12th Issue (June, 2009) Editor's Preface Generally, Buddhists erroneously conceive that all human misbehaviours or crimes are kammically determined by past kammas of previous lives. That human misbahaviours or crimes are solely kammic debts owed by the victims of abuses, attacks or violence is misinterpretation and mispresentation of Gotama Buddha. That everything is strictly determined by kammic debts is fatalistic determinism which rejects human freewill (chandapurisa) and human efforts (viriyapurisa) in the present life to determine one’s destiny. Gotama Buddha promulgates that besides kammic mechanism that determines human destiny, other present contigent conditions also play their roles in mouldling human destiny. The Exalted One declares that other present contigent conditions comprise the Truth of Impermanence (Aniccatā), Insubstantiality (Anattatā) and Dependent Genesis or Dependent Co-arising (Pațiccasamuppāda) reciprocally integrating with one another to produce any determinate outcome or accomplishment or failure and satisfaction or dissatisfaction in the present life. Gotama Buddha comprehensively unveils the following contigent conditions moulding human destiny :
These five actual entities of conditioned phenomena are clusters of building blocks of life that are integrated by the principal Order of Dependent Genesis or Dependent Co-arising (Pạ̣iccasamuppāda). These contigent conditions of human destiny dependently produce the unity of existence of the five aggregates (pañcakkhadhā) of form (rūpa), feelings (vedanā), perceptions (saññā), volitional activities (saṅkhārā) and consciousness (viññān̥a). In the Abhidhamma pițaka pertaining to the Law of Causal Relations, 24 conditional relations (pațțhānas) are expounded to explain the interconnectedness of conditioning and being conditioned of the five aggregates of a human personality (Narada, A Manual of Abhidhamma,p.367). The conglomeration of human will and human efforts is the primary or main cause (hetu). All other supporting conditions are the secondary or subordinate contigent conditions (paccayas). From the Mahāyāna perspective, human accomplishment is the unity of the five aggregates comprising generally a main cause and a set of contigent conditions to constitute the flux of life of a particular human being. The flux of a particular human being is integrated with the cosmic Unity of dynamic process becoming by the governing principal Order of Dependent Genesis or Dependent Co-arising (Pațiccasamuppāda) or the Law of Conditional Relation (Pațțhānanaya) . Since Kamma is the controllable contigent condition strictly determined by freewill and efforts of human thought, speech and deed, it is only justifiable that Man is morally responsible for whatever actions committed by him or her. What one sows, so wlll one reap. The kammic mechanism operated by Pațiccasamuppāda or Pațțhānanaya mirrors that there is no external Al-mighty , Superpowerful Agent that authors the human destiny. Significantly the perennial wisdom of Process Monotheism has also rejected the fatalistic determinism of God expounded in classical Theism. In the classical Theism, God is worshipped as the external and sole Al-mighty Power that authors the plan of each human life. Process Monotheism, such as Sufism rectifies this philosophical misinterpretation of God concept. In the Process Monotheism, Man is expected to work and struggle to improve his or her life and God is the energy of dependently co-arisen Unity of Existence of contigent conditions imposed and determined by human will and efforts. Esoterically, Buddhism and Monotheism are identical. Buddhism is the self-wakening to the timeless Truth of Unity of Existence or dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Monotheism denotes that there is one and only timeless Truth which is Unity of Existence. Thus, the Theosophy of Process Monotheism concurs with Buddhist process philosophy of dynamic process becoming (sanātana dharma) that both Man and God reciprocally and non-dually shape human destiny. Human destiny is contigent upon human behaviours or kamma. Man is the co-pilot and God is the chief pilot. Kamma operates on the interrelationship between Man and God or Truth. God is dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Sufism , the heart of Islam is a Process Monotheism. Sufism defines God as the Truth of Unity of Existence (Waḥdat al Wujūd). Unity of Existence is Mahāyā̄na Buddhist philosophy of Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Emptiness is the Unity of Existence of contigent conditions. It is the harmonious association of a cause and a set of conditions (hetoḥ pratyayānāṃ ca). Emptiness is the Ultimate Reality (paramārtha or tattva). Emptiness is the true nature (dharmatā) of all things or phenomena. Emptiness is the Attribute of neither arisen or ceased (anutpannāniruddha). God also has the Attribute of neither arising nor ceasing too. Theosophically , Emptiness equals God reconciling Buddhism with Process Monotheism. Emptiness is the existence of God : Everything is God ; everything is Emptiness. The source of misbehaviours , misdeeds and crimes is ignorance of the right knowledge of God (Ḥaqq) or Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). The Process Monotheistic Doctrine of The Unity of Existence is synonymous with the Buddhist bipolar Truth that the phenomenon of the relative or conventional truth (Pāl.:sammuti sacca; Sans.:saṃvṛti satya) and the