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November 3, 2018; revised July 6, 2019; June 11, 2022; November 20, 2022; June 21, 2024
Free will is at the core of Buddhism (Buddha Dhamma). Without free will, attaining Nibbāna is not possible. Connection to vacī and kāya saṅkhāra discussed.
Introduction
1. Free will is at the core of Buddhism (Buddha Dhamma). If one does not have free will, one cannot attain Nibbāna.
▪The applicability of free will should be obvious in a mundane sense. Free will determines (within certain limits) whether one will become a successful businessman or a master thief.
▪When I said “within limits,” we can only compare situations for two people born with comparable capabilities. For example, one born with an “ahetuka birth” (born with brain defects) will never be able to achieve much success.
▪However, a person born with a “normal level of intelligence” (tihetuka or dvihetuka births) can make decisions that can lead to various possible outcomes in the future. For example, one could become a great scientist or a ruthless dictator. Both require a “sharp mind.”
2. In the following video by Sam Harris, we can see where modern philosophers get stuck on the issue of free will.
WebLink: youtube: Sam Harris on the Illusion of Free Will
▪He agrees that things happen due to causes, but he cannot figure out the causes of many things. He says, “You don’t pick your parents; you don’t pick your body…”. But we do, in a way. That is explained with Paṭicca Samuppāda in Buddha Dhamma. We even choose our rebirths too; see “Uppatti Paṭicca Samuppāda (How We Create Our Own Rebirths).”
▪As long as he does not believe in rebirth, Sam Harris will never be able to understand those “missing causes.” The rebirth picture provides those “missing causes”. Laws of kamma (causes and effects) operate over many rebirths. One cannot analyze one’s current life in isolation.
▪Furthermore, to fully explain the laws of kamma, we need to include animals and beings in the other 29 realms.
▪Nature treats every living being fairly, according to what they have done in the past.
▪One is born into a given existence (human, animal, Deva, etc.), a given family (good, bad), under different conditions (healthy, handicapped, poor, etc.), and so on based on one’s gati. One’s gati are based on the types of saṅkhāra that one cultivates (basically how one thinks, speaks, and acts).
Background Material in Buddha Dhamma
3. Continuing with the critical points in #2: Another key point is that “kammic energy” that leads to future vipāka (results) is generated in one’s javana citta. Don’t be put off by that word. Javana cittā are thoughts that arise in one’s mind when generating conscious thoughts about speaking/doing moral or immoral deeds.
▪Vacī and kāya saṅkhāra become abhisaṅkhāra (strong saṅkhāra) that can lead to future vipāka, ONLY IF those actions or speech are either moral (good vipāka) or immoral (bad vipāka).
▪That is the difference between saṅkhāra and abhisaṅkhāra; see “Saṅkhāra – What It Really Means.”
4. Vacī saṅkhāra are responsible for our speech (either out loud or just to ourselves). When we do something (walk, play, etc) we move our bodies with kāya saṅkhāra that arise in our mind (basically in the gandhabba). We have control over both of those.
▪On the other hand, when thoughts arise automatically due to sensory input, those are mano saṅkhāra.
▪That is the difference between mano saṅkhāra (which arises without our DIRECT control) and vacī saṅkhāra/kāya saṅkhāra (which we have control over).
▪This distinction holds whether we say just saṅkhāra or abhisaṅkhāra. For example, we can stop saying anything at any time. We can stop raising our hand anytime we want to, whether it is to say “Hi” to someone (saṅkhāra) or to hit someone (abhisaṅkhāra).
5. As we have discussed before, the word “saṅkhāra” comes from “saŋ” + “khāra” or actions that involve “saŋ”; see, “What is “Saŋ”? Meaning of Sansāra (or Saṁsāra).”
▪“Saŋ” is responsible for getting things done to live the current life (even everyday activities).
▪However, if they involve moral/immoral actions that can bring results (vipāka) in future lives, then those arise due to “strong saŋ” or “abhi saŋ” and thus become “abhisaṅkhāra.”
▪Kammā are actions (done with saṅkhāra that arise in mind). Most are neutral kamma: They do not bring significant vipāka.
▪Such moral or immoral strong kamma — done with abhisaṅkhāra — are the ones that lead to kamma vipāka in the future (either in this life or in future lives).
Key Idea: Vacī/kāya Saṅkhāra are Willful
6. Let us look at some examples now.
▪Thinking about going to the bathroom is a vacī saṅkhāra (kammically neutral). One gets the body to move to the toilet using kāya saṅkhāra.
▪Thinking about killing a human being involves abhisaṅkhāra with high kammic consequences or vacī abhisaṅkhāra; actual killing is made with kāya abhisaṅkhāra. Those can lead to rebirth in the apāyā because both are based on immoral or apuñña abhisaṅkhāra (or apuññābhisaṅkhāra).
▪On the other hand, puñña abhisaṅkhāra (or puññābhisaṅkhāra) (thoughts responsible for good speech and actions) have good kammic consequences and can lead to “good births” (human, Deva, or Brahma). Even more importantly, they are essential for making progress on the Path.
7. I keep repeating these because it is imperative to understand these fundamental ideas.
▪All saṅkhāra arise in the mental body (gandhabba).
▪Then the brain helps to put those into action/speech (i.e., moving body parts).
▪Most of those actions/speeches are kammically neutral.
▪Good kammā that will have good vipāka in the future is done with abhisaṅkhāra that have sobhana cetasika (compassion, non-greed, etc). Bad kammā that will have bad vipāka in the future is done with abhisaṅkhāra that have asobhana cetasika (anger, greed, etc.); see, “Living Dhamma – Fundamentals.”
