mgc
Member
Posts: 204
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Post by mgc on Jul 17, 2009 5:35:39 GMT
this game is fixed alright.. there better be a very good reason for us playing this silly game, cause im not amused..
ctrl z the universe for all i care
im fairly sure i would attempt to preserve my life, but im increasingly unsure as to why i should bother..
maybe im just depressed
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Post by vajranagini on Jul 22, 2009 4:41:10 GMT
Sounds like you are experiencing the results of karma. Yes , we do have a certain amount of free-will. We can choose to NOT perform "karmic" actions, which will lighten our future burdens. As for present burdens, we have the option of attaining 'enlightenment' which has the effect of lightening the karmic burden; it is like you are paying your karmic debts with psychic gold bullion instead of "fiat money".
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Post by humbleseeker1 on Jul 27, 2009 2:53:28 GMT
I have spent some time thinking about this question. I believe we have free will within our dimension of time. Outside this dimension is were I believe God resides who knows the beginning from the end. Sort of like a rollplaying game we can make decisions that will give different outcomes although God has set us in motion and knows the general path we are going to take, and just like a game has an end so our lives.
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Post by hopefully on Dec 8, 2009 1:26:37 GMT
Freewill only comes into question if you believe in god. So in that sense if man has freewill then god is power less besides controlling natural disasters and shit. If for example some people want to kill you you cant pray to god and expect him to stop them or he would be taking away there freewill get it?
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Post by magusmasonica on Dec 8, 2009 4:36:50 GMT
Freewill only comes into question if you believe in god. So in that sense if man has freewill then god is power less besides controlling natural disasters and shit. If for example some people want to kill you you cant pray to god and expect him to stop them or he would be taking away there freewill get it? Then it would depend on who's will is stronger.
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Post by hopefully on Dec 8, 2009 5:12:43 GMT
thats a foolish statement who's will is stronger the person who doesn't want to be killed will will always be strongest. if what you believe is true any one who prays to god for safekeeping from other men will always be safe for the will to kill is not more powerful then the will to live.
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Post by magusmasonica on Dec 8, 2009 5:53:10 GMT
thats a foolish statement who's will is stronger the person who doesn't want to be killed will will always be strongest. if what you believe is true any one who prays to god for safekeeping from other men will always be safe for the will to kill is not more powerful then the will to live. Thanks for the Brotherly response ;D It would seem that the natural cycle of things would have it's way of working out such issues.
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Post by hopefully on Dec 8, 2009 6:19:50 GMT
No prob, just be sure to check out the poetry section!
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Post by letterorhalveit3 on Dec 8, 2009 21:44:37 GMT
Sounds like you are experiencing the results of karma. Yes , we do have a certain amount of free-will. We can choose to NOT perform "karmic" actions, which will lighten our future burdens. As for present burdens, we have the option of attaining 'enlightenment' which has the effect of lightening the karmic burden; it is like you are paying your karmic debts with psychic gold bullion instead of "fiat money". I would go so far as to say that there is no such thing as an action which does not carry a kammic (using the Pali spelling I learned during my time as a monk) results. Our kamma is the accumulation of all that we do and all that we have ever done....from chosing green beans over cauliflower to choosing to help those less fortunate than ourselves. In my opinion, there is no way we that we can deny free will. Take the hypothetical of someone breaking into your house at night with the intent of assaulting your family and you happen to be a firearm owner. First off, the decision whether to shoot or not is yours and yours alone. Your decision is not pre-ordained. However, if you make the decision to shoot the intruder, you will accumulate the kamma of taking a life, though you will also accumulate the "good" kamma of having protected your family. There....thats my two cents on the topic.
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KNOs1s
Member
I am inclined agree or disagree based on the quality and quantity of proffered information.
Posts: 1,330
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Post by KNOs1s on Jan 13, 2010 22:03:36 GMT
Your will is free within the limits placed upon it. It's paradoxical. You can 'will' yourself to jump off a cliff, but physics in most cases is not going to reward your 'will' by letting you fly to safety, even if you 'will' it.
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cwhite
Member
Too much attention to subtleties makes you oblivious to the obvious.
