Thus, cognitive abilities change, the perception of space and time shifts, resulting in supernatural powers; values change, leading to the belief in the law of causality.
As you practice this way, gradually, your cognitive abilities will change. When the brain and senses quiet down, cognitive power turns inward, forming meditative concentration. Combined with insight, this changes cognitive abilities. We've discussed meditative concentration and insight meditation, which essentially involve stopping the six senses to shift cognitive direction, thus altering cognitive abilities.
Changes in the perception of space and time lead to supernatural powers, such as the ability to travel at will or divine vision. With divine vision, you can see things thousands of miles away as clearly as if they were right in front of you. This isn't done with physical eyes. So how is it done? It's like dreaming - you see without using your eyes. With divine vision, you're neither dreaming nor using your flesh eyes, yet you see. How? You see with your mind. This mind-seeing has levels: Buddha has five eyes - physical eye, divine eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye, and buddha eye. The perception of space and time is connected to these.
Changes in values lead to the belief in the law of causality. After observing the development of things over time, you'll notice patterns and the reasons behind them. Although these patterns and their underlying conditions are complex, you'll find that the fluctuations of the human mind play a dominant role. The principle that good deeds bring good results and bad deeds bring bad results becomes intricately clear in the mind.
Tragically, our brain-based cognition is fragmentary and extremely narrow, unable to see the law of causality behind things. Why? Brain cognition is time-bound. People observe that in a certain period, those who do bad things may prosper while those who do good may die miserably. They conclude: "Murderers and arsonists wear gold belts, while those who build bridges and roads leave no remains." Such notions now flood online videos. People don't realize that those who commit atrocities will eventually fall into hell, nor do they understand why those who do good might suffer - it's due to karmic debts from past lives. People can't see these things because karmic retribution isn't always apparent on the surface. Human sensory perception is narrow, as is our view of space and time, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions based on limited timeframes.
To judge a person, you must look at their entire life. Drawing conclusions based on half a life is inadequate. As a poem says, "Zhou Gong feared rumors when he was slandered, Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne. If they had died then, who would know the truth of their lives?" Zhou Gong was accused of wanting to usurp the throne, while Wang Mang was considered a good person before his usurpation. If they had died then, history would remember Wang Mang favorably. But fate intervened - Wang Mang later usurped the throne, becoming a villain, while Zhou Gong had no such intentions and helped his nephew ascend the throne, becoming renowned as a great minister.
My point is: don't judge a person based on a moment, but on a lifetime. From the perspective of consciousness, we should look beyond a single lifetime to accurately understand karmic cause and effect across past, present, and future lives. Looking only at this life can lead to misconceptions, as surface phenomena often don't reflect internal causal principles. Brain-based cognition can't perceive these internal causal principles, making it difficult for people to believe in causality. Of course, we can't blame them for this. It's impossible to convince others to believe in causality, but you can start by convincing yourself.
Excerpted from: Cognition and Expression Part Three
