Recently my very learned colleague, Crystal Oteng-III, posed some thought provoking queries on his social media handle-status; in response to some ongoing convos, which I deem worth pondering..
Below are the series of questions;
Indeed Oteng-III has raised some profound and thought-provoking points about the extent to which we truly have free will and the ability to choose the circumstances of our lives. From a philosophical and metaphysical perspective, there are compelling arguments on both sides of this debate.
On the surface, it does indeed seem that we have little control over many of the major events and circumstances that shape our lives – from the families and environments we are born into, to the tragedies and accidents that befall us through no apparent fault of our own , this which appeals to common sense at a glance.
In these instances, it can feel like we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control. Yes , seemingly!!!
However, the concept of karma, or moral causation suggests that even these seemingly random and unchosen events are in fact the result of innate actions and tendencies on our part, either in this life or previous lifetimes or life forms.
From this viewpoint, we are not truly passive victims, but rather active participants in the creation of our circumstances, even if we are not fully conscious of the process.
The idea is that our thoughts, words, and deeds over every possible time-scalecreate invisible karmic or causal energetic patterns and influences that shape our future experiences, often in subtle and subconscious ways.
This is to say, Nothing truly happens by chance in this world, not at all, even if we wished.!!!
All is connected by the intricate web of the wonderful laws of causaltion set in motion by actions throughout our life times.
While we may not consciously choose our circumstances with present mind and will, on a higher level our Life-Essence does choose the experiences it needs for its evolution.
At the bottom, No one is fair victim – we have all been perpetrators of suffering as well as those who endure it.
So while we may not have directly chosen the specific situations we find ourselves in, we could be said to have chosen them on a deeper level through the cultivation of our inner states and behaviors that ordinary intellect can’t fathom..!!!
An innocent victim of rape, for example, may have innate causal or karmic-tendencies related to sexuality, power dynamics, or past-life experiences that contributed to that event occurring, even if the direct choice to commit the crime was not their own.
Similarly, the baby born with a brain tumor, or the victims of an accident or natural disaster, may be working through inexplicable causal tendencies they share with their families and environments that led might have increase the probability to those outcomes.
Of course, this doesn’t negate the real suffering and injustice involved in such situations. But from a profound amd metaphysical perspective, it suggests that even these seemingly random and unchosen events are not truly random, but are intricately connected to our own inner landscape and the choices we have made, consciously or not, throughout our lifetime scales
Ultimately, the question of free will and determinism is a complex philosophical and existential one, without any easy answers.
But the concept of innate tendencies as well as karmic tendencies invites us to consider that even in the face of circumstances beyond our control, we may still have a deeper role to play in the unfolding of our lives and the world around us.
Thus, through many lifetimes including the interim lifetime, with each thought and deed, we sow certain seeds that must bear fruit. Our upbringing, talents and challenges are often echoes of past and present tendencies. And in facing whatever situations come our way now, however seemingly unjust to the little self, we have opportunity to grow in compassion and realize our shared humanity.
All is also part of the grand design set forth by our shared cosmic consciousness . Even experiences of tragedy and loss, though painful, can awaken minds to higher truths and purposes beyond mundane desires.
It also worth noting what Shakyamuni Buddha taught regarding, fatalistic concepts of karma ..
Refuting the erroneous view that “whatsoever fortune or misfortune experienced is all due to some previous action”, the Buddha said:
“So, then, according to this view, owing to previous action men will become murderers, thieves, unchaste, liars, slanderers, covetous, malicious and perverts. Thus, for those who fall back on the former deeds as the essential reason, there is neither the desire to do, nor effort to do, nor necessity to do this deed, or abstain from this deed.”
It was this important text, which states the belief that all physical circumstances and mental attitudes spring solely from past Karma that Buddha contradicted. If the present life is totally conditioned or wholly controlled by our past actions, then certainly Karma is tantamount to fatalism or determinism or predestination.
If this were true, free will would be an absurdity. Life would be purely mechanistic, not much different from a machine.
Being created by an Almighty God who controls our destinies and predetermines our future, or being produced by an irresistible Karma that completely determines our fate and controls our life’s course, independent of any free action on our part, is essentially the same. The only difference lies in the two words God and Karma. One could easily be substituted for the other, because the ultimate operation of both forces would be identical.
Such a fatalistic doctrine is not the Buddhist law of Karma. The Buddhist law of Karma is not fatalistic, as it allows for the possibility of free will and the ability to change one’s future through present actions”.
