The Law of Kamma

A true understanding of reality is impossible if there is no understanding of all the laws of nature, their interrelation and unity. This includes, in particular, the human element, the mental factors and the values therein, of those who are studying those laws. Scientists may study the physical laws, but as long as they are ignorant of themselves, the ones who are studying those laws, they will never be able to see the truth – even of the physical sciences.

On the basic level, human beings live in this physical world on a material plane, but within that physical world is the mental world. As far as the mind goes, human beings are living in a human world, and this human world is of vital importance, wielding an influence over our lives that is far clearer than the influence of the physical environment.

Our daily lives, our thoughts, behaviour and deeds, our communications, and our traditions and social institutions are entirely products of human intentional action, which is known in Buddhism as kamma. Intention is that unique faculty which has enabled human beings to progress to where we have. The human world is thus the world of intention and follows the directives of intention. In Buddhism it is said: kammun vattatloko – the world is directed by kamma. In order to understand the human world, or the human situation, it is necessary to understand the natural law known as the Law of Kamma.

Be it intention, kamma, behaviour, ethics, abstract qualities, values, internal nature, or the human mind – these are all entirely natural. They exist in accordance with the Laws of Nature, not at the directives of deity. Nor are they accidental. They are processes which are within our human capacity to understand and develop.

Please note that Buddhism differentiates between the Law of Kamma and psychic laws. This indicates that the mind and intention are not the same thing, and can be studied as separate truths. However, these two truths are extremely closely linked. The simple analogy is that of a man driving a motor boat. The mind is like the boat and its engine, while intention is the driver of the boat, who decides where the boat will go and what it will do.

A similar kind of natural event may arise from different laws in different situations, while some events are a product of more than one of these natural laws functioning in unison. A man with tears in his eyes may be suffering from the effects of smoke (physical law), or from extremely happy or sad emotional states (psychic law), or it may be the result of anxiety over past deeds (law of kamma). A headache might be caused by illness (biological law), a stuffy or over-heated room (physical law) or it could be from depression and worry (law of kamma).