▪Saṅkhāra is the generic word used in the suttā, even if it could be abhisaṅkhāra. One needs to see which ones are abhisaṅkhāra based on the actual situation.
8. Mano saṅkhāra automatically arise in mind due to a sensory input, based on one’s gati.
▪We don’t experience those initial mano saṅkhāra; we only experience them when it comes to the next stage of vacī saṅkhāra (“talking to oneself”).
▪This is an important point. Even if one does not say a word when “thinking to oneself,” that is called vacī saṅkhāra. If one gets interested, one may speak out, which is still a vacī saṅkhāra.
▪If one’s interest builds up, one may even take bodily action. Those bodily actions are done with kāya saṅkhāra that arise in mind.
▪I strongly urge everyone to re-read the posts: “Difference Between Taṇhā and Upādāna” and “Correct Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra.”
▪The strength of kammic energy created increases in the following order: mano, vacī, kāya saṅkhāra.
Mano Saṅkhāra Arise Based on Our Gati
9. As we discussed many times, we get “attached” to something AUTOMATICALLY based on our gati and arise as mano saṅkhāra. It is essential to understand the concept of “gati” (character/habits); see “The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Āsava).”
▪If the attachment is strong enough, the mind will start thinking about it consciously, i.e., vacī saṅkhāra arise and we become aware of these vacī saṅkhāra.
▪Now, we can be mindful, think about the consequences of such thoughts, and move away from them as soon as we become aware of this “attachment” to something. Therefore, we can stop such thoughts at the vacī saṅkhāra stage; see, “Correct Meaning of Vacī Saṅkhāra.”
▪However, our minds like to enjoy such vacī saṅkhāra. It is easy to do and is very tempting. Many people get their sexual satisfaction from just “daydreaming” about either an event in the past or sexual encounters that they would like to have in the future.
▪To change mano saṅkhāra, we need to change our gati; see “Difference Between Taṇhā and Upādāna.”
10. Please read #9 again. That is the key to understanding “free will”.
▪We have total control over vacī saṅkhāra and kāya saṅkhāra.
▪The reason is that there is a “time delay” between the mind (in the gandhabba) deciding to speak or make a bodily movement and the time it takes for the brain to carry out those commands and to move parts of the physical body; see, “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body.”
▪However, animals do not have this “safety barrier.” Lower animals do not have a neocortex. Even in monkeys, the neocortex is only partially developed. Thus, their mano saṅkhāra automatically continue as vacī and kāya saṅkhāra. Also, see “Truine Brain: How the Mind Rewires the Brain via Meditation/Habits.”
▪Those are the reasons why humans have free will, and animals do not.
Key Concepts in Satipaṭṭhāna and Ānāpāna
11. Therefore, the concept of free will becomes clear if one can understand the concepts of mano, vacī, and kāya saṅkhāra.
▪To have a firm grasp of Satipaṭṭhāna and Ānāpānasati meditations, it is essential to understand what is meant by “mindfulness” and how vacī and kāya saṅkhāra are different from mano saṅkhāra.
▪The bottom line is this: Once we become aware of an action we are about to take, we have the freedom to choose to either go ahead with it or stop it.
▪We should stop any wrong actions we are about to do and continue with any good ones. That is the basis of Satipaṭṭhāna and Ānāpāna meditations.
▪We must cultivate the habit of “catching one’s response early enough”. “Being mindful” is just that; see, “6. Ānāpānasati Bhāvanā (Introduction)” and “Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta.”
12. If one can understand the post, “Difference Between Taṇhā and Upādāna,” one can not only see that free will is “built-in” for humans, but one will also be able to see how one can purify one’s mind and make progress on the Noble Path.
▪As explained in that post — and the reference posts mentioned there — only mano saṅkhāra arise without our control.
▪We have total control over vacī and kāya saṅkhāra, at least when one gets better at practicing Satipaṭṭhāna/Ānāpāna.
▪This is also why humans differ from animals: Humans can think for themselves and make rational decisions.
Libet Experiments on Free Will
13. Scientists misinterpret the experiments on the famous “Libet experiments” simply because they believe that the mind resides in the brain. Therefore, they wrongly conclude that the “brain activity starts” before one makes a decision; see, “Neuroscience says there is no Free Will? – That is a Misinterpretation!.”
▪Libet’s experiment is straightforward: A person was asked to move his/her finger whenever at his/her will, and scientists monitored that person’s brain activity. They concluded that the brain started the “finger moving” process before the person decided to move the finger!
▪If the brain started the decision-making process, that would confirm that humans do not have free will. But then the question arises: what triggered that brain activity? Of course, scientists or philosophers do not have an answer to that question. If human decisions were random, this world would be chaotic.
▪However, the explanation is simple: a mental body (gandhabba) controls the physical body with the help of the brain.
▪As explained in the above post, the decision made by the gandhabba started brain activity. Scientists did not correctly monitor the time the person decided because their “model” was incorrect.
14. Gandhabba or the “mental body” or the “manomaya kāya,” is a critical concept neglected in the current Theravāda texts. Ironically, this concept is somewhat similar to the “ghost in the machine” concept; see, “Ghost in the Machine – Synonym for the Manomaya Kāya?.”
▪Several subsections on the website discuss this concept: “Mental Body – Gandhabba,” “Gandhabba (Manomaya Kāya),” and “The Grand Unified Theory of Dhamma.”