VIOLATION OF THE PRECEPTS WILL INCUR RETRIBUTIVE EFFECTS
Master Jun Hong Lu: As Buddhist practitioners, you must be just and honourable in your speech. If you speak ill of others behind their back, you commit the act of stealthy speech. If you eavesdrop of things that others are reluctant to tell you, you commit the act of stealthy listening.
Figure out for yourself whether you have these negative tendencies. They are considered violations of the precepts which come with retributive effects, bringing substantial amount of karmic obstacles upon yourself.
Living a moral life leads to a life of safety and well-being. Just like if a person earns an honest living by working in a factory, strictly following the stipulated rules and regulations, how is it possible for him to be sacked?
On the other hand, those undisciplined workers who report to work late and leave early, don’t you think their behaviour is as good as stealing? They are ‘stealing’ the factory’s time and they will end up being fired. Hence, it is said, those who fail to observe discipline will suffer from present-life karmic retributions.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Daily Buddhism In Plain Terms, 15 June 2021