by Nikkyo Niwano

THE LAW OF THE TWELVE CAUSES: OUTER CAUSATION. This law, also called the doctrine of the twelve-link chain of dependent origination, teaches that all phenomena in this world constantly change, appearing and disappearing, and that all changes are based on an established rule. Though all things change, this rule is immutable. It is known as the Law of the Twelve Causes because the rule is divided into twelve stages. However, it is easier for us to understand this law by limiting it to human beings than by trying to apply it at once to all phenomena.

The Buddha preached the Law of the Twelve Causes in detail to Ananda in the Dirghagama-sutra (Jo-agon-gyo). This law rules the growth of the human body as well as the changes in a person's mind. The former is called the "outer causation" (gai-engi) and the latter the "inner causation" (nai-engi). It explains the process through which a human being is born, grows, ages, and dies in light of the three temporal states of existence, the past, present, and future. And in connection with this, it shows how the mind changes and the fundamental method of purifying it and of removing illusions from it.

The twelve links or stages are (1) ignorance (mumyo), (2) actions (gyo), (3) consciousness (shiki), (4) name and form (mental functions and matter; myo-shiki), (5) the six entrances (the five sense organs and the mind; rokunyu), (6) contact (soku), (7) sensation (ju), (8) desire (ai), (9) clinging (shu), (10) existence (u), (11) birth (sho), and (12) old age and death (ro-shi). First we will explain the growth and changes of the human body, the outer causation.

The first link of the Twelve Causes is ignorance. Prior to our conception by our parents, nothing is known or sensed. When the ignorant spirit is conceived in the mother's womb through the action of sexual intercourse, consciousness is produced. Consciousness means "something living." Here something like a human being--a fetus--is produced, although it is still incomplete. As the incomplete consciousness is gradually taking shape, it grows into name and form (mental functions and matter). "Name" means an immaterial being, spirit or soul, and "form" indicates a material being, that is, the human body. "Name and form" mean the human body with a soul.

As name and form (mind and body) grow, they develop the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body) and the mind, by which we perceive the existence of things. At this time, we are still in the mother's womb and incomplete. This stage is called the six entrances because the functions of our minds and bodies are on the point of dividing into six different senses.

We are born into this world at the stage of the six entrances. When we grow to the age of two or three, the six entrances are completed and sensibility is developed. That is, we become able to discern shapes, colors, sounds, smells, tastes, physical sensations, and so on. This stage is called contact.

When this sensibility is further developed, feelings of like and dislike naturally develop. This state is called sensation. These feelings become distinct at six or seven years of age. As this state develops, desire is produced. "Desire" implies many things, but here we limit its meaning to the human body and take it only as meaning affection for the opposite sex. As affection for the other sex becomes stronger, we come to have the desire of possessing the other. This is clinging. Later we enter into married life; this stage is existence. In the course of time children are born as a natural consequence of our marriage. This is birth. When we reach this stage, we are attacked in various ways by sufferings in their true sense. This stage continues through life, and finally we come to old age and death.

Clinical studies by modern doctors prove that during the nine months from the moment of conception to the birth of a human baby, the body, which was at first like an amoeba, passes through all the major evolutionary stages that occurred before reaching the form of people as they are today. In other words, even today's evolved human beings are in a state like the amoeba of two billion years ago when they are conceived in their mother's womb. When this fact is compared with the Law of the Twelve Causes taught by the Buddha, we cannot help admiring the fact that the Buddha preached exactly what the studies of contemporary scientists tell us.

TRANSMIGRATION. What happens to us after death? Buddhism teaches that we remain for some time in the state of intermediate existence (chu-u) in this world after death, and when this time is over, in accordance with the karma that we have accumulated in our previous life, we are reborn in another appropriate world. Buddhism also divides this other world into the following ten realms: hell (jigoku), hungry spirits (gaki), animals (chikusho), demons (shura), human beings (ningen), heaven (tenjo), sravakas (shomon), pratyekabuddhas (engaku), bodhisattvas (bosatsu), and buddhas (butsu).

If we die in an unenlightened state, our souls will return to the former state of ignorance, will be reborn in the six worlds (rokudo) of illusion and suffering, and will finally reach old age and death through the twelve stages discussed above. And we will repeat this round to the end of time. This perpetual repetition of birth and death is called transmigration (rinne). But if we purify our souls by hearing the Buddha's teachings and practicing the bodhisattva-way, the state of ignorance is annihilated and our souls can be reborn in a better world. The expression "to cut the causes" applies to this state.

