[MD] Does Lila have free will?

[MarshaV]

On Jul 13, 2011, at 11:14 AM, Steven Peterson wrote:

> Hi Marsha,
> 
> Marsha:
> I just don't get the insistence on MY free-will.  As far as the
> ethical considerations, these statements make the most sense to me.
>> 
>> "Dharma, like rta, means 'what holds together.' It is the basis of all order. It equals righteousness. It is the ethical code. It is the stable condition which gives man perfect satisfaction.
>> 
>> "Dharma is duty. It is not external duty which is arbitrarily imposed by others. It is not any artificial set of conventions which can be amended or repealed by legislation. Neither is it internal duty which is arbitrarily decided by one's own conscience. Dharma is beyond all questions of what is internal and what is external. Dharma is Quality itself, the principle of 'rightness' which gives structure and purpose to the evolution of all life and to the evolving understanding of the universe which life has created."
>> 
>>       (LILA, Chapter 30)
>> 
>> So MU.
> 
> 
> Steve:
> NIce job digging up this quote. I love how it specifically backs our
> point that dropping internal/external considerations like SOM free
> will/determism do not negate moral structure and purpose. It is
> irrelevant to duty--what dmb surely means by moral responsibility.
> 
> Best,
> Steve
> 

Hi Steve,

It is a good quote, and I think it also points to the caring that John wrote 
about.  For me the way not to be controlled by static patterns is through 
attentive awareness/mindfulness where the right thing to do seems mostly 
to flow naturally.   


Marsha 



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