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Meaning of 'will'
Jeffrey
Veteran
in Meditation
I suppose someone might have an analysis of 'will' by interpreting scripture to fit and discover the properties of will. But I am more interested in peoples intuitive understanding of will is. For me I guess it is having a strong resolve. For example making yourself do difficult things. I would think cultivating the will might be good for a student of the dharma because there are bound to be obstacles that you need a strong will to pass over.
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You'll get a lot of different perspectives for sure.
"Will" to me is a kind of personal force, to bend the environment or manage it in such a way to accomplish a goal. It takes 'willpower' to have quit smoking. I did 8 years ago and I remember that first year.
Self control is another way to describe 'will'. My problem is which self to control, some are more amenable than others.
It's about keeping a specific goal in mind and NOT doing what will divert you from that goal, as much as doing things that further your progress. Too bad I have less of a single self to control than a bunch of different selves that seem to have conflicting goals!
I've given up trying to exert will or willpower unless it occurs naturally. The 'real' problem is the conflicting interests within me. It's a wonder I quit smoking and drinking to be honest. There must have been an overwhelming consensus.
I, too believe will is some sort of resolve to do something, like the upcoming tradition of making New Year's Resolutions - which more often than not fail. And that is because having the 'will' to do something is the same as a thought and the goal has to be thought through and thoughts aren't all they're cracked up to be. I hate that that is the case......Also thoughts about the will - the determination to do something - to have a goal often seems like nothing more than a wish!
I find thinking about this quite frustrating! To think that we have these supposed great ideas - not that they aren't - but how on earth does it happen so often that our goals, our resolve, and our thoughts can come to naught. Argh!
Maybe it's just the gumption to carry out a decision. To do the very best we can to guide change in a positive way. As subjective as the term "positive" may be.
Here you go. Everything you ever wanted to know about will and then some.
http://willproject.org
I found it while looking for some Carlos Casteneda quotes about the will.
In Buddhist terms, "Will" could correspond to the N8P's spoke of Right Effort.
Getting rid of Delusion and Ignorance, cultivating our minds, attaining Wisdom, implies an investment in energy which does not happen without a high level of commitment, resolution and steadfastness.
Will, if you like.
In the words of Bhikkhu Boddhi:
Right Effort is the conscious, ongoing exercise of one's will to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen and to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen, as stated in the suttas.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-vayamo/index.html
Compare with F. L. Woodward's old-fashioned translation:
(Digha Nikaya, ii. 312)
People like to correlate "will" and "goals," as in having enough willpower to carry out your innermost dreams...
I willingly accept the effort implied in the will to attain wisdom.
I am more flexible about my personal goals.
I know that if I carry through to the end, the goal was an important one.
If somehow I get sidetracked, then maybe life is presenting me with another possibility and another happy ending to the story.
Why refuse?
This morning I was breaking in a new set of prayer beads. I set my focus/will to complete a full cycle of mantra. That is 108 x 10.
I varied the mantra Migtsema, Manis etc but the Guru Rinpoche mantra round took me probably 30/40 minutes, had to switch to Namo Amitabaha and Tara to save me from mantra overload and lack of breakfast. Thanks guys . . .
http://www.quietmountain.org/links/teachings/7_Line_Prayer_To_Guru_Rinpoche/7lnpryr.htm
Now the will/focus/commitment was in setting a goal as others have mentioned and fulfilling that to the best of my intention.
Hope that is a practical example. The important thing is to set realistic, plausible and useful goals. Much of the practice for me was wondering if I had time or capacity to continue, realising how relatively long the Guru Rinpoche mantra/prayer cycle is. In the end it probably only took an hour and a half to break in the beads. Gosh I am so ultra spiritual [note from Mr Cushion: Pah!]
Access to Insight has quite a bit to say about Free Will....
I like this from the free will link:
"From the standpoint of karma, though, where we come from is old karma, over which we have no control. What we "are" is a nebulous concept at best — and pernicious at worst, when we use it to find excuses for acting on unskillful motives. The worth of a tribe lies only in the skillful actions of its individual members. Even when those good people belong to our tribe, their good karma is theirs, not ours. And, of course, every tribe has its bad members, which means that the mythology of the tribe is a fragile thing. To hang onto anything fragile requires a large investment of passion, aversion, and delusion, leading inevitably to more unskillful actions on into the future."
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But then, the 'unskillful actions' may not necessarily be such, given that anything can happen in spite of a tribe's best efforts and intentions. I struggle with this kind of thing too. When people on non-dual type forums, for example, say nothing can be done about anything and volition is non-existent, then it's a bit frustrating to think about this stuff. They say things like 'nobody is to blame for anything,' which certainly seems plausible, but it's unsatisfying or maybe I'm just kidding myself that anything matters. I keep my feet on the ground as much as possible, but this kind of stuff seems diabolical to me because I'm so used to thinking that we have choices and that good and bad matters. Am I 'wrong'? Is anybody 'right'?
@silver I try to approach 'blame' as to find out solutions rather than pass judgement. So in that sense nobody is to blame. But we want to relieve suffering so we communicate or problem solve to accomplish that.
There are degrees of 'rightness' from the lowest of social norms that protect individuals, society and the 8 fold path © trademark on up.
Innate goodness what is called 'Righteousness' in some traditions is not some learned self justification. This is where people get confused.
In dharma we have skillfullness rather than the sickly-sweet-smiley-new-age-behaviour-modification that is just patching or substitution . . .
Whilst it is perfectly true that the highest levels of skillfull behavour can on occasion break through all the rules, this is sometimes the domain of scoundrels and crazy wisdom wannabes.
This is where integrity, understanding and wisdom come in. Some of us need moral precepts, some follow them naturally, some find them arising as practice changes their innate being from the inside out.
Isn't that right Mr Cushion?
@lobster: In dharma we have skillfullness rather than the sickly-sweet-smiley-new-age-behaviour-modification that is just patching or substitution
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Yes, though unfortunately not everyone understands the difference.
On the contrary: many things can be done about anything.
In the realm of speculation, our present life is hypothetically determined by past choices from past lives -or good/bad past choices from this present life, if you prefer.
But we can to a certain extent determine what our future life will be by the actions we choose to enact in the present.
Prayudh Payutto is very pragmatic in his approach to Buddhadharma, but he says that if you happened to believe in rebirth, then try to act in such a skillful way in this lifetime as to make sure that your next one will be good.
Goes without saying that skillful actions in this lifetime will also improve the quality of your present lifetime....