..續本文上一頁s, such as seasonal cycles, heat and cold, rain or snow, flowers blooming in spring and drying up in time of drought, and wax melting with the heat and hardening with the cold.

　　The second is that of the physical organic order (bijaniyama), which refers to the natural law pertaining to heredity, the transmission of hereditary character and the genetic processes. The natural law of physical organic order can be observed in such phenomena as how a particular kind of tree grows from a certain seed, how fruits taste according to their species, how children bear physical resemblance to their parents, and how animals, birds, and insects, look, live, reproduce, and behave in certain ways according to their species.

　　The third aspect of natural law concerns the nature and functions of mind (cittaniyama), such as the mental perception of sense-objects, the experience of sensations, the various mental processes that take place from moment to moment, the rising and cessation of consciousness, the attributes of mind and mental concomitants, hypnotic experiences, and mental states in varying levels of development.

　　The fourth aspect of natural law is a moral one. This is the principle of kamma, or the law of action and result (kammaniyama). It specifically refers to the process of volitional activities and explains how certain actions lead to corresponding consequences, why people are born with certain peculiarities of character, and human behavior in the context of mental construction and proliferation. The law of kamma is based on the axiomatic principle that all actions inevitably lead to results proportionate in nature and degree to the deed.

　　The fifth aspect of natural law is the order of the norm, the all-encompassing law of causality and conditionality (dhammaniyama) that regulates and controls all phenomena and governs the interrelatedness and interdependence of all things. This order of the norm is manifest in how things change and decay, how life is characterized by birth, old age, disease and death, how all existential realities are marked by the three characteristics of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-substantiality, how the law of gravity operates, how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, how the whole cosmic order exists and functions, and so on.

　　As can be seen, kamma constitutes but one aspect of natural law. The simplistic supposition that all life experiences are due to kamma is therefore incorrect. Understanding these different underlying elements in the physical and psychical spheres helps us to gain a clearer understanding of how a single event may have resulted from more than one cause and how different determinants may synchronously be involved in conditioning certain phenomena or experiences. Usually, when more than one principle is at work, the more predominant one will prevail. For example, extreme temperature (utuniyama) may influence the conditions of the mind (cittaniyama) and cause one to feel ill at ease. Or strong will power (cittaniyama) may temporarily override the effects of negative environments (utuniyama) and the results of kamma (kammaniyama).

　　Kamma and not-self

　　The law of kamma does not necessarily presuppose the existence of a permanent self. On the contrary, it indicates the negation of self, as we shall presently discuss.

　　The idea of a permanent self is conceived on a psychologically deep-rooted fear of death and annihilation. To maintain a sense of security and ensure self-preservation, the false concept of an immortal soul, believed to be unchanging and eternal, is created. But according to the law of causal dependence, this concept is untenable and unwarranted because all things, animate or inanimate, are relative and must depend on certain conditions for their aris…

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