CAUSES AND CONDITIONS

QUESTION:

Please elaborate on the Buddhist concept of causes and conditions, and explain its relationship to dependent origination, to self and illusion, and to causes and consequences.

SHIH-FU:

The principle of causes and conditions is fundamental to Buddhadharma. It is this principle which distinguishes Buddhism from other religions, philosophies and spiritual disciplines. In short, all dharmas, whether they are worldly (phenomenal) dharmas or transcendental (beyond worldly phenomena) dharmas, are part of, and influenced by, causes and conditions.

The principle of causes and conditions explains the phenomenal relationship between events happening at different moments in time, and different points of space.

First, I will address the temporal relationship. Simply put, something happens in one moment, and in the next moment something else happens. The relationship and interaction of these two events we call the condition.