Killing and harming others physically or mentally are found everywhere nowadays. There is one type of killing that’s most cruel, yet many of us may not be aware of it. What is it? It’s abortion. How many of us realise that abortion is in fact killing one’s own children? UNESCO reports that around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. This means that there are 73 million cases of killing one’s own children every year on this planet. Now, let’s compare it with the total number of deaths in World War I and World War II.

Watch my teacher’s original lecture in Chinese: The Root Cause of War.

Listen to the podcast in English: The Root Cause of War.

In World War I there were about 20 million deaths, and in World War II the number was 60 million. Let’s do the maths. 20 million plus 60 million makes 80 million. So, 73 million abortions each year means what? It means that the planet experiences the horror of two World Wars every year.

How about animals? How many animals are killed for human consumption each year? It’s 75 billion. That’s 75 billion lives being taken away each year. 

Having heard these numbers, how do you feel? Having learned what the Buddha taught us, what should we do to bring peace to the world?

For those of us who are Buddhist practitioners, there’s an important thing that we must know. A true Buddhist practitioner must first of all have a firm faith in the Buddha’s teachings. And after entering the door of Buddhism, the first important thing that we should do is to rely on the Buddha’s teachings and correct our wrong ways of thinking, speaking and acting. Previously, we had nothing to rely on and we didn’t want to correct our wrong thoughts, speech and actions either. We did whatever we liked and, wittingly and unwittingly, we did many wrong things. We now know that doing bad deeds is not just about physically doing it. In fact, as soon as a thought of doing a bad thing arises in our minds, the consequence of the bad thought is already waiting for us, and we’ll have to bear it sometime in the future. This is the karmic law of cause and effect, and none of us can escape from it.

As early as three thousand years ago, Sakyamuni Buddha foresaw what we are experiencing today. That’s why he taught us that to save ourselves, to save our families, to save the society and to save the planet, the most important thing is to have a firm faith in correct teachings. The teachings recorded in the Infinite Life Sutra 無量壽經 are what we can rely on. We should learn it properly, follow the theories and methods given in the sutra, and correct our wrong thoughts, speech and actions. Only when we can truly correct our thoughts, can we be set free from horror and anxieties, and remain composed in the face of disasters and misfortunes. For those of us who want to escape from the cycle of birth and death, and gain rebirth in the Pure Land or the Land of Ultimate Bliss, we should strive to be good students of Sakyamuni Buddha, listen to him, and chant and think of Amitabha Buddha’s name (‘Amituofo’) as often as we can. This is because Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that, chanting and thinking of Amitabha Buddha’s name ‘Amituofo’ 阿彌陀佛, alongside correcting our wrong thoughts, speech and actions, is the ultimate solution to escape from the cycle of birth and death.  

Let’s look at killing in a greater depth. We know it too well that killings take place every day, not just in the human world but also in the animal kingdom. Snakes eat frogs, and frogs eat earthworms. Many of us have been taught that it’s a food chain, it’s natural selection or the survival of the fittest, and think that it’s how it should be. But is it really the case? We now know that snakes are those whose souls are reincarnated into the forms of snakes, and frogs are those whose souls are reincarnated into the forms of frogs. So, here’s a question: Does the snake need to pay the debt of taking away the life of the frog? The answer is again a definitive ‘Yes’. This is the karmic law of cause and effect. Be it a human being, an animal or an insect, none can escape from it. So, this food chain, this seemingly natural selection or the survival of the fittest, is actually the cycle of killing and debt-paying which goes on and on forever, unless we are determined to escape from the cycle of birth and death. 

So what are the consequences of doing bad deeds in previous lives and this life time? As mentioned at the beginning of this programme, Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that the consequences are suffering from poverty, becoming a beggar, becoming an orphan, being looked after by no one in old age, being deaf, being blind, being mute, being foolish, being cruel, being physically and/or mentally weak, and suffering from mental disorder. These are the consequences of not believing in morality and being unwilling to do what is good. In this world the more wealth and the higher social status a person enjoys, the more likely the person commits more killings.

A great majority of people today don’t believe in morality. They don’t believe in the karmic law of cause and effect. They think that the teachings of ancient sages are for the purpose of controlling the people. Because of the strong influence of this kind of wrong criticism, too many individuals no longer practise morality, ethics, good thoughts, good speech and good deeds. They celebrate freedom, democracy and human rights, but they talk little about their own duties and responsibilities to their families, to the society, to their nations, and to the entire planet. There’s nothing parents can do about them. There’s nothing teachers can do about them. There’s nothing laws can do about them.

But, we’ve learned that no one can escape from the karmic law of cause and effect. And they will have to bear the consequences of what they think, speak and act. That’s why when there’s nothing anyone else can do about them, nature will step in. For Buddhist practitioners, we understand that there’s no such a thing as natural disasters. We must know that Nature is pure and good. Mother Nature is infinitely beautiful and kind. How could Nature possibly generate disasters for human beings to suffer?

