In our articles on the site, we will frequently explore the theme of the Law of Cause and Effect, because as we saw in our first text, it is present in all phenomena in the universe.

Simultaneity in chess moves

You’ve probably watched the movie “The Butterfly Effect”, where each action or change in the protagonist’s action triggered a series of new effects, many of them catastrophic. This artistic and fictional vision served to illustrate the complexity of this law of causality that we often do not realize how it works in our lives.
Returning to the chess boards, we already understand that each piece movement (cause) has a series of effects, such as, for example, your piece starts attacking an opposing piece or defending new squares on the board. Realize that that piece came out of somewhere. And the moment it leaves a square, it simultaneously stops attacking another piece or protecting other squares. A practical example would be for the player to concentrate his pieces on the queenside, which at the same time will strengthen the control of squares in that quadrant, but possibly weaken his defenses on the kingside.
Another example would be capturing a piece. On the one hand it can be an effect of the lack of protection or even a blunder on the part of the opponent, but on the other hand it will be the decisive cause for the advance and victory in the match.

Simultaneity of cause and effect in Buddhism

This characteristic has been present since the beginning of Buddhism. A good example is when we see a lotus flower. This flower, very well known and present in the East, is considered as a Buddhist symbol in several lineages of Buddhism. The lotus flower blooms and generates seeds at the same time, so it is often associated with the description of the law of causality. A thought, a word or an action, everything we do in daily life ends up presenting itself as cause and effect, simultaneously.
This simultaneity in Buddhism can still be interpreted in many ways. One is that there is no gap between a cause and an effect. The effect is created instantly, but can manifest at a later time. Another approach, described in the Lotus Sutra, is that the cause can be compared to the living conditions of an ordinary mortal and the effect is likened to Buddhahood, and that both exist simultaneously in our lives.

Living in accordance with this great law, through Buddhist study and practice, guides us towards the development of this great state of life of happiness and peace.

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