0521553946 cambridge university press an introduction to buddhist ethics foundations values and issues jul 2000
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AN INT RO D UC T IO N TO
BUD D H IS T ET H IC S
This systematic introduction to Buddhist ethics is aimed at anyone
interested in Buddhism, including students, scholars and general
readers. Peter Harvey is the author of the acclaimed Introduction to
Buddhism (Cambridge, ), and his new book is written in a clear
style, assuming no prior knowledge. At the same time it develops a
careful, probing analysis of the nature and practical dynamics of
Buddhist ethics both in its unifying themes and in the particularities
of different Buddhist traditions. The book applies Buddhist ethics
to a range of issues of contemporary concern: humanity’s relationship with the rest of nature; economics; war and peace; euthanasia; abortion; sexual equality; and homosexuality. Professor Harvey
draws on texts of the main Buddhist traditions, and on historical
and contemporary accounts of the behaviour of Buddhists, to
describe existing Buddhist ethics, to assess different views within it,
and to extend its application into new areas.
is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University
of Sunderland. Co-founder of the UK Association for Buddhist
Studies, he was the first Professor specifically of ‘Buddhist Studies’
in the UK. He also serves on the editorial board of the very successful Internet Journal of Buddhist Ethics and that of Contemporary
Studies in Buddhism.
A N I N T RO D U C T I O N TO
BU D D H I S T E T H IC S
Foundations, Values and Issues
P E T E R H A RV E Y
University of Sunderland
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , United Kingdom
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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© Cambridge University Press, 2000
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
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First published in print format 2000
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Not to do any evil,
to cultivate what is wholesome,
to purify one’s mind:
this is the teaching of the Buddhas
(Dhammapada, verse )
Contents
List of plates
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
A note on language and pronunciation
page xii
xiii
xiv
xix
Introduction
Sources of guidance to Buddhists
Rebirth and karma
The realms of rebirth
Karma and its effects
The status and working of the law of karma
The ‘karmic fruitfulness’ of actions
Karmic fruitfulness and motive
The San˙gha as the best ‘field of karmic fruitfulness’
Karma and fatalism
Flexibility in the working of karma
Delayed results of karma
The effect of character
Remorse and the acknowledgement of fault
Rebirth, karma and motivation
The Four Noble Truths
Suffering
Impermanence
Not-Self and respecting others
The Noble Eightfold Path
Noble persons
The place of ethics on the Path
Wise, skilful, wholesome actions
The Arahat as ‘beyond fruitful and deadening actions’
Philosophy of action
Criteria for differentiating good and bad actions
vii
Contents
viii
Comparisons with Western ethical systems
Intention, knowledge and degrees of unwholesomeness in actions
Conclusion
Giving
Sharing karmic fruitfulness
Keeping the lay precepts
The first precept: non-injury
The second precept: avoiding theft and cheating
The third precept: avoiding sexual misconduct
The fourth precept: avoiding lying and other forms of wrong speech
The fifth precept: sobriety
The nature of the precepts and precept-taking
Partial precept-taking and the issue of precept-breaking
Taking extra precepts
Monastic values
Celibacy
The role of monasticism
The monastic code of discipline
Harmony, sharing and spiritual companionship
The ethics of inter-personal relationships
Parents and children
Other relationships
Marriage
Lovingkindness and compassion
Social ethics
Social cohesion and equality
Engaged Buddhism
Political ideals
‘Human rights’ and Buddhism
Conclusion
The path of the Bodhisattva
Compassion and wisdom in the Maha¯ya¯na
The arising of the thought of enlightenment
Developing the Bodhisattva perfections
The ethics of the Bodhisattva
The Bodhisattva precepts
Skilful means and overriding the precepts
Compassionate killing
Compassionate stealing, non-celibacy, and lying
Contents
Who may perform such acts, and are they obligatory?