Ultimate Truth (Pāl. Paramattha Sacca; Sans. Paramārtha Satya)) of the Principle of Unity or Non-duality are reciprocal and non-dual. Through human wills imposing and determining the contigent conditions, the Buddhist law of Dependent Co-arising or the Monotheistic law of Unity of Existence integrates contigent conditions introduced by Man together with other environmental contigent conditions to produce human accomplishment or failure and concrescence or regression. The accomplishment and concrescence are conditioned by ethics of moral restraints and virtues whilst failure and regression are conditioned by vices of misbehaviours, and crimes. Negatively, on the regressive or ugly sides of modern human civilization, the human misbehaviours and crimes create the systemic risks resulting in the systemic crises mirrored from problems that we face in a human society, in a nation or in the world. The systemic crises that burden us direly are the current financial crisis, teetering economy, eco-crisis, wars, terrorism, extremism, sectarianism, separatism, demonization of others and so forth. Gotama Buddha identifies that the roots of human misbehaviours and crimes are greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), delusion (moha), jealousy (issā) , pride (māna), and ignorance (avijjā). Human misbehaviours and crimes are dependently co-arisen from the contigent conditions of circumstances, habitual propensities, and freewill directed and empowered by greed, hatred and delusion. A multitude of foreign elements may have conditioned the commission of one’s misbehaviours or crimes. Nevertheless, Gotama Buddha expounds that Man is directly and morally accountable for consequences of one’s own actions because a human personality enjoys the freewill to direct and empower all the sense activities of the five aggregates. The Moral Law of Accountability governs human responsibility. Confronting an adversity, Man has the freewill to choose either to be reactive or proactive. Being pro-active, one is well- behaved or virtuous. Being wise and forbearing, the wise has the propensity to be proactive and to respond with equanimity (upekkhā). Being greedy, impatient and malevolent, the fool has the propensity to be reactive with either attachment or aversion. In the Abhidahmma of the Theravāda tradition, Man is fully in charge of the Javana thought process. The Javana stage is the psychological stage in a thought process in which Man decides either to do good or to commit evil. External object is either desirable, undesirable or neutral. It is Man’s free will of moral judgment and decision to make the Javana process either good or evil. Being reactive or proactive depends on human moral judgment and decision. It is related to the spiritual maturity of a Buddhist in his or her personal development (bhāvanā) and self-cultivation of the Noble Eight Fold Path (Ariyo Ațhangiko Maggo. Maggasaṃyutta.SN45). One’s station of development and self-cultivation influences one’s moral judgment and decision. If one’s skill of the four establishments of mindfulness (cattari satipatthana), has attained to maturity actualizing release, he will protect himself or herself well (Satipațțhanasaṃyutta. SN47). Protecting himself or herself, he or she protects others with non-discriminative or boundless virtues of lovingkindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), appreciative joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekkhā). To protect others, he or she ought to make his or her Javana process good or wholesome (kusala). Averting misbehaviours or crimes is the best way to protect others. Protecting others is the exercise of respecting fundamental rights of others. Therefore, Gotama Buddha utters thus :
The above stated stanzas are the noble utterance of Gotama Buddha. The Exalted One promulgates that personal development and self-cultivation of the Noble Eight Fold Path are Man ’s work and struggle in his life journey in the present life. Man’s work and struggle to better himself are contigent conditions imposed and determined by human will, choice and decision called Kamma (cetanā). If human kamma is wholesome (kusala), the Law of Dependent Co-arising or Conditioned Relation will reward Man with the corresponding reward called blessing. Blessing is earned and not feely given by the Buddha. Conversely, if human kamma is unwholesome (akusala) in terms of unheedful commission of misbehaviours or crimes, the aforementioned Law of Conditionality will punish the evil doers with pain, defeat, failure or doom correspondingly. In Buddhism, ten evils of misbehaviours or crimes are to be averted. They are universally applicable. They are killing, theft, sexual misconduct, lying, slandering, harsh speech, gossiping, greed, hatred and delusion. It is only by the personal development and self-cultivation of the Noble Eight Fold Path that these ten evils can be successfully be defeated or obliterated. The Noble Eight Fold Path comprises eight training aggregates, namely right understanding, right thought, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right efforts , right mindfulness and right concentration. The Noble Eight Fold Path annihilates the self-centric ego so that a diligent, resolute and ardent Dhamma farer will fruitfully avoid evils, do good and purify the mind (sabba pāpassa akaraṇaṃ, Kusalassa upasampadā, sacitta pariyodapanaṃ̣). Editor   
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