Buddhist Middle Path and the Problem of Free Will…

The path is not straight and narrow. It may be long and winding. It may go in circles. It may go up and down. But it’s best somewhere in the middle. Let’s call it that ‘sweet spot.’ Let’s call it ‘that special blend.’ Let’s call it ‘the Middle Path.’ It’s all alluding to the same thing: avoidance of extremes—and rigid definitions. Because those are two recipes for disaster. The current debate over free will is a perfect example (can you believe that there’s a debate over free will in the year 2024?).

The determinist side says that there are all these preconditions that make absolute free will impossible. Duh. But who’s talking about absoluteness? The free will side says that man’s free will is unlimited. Huh? There’s only one problem; nothing is unlimited. Oh, dear, what to do? There seems to be clear evidence of free will and clear evidence of determinism at the same time. But how is that possible? What is the solution to such an obvious existential conundrum?

Bingo. The Middle Path to the rescue, i.e. there must be some free will, but not absolute, and there must be some determinism, but not unlimited, and they just might be able to coexist at the same time, doing the do-see-do, doing the hootchie-koo, doing the I-love-you with the best of all opposites that feel inclined to mix and match and see what life can bring amidst all the hardship and suffering that we must endure in this Godforsaken world. It’s only a tribute to the brilliance of life and culture that this simple truth is the foundation to something much larger and lasting at the same time. And that is Buddhism, pure and hopefully simple, on a good day.