Rice Seedling Sutra

"In the Rice Seedling Sutra, the Buddha unpacks the law of cause and effect. He notes how, in the natural world, a seed becomes a sprout, which produces a flower, which bears fruit. A seed has no intention to sprout; when the right conditions are assembled the fruit arises. Similarly, when our senses encounter an object, a sense consciousness arises naturally, without our intending it. This, says the Buddha, is also how karma works, how actions performed out of ignorance create suffering, whether or not we want it, and the same law of causality also governs enlightenment; when the right conditions are assembled, awakening is assured. Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe (pronounced tub-kay) was among the last generation of scholars to be trained in Tibet before the Chinese occupation. He has been teaching Westerners for decades, having worked with top scholars in the United States, and he is especially familiar with this sutra, having translated the commentary by Kamalasila into Hindi. Here his deep familiarity, combined with his extensive command of the Buddhist scriptures, allow him to present the Buddha's words in a rich and authoritative context. He is able to clearly distinguish the Buddhist view of dependent arising from the philosophical positions of other traditions and even its diverse interpretations within Buddhism"--