Repentance as a Bodhisattva Practice: Wŏnhyo on Guilt and Moral Responsibility

The title of the Korean Buddhist philosopher Wŏnhyo's Mahāyāna Repentance of the Six Senses suggests that Buddhist practitioners are expected to repent of their misdeeds. This would mean that Wŏnhyo takes us to be responsible for our evil acts, and yet in the same text he argues that these acts, just like the self that is their supposed agent, are themselves not real. Moreover, he denies that there are real causal relations, thus rejecting hard determinism as well. He thus seems to resist all the possible approaches to the problem of determinism and responsibility while still affirming at least some degree of responsibility for our actions. How this might be made sense of and what it might tell us about the debate over determinism and responsibility are explored here.