Will in Sanskrit

[mkapstei at UCHICAGO.EDU]

Of course, "will" is by no means a univocal
term in Western thought, so that we should
probably clarify the precise usage we have
in mind before reaching for Skt. equivalents.

For Will in Schopenhauer's sense, Heinrich Zimmer
proposed zakti. I have discussed Zimmer's reflections
on this in my article "Schopenhauer's zakti" reprinted
in my book Reason's Traces (Wisdom 2001). 

One of my students at the University of Chicago
is working on her PhD dissertation on "will" in 
Indian Buddhist thought. She intends to complete
her work during the next academic year and, if
someone thinks to write at me in about June 2009,
I will be able to provide details at that time.

Matthew T. Kapstein
Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies
The University of Chicago Divinity School

Directeur d'études
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris