H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III tells us that “within the truth of Buddhism, there is the doctrine that the law of cause and effect can never be denied. Cause and effect cannot be eliminated. To say that it can is to take a nihilistic point of view. Hence, we can only build a wall of good karma, which is like building a retaining wall. This wall of good karma has the effect of blocking us from our evil karma.”
Dorje Pa Mu has also told us that all Buddha-dharma can be condensed into the words cause and effect. All conditioned phenomena are subject to the processes of cause and effect and the four stages of arising, subsisting, changing and passing away. Those who realize the unconditioned obtain enlightenment as a result of certain causes. Yet, they are not attached to the thought of obtaining enlightenment. All Buddhist disciples must understand cause and effect, but merely understanding this principle is not enough. One must clearly believe in the principle and live accordingly. One must use this principle in one’s actual practice to solve one’s worldly problems. One ends causes and effects through cultivation.
Dorje Pa Mu also warned us that we would not exist without other beings. Our cultivation and any accomplishment we achieve are dependent upon and made possible by other living beings. We must repay the kindness of the countless living beings in the six realms of existence. Otherwise, we will violate the law of cause and effect. It is as Shakyamuni Buddha said, we should never fail to repay the kindness granted us.
Dorje Pa Mu reminds us that everything in this world comes into being through the occurrence of certain causes and conditions and passes away with the cessation of such causes and conditions. Nothing can be held on to and nothing can be kept forever. In fact, there is nothing to obtain, seek, lose, or take.
All karma created in the present life and previous lives is stored in the alaya-vijnana or the eighth consciousness. The alaya consciousness is regarded as that which undergoes the cycle of birth and death.