Moral actions are unlike other actions in that they have both transitive and intransitive effects. The transitive
effect is seen in the direct impact moral actions have on others; for example, when we kill or steal, someone is deprived of his life or property. The intransitive effect is seen in the way moral actions affect the agent. According to Buddhism, human beings have free will, and in the exercise of free will they engage in selfdetermination. In a very real sense individuals create themselves through their moral choices. By freely and repeatedly choosing certain sorts of things, an individual shapes his character, and through his character his future. As the
proverb has it: 'Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap
a destiny.'