Buddhists on destiny...?

I can talk about about Zen Buddhism, and I think some other sects follow a similar idea..

Basically, destiny has nothing to do with zen. A concept of the future, like thoughts of the past, are illusory. Thinking about 'destiny' is to be trapped in a mind that isn't functioning properly. There is a natural way that things work out, but whether that means we die young, or live to be very old, it is just the way things are (and the way of nature should not be fought against), but in no way is it destiny. Certain actions you do now, may have repercussions in the future, but it is not like you were destined to have that life or not, your future is a result of your current decisions (to some extent.. obviously there are other influences). One thing that is important, is to accept the way things work e.g. death. Accepting death, whether premature or not, is just to accept the way things are i.e. not to fight the nature of the universe.

Obviously, for other forms of Buddhism, destiny could be associated with Karma i.e. having bad things happening to you because of things you did in the past, or even in a past life. I personally find this very distasteful, and could only agree with the interpretation of karma whereby a bad action leads to other bad actions, because it is effectively training your brain to behave in a certain way. However, with this view, it is not destiny (and there is free will in both of these cases, with the future being affected by the decisions you make each moment).

Hope this helps!

I'd say 98% Destiny/Fate 2% Free Will.

1. What is destiny?

Ones destiny is rebirth within the six realms of samsara

1. hell beings (dominated by hatred)

2. hungry ghosts, or pretas (dominated by greed)

3. animals (dominated by stupidity)

4. human beings (dominated by desire)

5. demi-gods, or asuras (dominated by jealousy)

6. gods (dominated by pride)

2. Is destiny valid and if so to what extent?

It's valid if one is concerned with happiness and suffering. In my experience all beings don't want to suffer.

3. Is destiny largely shaped by karma, or is it the other way around?

Destiny is largely shaped by karma which literally means 'action' but it also refers to the process of cause and effect whereby positive actions result in happiness and negative, harmful actions lead to suffering.

4. Can destiny be changed?

Yes, destiny is not fate, fate is predetermined and can't be changed, but if one changes their karma they change their destiny.