Dharma Outline????7-4 Our initial resolve is crucial in guiding our good karma

(English Subtitles) Lectured by Master Jìng Jiè (淨界法師) from Taiwan. 佛法修學概要 - 我們最初的發心對於引導我們的善業至關重要。
Subtitles:
【98】Our initial resolve is crucial in guiding our good karma and the Buddha's name.
In summary, “Therefore it is said: all dharma are righteous, and all dharma are evil.”
All dharma can lead you beyond birth and death to the Pure Land; All dharma can also lead you to fall into the evil realms to enjoy happiness; both are possible.
All dharmas can be righteous, and all dharmas can be evil; the answer is uncertain. So, improving your mental quality becomes very important.
Because it's the entire horse carriage; the carriage can't decide where it goes. This dharma cannot determine where you go; it has no direction. It's the horse. Wherever it runs, the carriage has to follow.
This dharma cannot determine where you are going; it has no direction. It lies in your mindset.
Let us summarize. Consider these two passages from the Dhammapada, 1:00
which summarize the concept of all phenomena being either right or evil. Let's read the passages. Please clasp your hands.
All phenomena are guided by thought;
Thought is the master of the deed.
If one speaks or acts with a defiled thought,
Suffering will follow that thought,
Just as a wheel follows the hoof of animals.
All phenomena are guided by thought;
Thought is the master of the deeds.
If one speaks or acts with a pure thought,
then joy will follow, like a shadow never leaving its figure.
So,here describes two possible outcomes for life. It says a principle that we spend a lot of time in Buddhism, practice many Dharma, give alms, observe precepts, recite Buddha, and chant mantras. So who guide us to do so many good karma? Thought precedes action—your mental state and your thought patterns guide all your good karma.
2:00
It is governed by your minds and thoughts that guide you to create all your karma.
Assume you pursue worldly fame and fortune with defiled thoughts,
then one day you will experience suffering, just like this wheel that always follows the animal's foot in front; this wheel cannot make its own decisions.
Here, we need to explain this part. Why does accumulating good karma ultimately lead to suffering? There are two possible explanations.
First, If you start practicing Buddhism very early, at a young age,
your blessings will likely manifest in your middle or later years; this is normal.
Buddhism is about constantly repenting for karmic obstacles
and accumulating merit,
3:00
so your life will change gradually, and you will experience the karmic fruit of happiness.
If a person who has generated Bodhicitta faces the rewards without being deluded, attached, or moved, and continues to move forward without dwelling on this blessing, but this blessing will appear, because the law of cause and effect is such that it is.
But if your initial resolve for doing good deeds is to pursue blessings, then you're in trouble! You won't be able to pass through those blessings; you'll abide in them, and then you'll start indulging in pleasure.
If you begin to indulge in pleasure in this life, you will fall into depravity in the next life. Because your good karma will manifest earlier in your life, your afflictions will begin to stir while you are enjoying your blessings. Once your blessings are exhausted, you will be depraved in your second life.
4:00
This is the first scenario. You started learning Buddhism very early
and accumulated a lot of good karma. When your blessings manifest in your later years, you fall into the trap of those blessings because your intentions are not right.
You can't say that good fortune is harmful, because it's your own intention is wrong. Many people also experience good fortune,
but they manage to get through it because they pursue better things.
That's how life works. You have to reject and give up things that are low-grade before the latter things come out.
Buddhist practice is layered. The Dharma will first offer you something at a lower level. If you don't want it and move forward, it will then offer you something at a higher level. If you neglect it further, it will show you something higher up; it appears layer by layer
If you begin studying Buddhism early in life, its effects will manifest in your later years. This will test your initial resolve. If your resolve was flawed, you will sink directly into suffering in this life and fall into depravity in the next life. This is the first scenario.