All disasters are man-made. They are the consequences of evil thoughts, evil speech and evil actions of human beings. This truth is often mentioned in Buddhist sutras. Greed causes water-related disasters. Anger causes fire-related disasters. Ignorance of sages’ teachings causes wind-related disasters. Arrogance causes earthquakes. Doubts on sages’ teachings, doubts on good teachings and doubts on the karmic law of cause and effect cause landslides and land subsidence. This truth of the universe is recorded in many Buddhist sutras. 

Now, we have found the root causes of all the disasters on the planet. To sum up, killing, stealing, sexual misconduct (for example, cohabitation), deceptive speech and taking intoxicants are the five main categories of bad deeds. And greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubts are the five categories of bad thoughts. And grudge, hatred, irritation, anger and anxiety are the five negative emotions. All these are the causes of social disorder and disasters on the planet. When these negative things are reflected on the human body, we are restless and contract illnesses. When they are reflected on the physical environment, there are floods, eruptions of volcanos, global warming and so on. For example, the planet is experiencing abnormal changes in temperature. When it’s hot, it can reach over 40 degrees Celsius. When it’s cold, it can go as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. Why do these abnormal things occur in nature? It’s because the minds of many human beings have deviated from what’s normal. 

There is an ancient Chinese text written about 2,300 years ago, entitled Zou’s Transmission of the Spring and Autumn Annals 左傳. The author 左丘明 commented that ‘When human beings abandon what’s normal, devils will go rampant and be in charge 人棄常則妖興.’ It all starts with human beings becoming abnormal, and consequently all the rivers, mountains and the earth become abnormal. So, we might want to ask, ‘What’s a normal human being like?’ Normal human beings are those who practise the Five Constants 五常, that is, 仁義禮智信. They feel for others. They do what’s appropriate for bringing peace and harmony to themselves and others. They follow rules that bring good order. They do what is rational. And they are trustful.

They have control over their desires and emotions. They do what’s appropriate and morally proper. And they sensibly love themselves and other beings. In Buddhism, we have Five Precepts五戒, that is, no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no deceptive speech and no intoxicants. These Five Precepts are correspondent to the Five Constants. The reason for not taking intoxicants is because all sorts of bad behaviours will appear when a person is intoxicated such as drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs.

In ancient China, at really important ceremonies such as those commemorating the heaven, the earth or ancestors, wine was one of the major offerings.  But what kind of wine was it? Some of us might think, ‘Wine is wine. It must be something alcoholic.’ Well, actually, it was not alcoholic at all. It was clean water. Not tea, but clean water. Because clean water symbolises purity. The ancient Chinese called it ‘water wine’ 水酒. It was used as an offering to the spirits of ancestors or served for guests. Back then, people observed the Five Constants 五常 and the Five Precepts 五戒. So they had far more control over their desires and emotions. But nowadays, people abandon the Five Precepts and the Five Constants. This is actually abandoning what’s normal. When what’s normal is thrown away, what happens to the society? All the devils are at large. You see, 2,300 years ago, the ancients already warned us about it. So now, what should we do? I’ll leave you to it.

Wishing whoever reads this article good mental and physical health, peace, harmony, auspiciousness, happiness, healthy long life and infinite wisdom. Thank you.

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DEDICATION

The effort and gains of explaining, transmitting and listening to Buddhas’ teachings are dedicated to

the entire Universe and all beings of all dimensions and all existences. May they all listen to Buddhas’ teachings, awaken to the truth of the Universe, be mindful of the name ‘Amituofo’ (Amitabha Buddha),

aspire to go to the Pure Land, and become Buddhas. (Read this line three times.)

I pray to Buddhas and bodhisattvas for unconditionally solving all man-made and natural disasters around the globe.

For all of those who died in man-made wars and natural disasters across the world, and for all of those who are related to me in all kinds of ways in this life and previous lives, may they listen to Buddhas’ teachings. May they awaken to the truth of the Universe, aspire to unearth their innate and most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind, be single-mindedly mindful of Amituofo, aspire to go to the Pure Land so as to see Amituofo and listen to his teachings, removing all their delusions and unveiling their innate wisdom, gaining the real peace and happiness, instantly escaping from the cycle of birth and death, speedily becoming Buddhas, and helping all beings (in the entire Universe) like all other Buddhas.

The effort and gains are dedicated to the leaders of all countries on the Earth. May all countries be prosperous. May all disasters be solved. May the world enjoy eternal peace. I use the effort and gains to return the help from the enlightenment of Buddhas, by the correctness of Buddhas’ teachings, from the purity of sangha, from all beings, from my parents (in this life and previous lives), and from my country(ies). I also use the effort and gains to help alleviate the suffering of those who are already in and will be reborn into the animal realm, the ghost realm and hells as the result of their bad thoughts, speech and deeds. For anyone who sees and hears me chanting or being mindful of Amituofo and doing other good deeds, may they aspire to unearth their most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind so as to go to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, together with me, at the end of our present lives.