Causality

Causality is important in modern research. For some researchers, there is only a single cause for every phenomenon or thing. According to some others, things occur without any cause.
According to Buddhist thought, multiple causes could produce multiple outcomes as well. This multiple causality could be seen in many Buddhist teachings. At the mundane level we can consider the Karmic happenings. Most of the time people attribute bad happenings to bad karma alone. However, according to Buddhist teachings, karma is just one cause only for happenings. There are four other factors - genetical , mental, natural laws, climatic (in Pali - beeja, chitta, dhamma, uthu) - that serve together with karma in becoming causes for or determining happenings. When we consider the causes of dukkha or suffering, there are multiple causes - cravings due to sensuality, existence or annihilation. When we consider the mental factors helping to attain Nibbana, there are more than one factor that helps a person to realize the enlightenment.