Mickey Hung

Those who study Buddhism often hear this saying: “Bodhisattvas fear causes, people fear consequences.”
That’s why a Bodhisattva is cautious with every thought and action, while ordinary people seek only convenience—committing all kinds of wrongs, big or small, without care. Yet when karma ripens and suffering arrives, they blame others, or even Heaven and Earth.

The manifestation of karma can be immediate—seen in this lifetime—or it may unfold across centuries, or even appear through those who share your bloodline. Every encounter between people has its reason; no meeting happens by chance. Each bond is a thread of karmic debt. If you understand and believe this truth, why cling or struggle?

If you had never owed or given in the past, how could another person now reflect that back to you? In truth, the other person is your mirror—a Bodhisattva appearing to help you learn your lesson. When faced with difficulty or negativity, if your response is only complaint or avoidance, that lesson remains unlearned, and life will bring it back again—perhaps later in this life, perhaps in the next—until you pass the test.

Endless cycles of vengeance—when will they cease? Instead of waiting for others to awaken and forgive, take control of your own destiny. “Lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha on the spot” means to stop blaming, stop accusing, and take full responsibility. No matter who is right or wrong, begin with yourself: admit your faults and repent sincerely. Somewhere, in some past moment or lifetime, you must have wronged the other—through body, speech, or thought—causing unresolved resentment that now manifests as present suffering.

Only through true remorse, humility, and patience can these karmic knots begin to loosen.

Late at night, when all is silent, have you ever reflected on your own karma—your own misdeeds?
As I light a stick of Amitabha’s atonement incense and watch the smoke drift softly into the clouds, I whisper to the Bodhisattva:
“In this life, I have learned that everyone errs—but how few truly see their faults? Everyone burns incense, yet how few offer it with the right heart?”

学佛，是学习因果

学佛的人，应该听过这么一句话“菩萨畏因，凡人畏果”，所以菩萨举心动念都是小心翼翼，凡夫俗子只贪自己的方便，不论大小恶业，都不以为意，却在受报的时候，怪责别人，怪罪天地。

业报的呈现，可以迅速得马上看见现眼报，也可能是在某个世纪的时空重逢，也有可能显现在跟自己有血缘关系的人身上。人与人之间的相遇相逢，非无缘无故的缘份，都离不开因果债。如果明白这一点，相信这一点，又为何要执着纠缠？

如果没有你曾经的亏欠或布施，哪来对方给你同样的反馈？ 其实，对方就是你的镜子，是来给你修功课的菩萨。面对负面状况，如果你只有埋怨及逃避，这辈子/这一刻没有修好的功课和责任、将在卷土重来，再某一刻/某一生再来重新考试。

冤冤相报何时了？与其等待对方佛性开悟而既往不咎，还不如把命运的掌控权把握在自己手上。 放下屠刀立地成佛，就是当你马上断除埋怨指责的心态及言行，把问题的矛头承担下来，千错万错都是自己的错，即便对方的错也是自己首先做错，你必需要忏悔，一定是自己某一刻/某一生曾经在身语意上冒犯对方，令对方产生化不开的怨气，结下了报复的心结，你才召来今天的难受处境。

只有这样的悔意及行动上的臣服及忍耐，积怨尚浅的累世因果债就可以解开了。

夜深了，人在万籁死寂中，何曾想过自己的罪，自己的业，我把阿弥陀佛赎罪香点上，看着烟轻轻飘去云海，我跟菩萨说：这一生，我明白人人有错，而又有几人知错，这辈子，人人烧香，又有几人烧对了香？