The Strange Attraction of the Bodhisattva Path: Dynamical Systems and Buddhist Ethics

This paper extends Joanna Macy's integration of general systems theory and Buddhist philosophy by incorporating contemporary models from dynamical systems to address a persistent challenge to Buddhist ethics: how can radical emptiness sustain ethical possessiveness without collapsing into relativism or nihilism? Building on Macy's description of 'mutual causality,' I argue that strange attractors—infinite patterns governing complex systems—model a "groundless teleology" where purposiveness emerges naturally from codependent processes that lack fixed ends. This framework illuminates the interdependent, systems-oriented basis for Macy's engaged praxis: Buddhist ethical conduct presupposes no final redemption or end-point with some essential nature (viz., a 'final cause') other than reorienting collective action to further the cultivation of skillful responsiveness suffering. A half-century after her first essay and one year after her passing, I show that Macy's legacy continues to inspire philosophical possibilities for rationally validating ethical practice in a world of radical interdependence.