Teaching the Causes and Results of Good and III

The sutra Teaching the Causes and Results of Good and Ill (Tib. ལེགས་ཉེས་ཀྱི་རྒྱུ་དང་འབྲས་བུ་བསྟན་པ།, [[Wyl. legs nyes kyi rgyu dang ’bras bu bstan pa) describes karmic cause and effect. The discussion begins with Ananda, who asks the Buddha why beings—particularly human beings—undergo such a wide range of experiences. The Buddha replies that one’s past actions, whether good or ill, bring about a variety of positive and negative experiences. To this effect, he offers numerous vivid examples in which results in this current lifetime parallel actions from a past life. Emphasis is placed on the object of one’s actions, such as the Sangha or the Three Jewels. The discourse concludes with the Buddha describing the benefits associated with the sutra and listing its alternative titles, while the surrounding audience reaps a host of miraculous benefits.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 354

• English translation: Teaching the Causes and Results of Good and Ill