Posts: 55
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Post by cwhite on Aug 6, 2011 0:23:27 GMT
NOTHING in this world is truly free....
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cwhite
Member
Too much attention to subtleties makes you oblivious to the obvious.
Posts: 55
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Post by cwhite on Aug 6, 2011 0:40:58 GMT
The price of free will is accountability.
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Post by nventr on Aug 7, 2011 1:28:21 GMT
The price of free will is accountability. Sooooo TRUE!
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Post by peter2 on Jan 17, 2014 23:51:38 GMT
These days I tend to think of human will as being constrained by a range of factors including karma and the Will of God. There may also be more technical factors. For example if the mind has been built/trained along certain lines e.g. religious, is the will limited by the range of thought and intent that is possible at mental levels?
I am reminded of the quotation: Ignorance is Strength. Does that mean that mental structures can be armored against the practice of free will?
Perhaps we have to desire free will before it can emerge.
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Post by nventr on Feb 2, 2014 18:05:08 GMT
Free Will is quite the prickly pear!
Just as a painter is limited to the use of canvas and paint, we are all limited to the resources available, the talents and skills we develop, and the ideals of the society in which we are brought up. Yet, such a painter has an relatively unlimited realm of possibility within this very simple framework.
The painter could paint landscapes, portraits, fauna or flora, impressionism, cubism, finger paint, the list goes on and on.
There is no art without parameters. Every coporial form or art form is limited by its specific set of parameters. That is the nature of human existence.
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Post by beejay on Feb 5, 2014 2:36:12 GMT
The painter could paint landscapes, portraits, fauna or flora, impressionism, cubism, finger paint, the list goes on and on. That is true about painters generally but how true is it of an individual painter? Is specialisation a free choice? Or is the choice structured by matters outside the control of the individual e.g. upbringing?
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Post by sammy on Feb 5, 2014 2:57:02 GMT
The painter had the choice, but no choice at all. What filled the painter with inspiration and drive for the painting was his thoughts at that moment. If the painter had to repeat this canvas filled with those exact same thoughts and motivations, you would have identical pictures. Perhaps minor differences if at different times (natural disturbances like wind, earthquakes, etc...). We would still make the same decisions, of our will, against our control. This would be different for each of us as we have separate points of view, giving us individuality.
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Post by nventr on Feb 5, 2014 16:55:48 GMT
The painter had the choice, but no choice at all. What filled the painter with inspiration and drive for the painting was his thoughts at that moment. If the painter had to repeat this canvas filled with those exact same thoughts and motivations, you would have identical pictures. Perhaps minor differences if at different times (natural disturbances like wind, earthquakes, etc...). We would still make the same decisions, of our will, against our control. This would be different for each of us as we have separate points of view, giving us individuality. Love this! I agree that it is inspiration that gives no choice. Once we become inspired, our path is set and all other paths fall away. I, for the most part, never have the same inspiration twice but I can see where it could happen in theory. Then again the Taoist say, “You can never step into the same river twice.” Meaning that a river is never static. It is always flowing and changing from moment to moment.
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Post by beejay on Feb 5, 2014 22:11:35 GMT
...it is inspiration that gives no choice. Once we become inspired, our path is set and all other paths fall away.... I see people captured by their inspiration to the detriment of personal relationships. For example, in Western society fish farmers tend to be so dedicated that they are notorious for failed marriages. Is this free will?
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Post by sammy on Feb 6, 2014 23:16:48 GMT
...it is inspiration that gives no choice. Once we become inspired, our path is set and all other paths fall away.... I see people captured by their inspiration to the detriment of personal relationships. For example, in Western society fish farmers tend to be so dedicated that they are notorious for failed marriages. Is this free will? Of course, they were more inspired to fish then to raise the family is all. I probably could go fish for living, but I don't want to be away from my family so much plus its dangerous. People ruin relationships for more then just fishing though, even a video game can do this to someone. What we had meant though is that we have free will. But that will is predetermined because of who we are. Meaning you will always make the choices you make, regardless of what you choose. We do this because that is who you are at that moment.
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