Life Is in Fact a Civil Settlement

📖Master’s Reading

From the deep view of cause and effect, many of life's difficulties and obstacles are in fact to complete one "settlement" after another. The karma of past and present lives is like a legal case, some criminal and some civil, and "if the civil case is not settled, the criminal sentence is heavy." If we are forever unwilling to compensate past debts, the punishment and illness of destiny grow heavier.

True practice is not to fight to win against others in difficulty but to see through cause and effect, letting each other's shortfalls be substantially made good. We must know the "civil-compensation" secret of treating the ailment: owe money — do the wealth-giving practice; poor health — the medicine-giving practice; poor love — the flower-giving practice. In practice and smoke offering, for financial debts, add gold leaf, silver leaf and such treasures to repay; for poor health, add medicinal herbs to make good; for poor connections, place dried flowers to burn.

These concrete acts of mending express sincerity to the karmic creditors, carrying out civil compensation and settlement. In all things under heaven, giving and receiving are balanced. When you are willing to set down arrogance and bear and compensate the other with real giving and good thoughts, once the other feels your sincerity and is willing to forgive, the long-entangled evil karma begins to loosen. Settlement was never admitting defeat but using wisdom to level the debt, letting both lives regain completeness.

🌱Reflection for Daily Life

• Understand that karmic collection is like a legal lawsuit.
• In adversity, do not fight to win; seek settlement.
• Owe wealth give wealth, sick give medicine — compensate accordingly.
• Settlement is never admitting defeat but choosing completeness.
• Settlement is not admitting defeat but choosing completeness.