Karmic Versus Non-Karmic Impulses

The Constraints Regarding Five Systems of Natural Order According to Theravada

Let me explain a little bit here about karmic and non-karmic impulses so that we have some idea of what we are actually talking about when we talk about karma and the issue of choice. In Theravada, for example, there are constraints regarding five systems of natural order. These are the five niyamas in Pali:

  • First there are constraints regarding the seasons. This refers to the laws of the universe that govern such things as the changing of seasons, temperatures and weather. The forces involved with these natural phenomena are not karmic.
  • Then, there are constraints regarding the seeds of plants. This deals with the principles of botany that govern the growth of plants, such as seeds of barley grow into barley plants and not into wheat plants. These are also not karmic.
  • Next are the constraints regarding karma. This refers to the laws of karma itself, such as destructive karmic impulses ripen into suffering and constructive ones ripen into mundane happiness.
  • Fourth are the constraints regarding the mind. This covers the principles of cognitive science that govern the sequence of moments that are involved in the process of sense perception. Theravada has an incredibly complex description of the sequence of moments involved with perceiving information, discriminating it, getting a concept, thinking about it, and so on, and there’s an order. It would be our equivalent of all the steps of how the brain works. That’s also not karmic.
  • Then, there are the constraints regarding the Dharma. This refers to the teachings of the Buddha, they all fit within the boundaries of the four hallmarks that define the Buddha’s teachings. These are impermanence (nonstaticness), suffering, the lack of an impossible self, and the peace of nirvana. These are also not karmic.

Like this, the Theravada system outlines the constraints regarding five systems of order in the universe, such as the changing of the seasons, the growth of plants, the compelling urges of karma, the workings of the brain, and the nature of all phenomena. They all entail invisible impulses that automatically drive change. But only the impulses that drive our behavior are karmic. They are the only ones that are included in the second noble truth as true origins of suffering.

Top