At 6 PM, David reflected on his day at the office. A conflict with his team member, unreasonable demands from his manager, and his family’s comment: “You’re never home anymore.” In his forties, he found himself increasingly drained by relationship challenges.
“Why do the same problems keep repeating?”
Keeping his reflections, he found that all events are interconnected. Looking back at this morning’s conflict with his colleague, he realized that the team member’s defensive attitude stemmed from yesterday. It was because David had been too busy to properly listen to his proposal. David’s overwhelming schedule was itself the result of last month’s reorganization, company policy changes, and various overlapping circumstances. Furthermore, his colleague’s pushback had triggered David’s frustration, which then affected how he interacted with his family. Like ripples spreading from a stone thrown into water, one event continuously generates new events.
From this perspective, his workplace took on a different appearance. His colleagues, his manager, his family, and he himself—all existed within the same chain of connection. Everyone may be both a cause and a result at the same time.
The next day, David approached his colleague. “Yesterday I didn’t listen to your ideas properly. Let me make time so we can talk.” This small change softened his colleague’s expression, lightened David’s own mood, and brought positive changes to his interactions with family.
One of the profound insights the Lotus Sutra teaches is recognizing the truth of this “interconnection.” We live within a tapestry woven by invisible threads. When one thread moves, the entire fabric changes.
We tend to look for causes in others. However, from the perspective of interconnection, we can see that others are also taking their current actions as a result of something. This realization offers us hope. If negative cycles exist, we can also create positive ones. A heart that seeks to understand others, words of gratitude, compassionate actions—starting with such small changes, we can transform the tapestry of relationships into something more beautiful.
Everything is interconnected. Viewed this way, even complex relationships become precious opportunities to refine ourselves.
“Their primary causes as such, their environmental causes as such, their effects as such, their rewards as such, and their equality as such despite these differences.” (Chapter 2: Expedients)
Everything has a cause and an effect. However, causes have other causes (conditions), and effects generate other effects (consequences). Causes become effects, and effects become causes. All things are connected vertically and horizontally. Though it may be hard to believe, the truth of this world is this beautifully simple.
