[Buddha-l] Multi-cause vs single-cause

[Wong Weng Fai]

My first posting on this new forum...

A friend of mine brought up the following issue and I would like to get
some expert opinions. It is mentioned in many books (including say
Jayatilleke) that the Buddhist theory of causation is one of multiple
causes, multiple effects. Yet it is hard (impossible?) to find evidence of
this in the Pali or Mahayanist sutras. There it is almost always mentioned
that a single event caused a single consequence.

In fact, there is widely circulated booklet here called the "Cause and
Fruit Sutra" that says stuff like "you are dumb because you insulted the
Buddha in your past life", or "you are poor because you were a miser in
your past life." The Buddhist community here in general has rejected such
teachings. However, we seem to do find such claims in the suttas/sutras.
What is the sutta-basis for the alternative claim of multiple-cause,
multiple-effect?

W.F. Wong