believers will feel: Who says there is no karma in the world? Isn't this the world news now? This really proves that karma does exist!

Because the number of reincarnation is infinite, this theory cannot be falsified at all; But in theory, it is indeed possible for the Buddha to transcend human cognitive ability and understand everything in infinite reincarnation. Therefore, Hui Yuan's theory of karma, as a theological point of view, can be established.

There is a popular theory of truth in philosophy, and many languages in religion cannot be falsified. This is the fundamental difference between science and religion.

Answer: "As you sow, you reap." There is no doubt about it. This natural principle tells us that the causal mechanism is real.

The phenomenon of "you can't plant melons and beans" also exists, which proves that the causal principle is invalid in some fields.

So, what is "as you sow, so you reap"? Or "as you sow, so you reap"?

This has something to do with Taoism. Taking the way of nature, that is, the way of God, is undoubtedly "as you sow, so you reap." If you take other roads, such as Shinto, Buddhism, immortality, humanity, as you sow, you reap, it's hard to say. If you take the magic road, you will never get a melon if you plant it, and you may even get a toad.

So, is there a problem with "good is rewarded with good, evil with evil"? No, as a whole, the operation mechanism of causality is not disordered, and it is indeed "cause and effect are reported", but in some special local areas, it is "cause and effect are reported", but this does not affect the operation of the overall causal mechanism at all.

Besides, people can't see through what is good and what is evil. Great goodness is not good, great evil is not evil, great virtue is not moral, and great benevolence is beyond human understanding. Therefore, in this world, we often see that some kind people die badly, and some vicious people live long and die well. It's just a distortion of our time and space. It is not a real principle of existence. To know the macro-operation state of truth, goodness and beauty and causal mechanism, we must transcend time and space and look back to the future to see the whole picture.

The cause and effect of every life is borne by oneself, and no one else can replace it. The phenomenon of "one person gains the Tao" does not exist. Although in human society, we will see the phenomenon of "one glory is all glory, one loss is all loss". Some people are in power, and all seven aunts and eight aunts benefit from it. When someone carries it, there will be a phenomenon of involving nine families. But as long as we trace back to the source, we will find that everything is a subtle arrangement of Taoism, and no one can escape.

It will take a long time to reveal its principle and process in detail and give examples, so stop here.

With regard to falsification, all phenomena can be falsified in limited space-time, but they cannot be falsified in infinite space-time. Due to the unity of opposites in the universe, countless examples can be cited to prove the truth of any phenomenon. For example, the three dharma seals of Buddhism-all things are impermanent, all laws are without me, and nirvana is silent, which I can prove as-all things are right, all laws are with me, and nirvana is vivid.