Question About Free Will

[somenathpal]

It's really frustrating to know that no free will exists. Then how  anger , negative emotion, etc  will  be controlled. How personal development work will be pursued? How a terrorist ,murderer will be punished as  he has no free will . Can a robot be punished ?  Not able to grasp at all  

And I can not try to grasp also because there is no "I" and   no free will . Is it not hopeless situation?  So what is the way out ? 

[Leo Gura]

@somenathpal The desire to punish people is so misguided. Drop it! Try love instead.

If you can't love a murder, than you'll never really be enlightened.

Notice how you keep fighting with reality to get YOUR way.

There's hope if you sit down, carefully observe reality, and realize you never existed to begin with, and give up fighting.

But if you stay at the level of mind (what you're currently doing), there is no hope.

[ajasatya]

@somenathpal don't try to use spiritual teachings to explain reality. nothing can explain reality. not even the most precise equation can explain reality consistently.

spiritual teachings serve to push you towards liberation. be truly free. can you let reality be the way it is without justifications or judgments?

Edited December 9, 2016 by ajasatya

[jse]

"Have you stopped beating your wife, yes or no?"
This kind of question is generally a fallacy of false choice, which cannot be answered either way because the question itself is flawed.

The question "Is there free will?" is also a false dichotomy.  It is incorrect because it is based on the assumption that the illusory ego is real.  Answering this question with an either "Yes" or "No" is also incorrect, and will just further confuse the already confused.  "Mu"

You're either with me, or you're against me on this.  Oh, wait...

 

[LetTheNewDayBegin]

@jse  Great references!

The question Do I have a free will? is a false dichotomy. To un-ask this question we can say: The "I" cannot have anything. Or we can say: There is no "self" to have.

Now the question "Is there free will?" is not the same. There is no false dichotomy there. If there was, we would need to say: There is no "is". Or: Nothing "is". Do we mean that? On the other hand. by stating "There is no free will" we just answer the question directly.