Buddhist Exegetical Interpretations of bheda

Portraits of Buddhist Women

Journal of Buddhist Ethics

I argue that central Buddhist tenets and meditation methodology support a view of free will similar to Harry Frankfurt’s optimistic view and contrary to Galen Strawson’s pessimistic view. For Frankfurt, free will involves a relationship between actions, volitions, and “metavolitions” (volitions about volitions): simplifying greatly, volitional actions are free if the agent approves of them. For...

How to do an exegetical study

As interpreters, we all approach the biblical text with a set of presuppositions that govern our exegesis. Since these presuppositions influence our exegesis, we should state them openly. My hermeneutic presuppositions influence the method presented in this chapter. If your views differ significantly from mine, you should still find the chapter helpful, but you may need to adapt it. These are m...

Buddhist Theory of Causation

Journal of Buddhist Ethics