The principle that good is rewarded and evil is met with retribution is a core belief in many schools of philosophy and religious thought.
In the Western world, people often say, “What goes around, comes around” and the Bible speaks of “reaping what we sow.” It seems this principle is almost universal, across all cultures.
August 24, 2013 | By Jingzhi
(Minghui.org) When the principle that “good is rewarded with good, and evil meets with evil” is mentioned to people in Mainland China, some get annoyed, especially police officers. They become angry, thinking that mentioning this principle is similar to swearing at or cursing them. Is this indeed the case?
The principle that good is rewarded and evil is met with retribution is a core belief in many schools of philosophy and religious thought. Buddhism discusses reincarnation and the law of cause and effect, that good deeds have their rewards while bad deeds lead to retribution. The principle of cause and effect in Buddhism, for example, teaches people to be kind in order to obtain good rewards, and to avoid doing bad things that ultimately bring misfortune. This principle is certainly not a curse as perceived by the police in communist China.
The principle is also logical from the perspective of modern science, where so many principles are subject to the law of cause and effect. Even these examples play into this principle: Planting a tree will provide shade later; when a manhole lid is stolen, passersby may fall into the hole. This is what we can observe and understand about the causal relationship in our time and space. However, the law of cause and effect expounded in Buddhism goes beyond our time and space, and expands to much more extensive time and space, which many people may find hard to comprehend and believe.
The ancients came to this conclusion from drawing lessons in history: What you put out comes back 10-fold. Whether one believes it or not, knowing or unknowing, this heavenly principle controls everything. In the Western world, people often say, “What goes around, comes around” and the Bible speaks of “reaping what we sow.” It seems this principle is almost universal, across all cultures.
The following is a story from recent times.
A few years ago, Ms. Wang was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities simply for practicing Falun Gong, and was about to be sentenced to jail. Zhang, a non-practitioner, knew Ms. Wang and felt that she had good qualities. When he heard that a good friend of the president of the county court intended to sentence Ms. Wang to prison, he said to the president of the court, “She (Wang) is a really nice person. Why bother arresting her? Let her go.” When the president of the court saw that Zhang was really sincere and meant what he said, and being a good a friend, he took the advice and released Ms. Wang. She never knew that Zhang had put in a good word for her, and Zhang didn’t pay much attention to the result of his recommendation. The matter was soon forgotten.
Zhang’s wife was in poor health and terminally ill. Doctors couldn’t do any more for her and advised Zhang to prepare for her funeral. Seeing that his wife wouldn’t be around for long, Zhang suggested they get a photo taken of them together to remember her. The two sat together and the camera flashed, but the print was not very good as there seemed to be something in the blank space between their heads, but they couldn’t make out what it was. They took another picture, but it came out similar to the first one. Disappointed, they gave up the idea. To their surprise, after that, Zhang’s wife started to feel better and completely recovered. Doctors couldn’t explain her recovery, but no one cared since she was cured.
Lü is a relative of Zhang. He traveled to his hometown for a visit and asked Zhang about his wife. He was quite surprised that she was still alive and doing well. Lü was very happy for them, as it was very rare for a terminally ill person to survive. During their conversation, Zhang mentioned what happened when they tried to get a photo take of them together. Lü took a close look at the photo and was amazed to recognize the object between their heads was actually a big white lotus flower!
They started to talk about the persecution of Falun Gong, and Zhang remembered how he once put in a good word for Ms. Wang. Lü now understood the reason for Zhang’s wife’s survival. He told Zhang excitedly, “You’ve been rewarded with good! It’s a great virtuous thing to protect Falun Gong practitioners.” Upon hearing Lü’s explanation, Zhang made the connection and came to believe that his kind deed may well have saved his wife’s life.
When people hear “A kind thought towards Dafa will lead to heavenly blessings of happiness and safety,” they tend to disbelieve it. They fail to realize that it is actually an expression of the heavenly principle, illustrated throughout the ages and spoken of in many religions.
I was also quite taken by this story. Zhang didn’t know much about Falun Gong at the time, and didn’t know that if he helped Falun Gong that he would be rewarded. He put in a good word for Ms. Wang out of a sense of moral duty and his good impression of her. However, heaven still rewarded him with good. Heaven is indeed fair and just!
Heaven upholds fairness and justice whether people believe it or not; rewards and punishment will be duly delivered whether people are aware of them or not. Those who don’t believe in the law of cause and effect should ask a few more questions when they encounter setbacks and tribulations, such as why things happen the way they did. The police who are still participating in the persecution of Falun Gong should ask themselves: “Why have so many 610 Office members died? Why have those who’ve raped Falun Gong practitioners developed cancer? Why do these bad things happen to us and not to others? What can anyone expect in return after committing such evil deeds?”
It seems to the writer that, indeed, heaven is fair and just; and divine beings are kind and merciful. Small bad deeds may result in slight mishaps, warning people that they should correct their mistakes. Severe bad deeds may well lead to strong retribution, demonstrating that one must pay for committing wrongdoing. When people have committed even bigger crimes, they may receive even bigger punishment, perhaps even lose their lives. It is therefore quite important to be aware of the principle of cause and effect in our daily lives.
