Free-Will In Buddhism

Notions of the free will and moral responsibility cannot be in Buddhism, since the Buddhist doctrine follows determinism. Furthermore, free will is not necessary in Buddhism because there is a rejection of the self and free will requires a self. Free will requires a self in the sense that one can freely choose the outcome of a situation, in contrast to determinism where a set of conditions create an unavoidable outcome. Ultimately, Buddhist individuals could understand moral responsibility and free will through the implied moral responsibility of the laws of karma.

The idea of free will is rejected by Buddhism not only because of the incompatibility with determinism, but because free will is a result of our desires. Jay Garfield suggests that we desire something due to a certain cause, so if a cause ultimately leads us to desire something, and that desire leads us to make a decision, then there is no free will (Garfield, 170). The example above is determinism. Since Buddhist people believe that “All phenomena come to be in dependence on causes and conditions, and cease when those causes and conditions are no longer present” (Garfield, 172), there is no possibility for free will to be located within Buddhist philosophy.

Garfield suggests that the doctrine of the reality of the soul is connected to the idea of free will, because the soul is capable of initiating its own actions and can therefore be responsible for its actions (Garfield, 171). In rejection of the soul, Garfield states, “The Buddhist philosophical position entails that all actions, all thoughts, all intentions, and all character traits are causally dependent, and that any unity we ascribe to ourselves over time is merely imputed” (Garfield, 174). Since Buddhist people reject the doctrine of a soul, free will cannot be used as a method of holding people