KARMA. Here we will discuss karma (go) to help us attain a better understanding of the Law of the Twelve Causes. Briefly, "karma" means "deed." It is produced by all the deeds we do. Any deed is invariably accompanied by a result. All that we are at the present moment is the result of the karma that we have produced in the past. For example, the fact that you are now reading this is the result of the causes and conditions that have occurred due to the accumulation of various past deeds. The phenomenon that the results of deeds leaves behind as a residue, as it were, is called "recompense" (ho).

Karma is complex and serious. Our deeds, however trifling, leave traces physically, mentally, and environmentally. The traces left in our minds include memory, knowledge, habit, intelligence, and character. They are produced by the accumulation of our experiences and deeds over a long period of time. The traces that our deeds leave on our body are seen, for example, when heavy eating or drinking leads to sickness. They are also seen where a proper amount of exercise trains our body and builds up our constitution. These physical traces are so clearly visible that anyone can perceive them.

Our mental attitudes also leave traces on our body. Most obvious are those on our faces. There is something mean or shady in the face of a person who is low-minded, however handsome he or she may be. A person who is usually angry has a grim look. People who are tender-hearted, knowledgeable, and endowed with virtue and influence seem somehow happy-looking, clear-headed, and dignified, even if their features themselves are not particularly striking. It is also generally known that a person's work causes changes in his or her looks. This is what Abraham Lincoln was referring to when he said, "A man over forty should feel responsible for his looks."

Part of the traces of our deeds that are left on our minds remains on the surface of our minds; this includes memory, knowledge, habit, intelligence, and character. Another portion of the traces remains in the subconscious, in the hidden depths of our minds. Moreover, all the influences of the outer world by which we have been unconsciously affected, which include the experiences that we have had before our birth (indeed, since the beginning of humankind), are sunk in the subconscious mind. Karma includes all this. Though it was simply defined as deeds, in reality karma implies the accumulation of all our experiences and deeds since the birth of humanity, and since even before that time. This is called the "karma of a previous existence" (shuku-go). The action of this karma is called the "power of karma" (go-riki).

This power can be correctly explained by understanding the working of the subconscious mind. Even things that the human race experienced hundreds of thousands of years ago remain in the depths of our minds, as do the much stronger influences of the deeds and mental attitudes of our ancestors.

The "karma of a previous existence" that Buddhism teaches is still more profound, as it includes the karma that our own life has produced through the repetition of birth and death from the infinite past to the present.

What does the idea of karma teach us? There are people who think, "I never asked my parents to bring me into this world," or "I am not responsible for what I am because everything, including my brain, nature, and physical constitution, partake of the nature of my parents."

Such ideas seem to be half reasonable, but they are imperfect. Indeed, one's parents or ancestors must be responsible for half of the nature of their descendants, but the other half is the responsibility of the descendants themselves. This is because, though half of the present self must be the effect of karma produced by one's ancestors and parents, the other half is the effect of the karma that one has produced oneself in one's previous lives. Moreover, the self that exists after one's childhood is the effect of the karma that one has produced oneself in this world. So the responsibility of one's parents is very limited.

The idea of karma teaches us clearly that one will reap the fruits of what one has sown. Suppose that we are unhappy at present; we are apt to lose our temper and express discontent if we attribute our unhappiness to others. But if we consider our present unhappiness to be the effect of our own deeds in the past, we can accept it and take responsibility for it.

Besides such acceptance, hope for the future wells up strongly in our hearts: "The more good karma I accumulate, the happier I will become and the better recompense I will receive. All right, I will accumulate much more good karma in the future." We should not limit this idea only to the problems of human life in this world. We can also feel hope concerning the traces of our lives after death. For those who do not know the teachings of the Buddha, nothing is so terrible as death. Everyone fears it. But if we truly realize the meaning of karma-result, we can keep our composure in the face of death because we can have hope for our next life.

When we do not think only of ourselves but realize that the karma produced by our own deeds exerts an influence upon our descendants, we will naturally come to feel responsible for our deeds. We will also realize that we, as parents, must maintain a good attitude in our daily lives in order to have a favorable influence (recompense) upon our children. We will feel strongly that we must always speak to our children correctly and bring them up properly and with affection.

The word "karma-result" has often been interpreted as something negative, but this is due to a mistaken way of teaching this idea. We should consider the idea of karma-result in a positive and forward-looking way.