Specific strands of Maha¯ya¯na thought and practice
Tantra
Pure Land Buddhism
Zen
Nichiren Buddhism
Maha¯ya¯na reassessment of monasticism
Conclusion
ix
Humanity’s place in nature
Non-harming of animals
Animal sacrifice
Meat eating
Meat eating in early and Therava¯da Buddhism
Meat eating in Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism
Animal husbandry
Pest control
Animal experimentation
Positive regard, and help, for animals
Plants, trees and forests
Conservation and environmentalism
Conclusion
Lay economic ethics
Right livelihood
Moral and spiritual qualities aiding worldly success
Appropriate uses of income
Buddhist giving and its socio-economic impact
The Buddhist attitude to wealth
Economic ethics for rulers
The justice of economic distribution
The monastic economy
Buddhism and capitalism: Weber’s ‘Protestant ethic’ thesis
The case of Japan
‘Buddhist economics’
The purpose of economics and a critique of consumerism
Critiques of capitalist and Marxist development models
Buddhism and economics in the modern world
The Sarvo¯daya S´ramada¯na movement in Sri Lanka
Buddhist elements in the modern Japanese economy
Conclusion
Contents
x
Buddhist analyses of the causes of conflict
Solutions to conflict
Economic means
Negotiation and emphasizing the mutual harm of war
A non-violent moral stance
Reflections to undermine hatred and develop patience
Forbearance and forgiveness
Defusing a situation
Non-violent reflections on a violent world
The position of the soldier
Buddhist ‘justifications’ of, and involvement in, violence
Sri Lanka
South-east Asia
China
Japan
Buddhist action for peace in the modern world
Peace activities of Japanese Nichiren-based schools
Sarvo¯daya S´ramada¯na as a force for defusing conflict in
Sri Lanka
Buddhist action to heal Cambodia
Conclusion
Considerations and arguments against suicide
Suicide and the precepts
Euthanasia
Buddhist reasons for rejecting euthanasia
Cases of non-intended death
The question of the criteria of death
Conclusion
Embryonic life
Abortion and Buddhist principles
Relevance of the age of the foetus
Possible grounds for abortion
Contraception
Abortion in Buddhist cultures
Among Tibetans
Lands of Southern Buddhism
Lands of Eastern Buddhism, especially Japan
Anti-abortion but pro-choice? The relationship between morality and law
Conclusion
Contents
Women in early Hinduism
The effect of Buddhism
The spiritual potential and achievement of women
Female Arahats
Maha¯ya¯na images of female spiritual perfection
Gender, rebirth and the status of women
Views on spiritual statuses unattainable by women
Images of wise and wayward women
Ascetic wariness of the opposite sex
The ordination of women
Nuns and other female religious roles in Buddhist cultures
Ancient India
Lands of Eastern Buddhism
Lands of Southern Buddhism
Lands of Northern Buddhism
Laywomen in Buddhist texts
Laywomen in Buddhist cultures
Lands of Southern Buddhism
Lands of Eastern Buddhism
Lands of Northern Buddhism
Conclusion
‘’
xi
Sex-change
Hermaphrodites
Pan·d·akas
Sexual behaviour of pan··dakas
The psychological nature and limited potential of pandakas
··
Pandakas and rebirth
··
Homosexual acts
Homosexuality in Buddhist cultures
Lands of Southern Buddhism
Tibet
Lands of Eastern Buddhism
Western Buddhism
Conclusion
Glossary and details of historical figures and texts
List of references
Useful addresses
Index of Buddhist texts, schools cultural areas, movements and organizations
Index of concepts
Index of names
Plates
The Tibetan ‘Wheel of Life’.
page
Lay people giving alms-food to monks at a festival at
Ratanagiri monastery, north-east England.
A temple mural in Sri Lanka showing the Buddha in a past
life as the ‘Teacher of Patience’, who could not be roused to
anger even when cut to pieces with a sword (courtesy of
Richard Gombrich).
The Buddha with a devoted monkey and elephant before
him, at a temple in Ko Samui, Thailand.
A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvo¯daya S´ramada¯na
movement, with Professor George Bond, who researches the
movement, on his right.
The opening of the ‘Peace Pagoda’ at Milton Keynes,
England, built by the Japanese Nipponzan Myo¯ho¯ji order
(courtesy of Moghadas Sadeg).
Cambodian monastic leader and peace activist Maha¯Ghosa¯nanda (courtesy of River Publications).
A Japanese cemetery, with statues of the Bodhisattva Jizo¯
dedicated to aborted or stillborn babies (courtesy of
Elizabeth Harrison).
A popular print from Sri Lanka, showing the Buddha
returning to earth from a heaven after teaching his dead
mother the Abhidhamma, a complex compendium of
analytical wisdom.
An image of Ta¯ra¯, the ‘Saviouress’, in the courtyard of a
temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.
xii
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Damien Keown, of Goldsmith’s College, London, and coeditor of the Internet Journal of Buddhist Ethics for comments on aspects
of chapters and , and to my research student Liz Williams for checking and offering comments on a draft of this work, especially on chapter
, and for help with the indexes. Over many years, while teaching a
University of Sunderland final-year undergraduate module, Ethics in
Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, both my colleagues Dr James Francis
and Phil André and our students have also helped me to reflect further
on Buddhist ethics.
xiii
Abbreviations
Note that below:
Th. = a text of the Pali Canon or later Therava¯n literature
My. = a Maha¯ya¯na text in Sanskrit, Chinese or Tibetan
A.
A. A.
AKB.
Asl.
ASP.
Asta.
Bca.
An˙guttara Nika¯ya (Th.); (tr. F. L. Woodward and E. M. Hare), The
Book of Gradual Sayings, vols., London, PTS, –.
Commentary on A.; untranslated.
Abhidharma-kos´a-bha¯·syam [of Vasubandhu; a Sarva¯stiva¯da
work]; (tr. from Louis de La Vallée Poussin’s French translation
by Leo M. Pruden, Abhidharmakos´abha¯·syam), Berkeley, Calif.,
Asian Humanities Press, –. References are to chapter
and section numbers in original text.
Atthasa¯linı¯ [Buddhaghosa’s commentary on Dhs.] (Th.); (tr. Pe
··
Maung Tin), The Expositor, vols., London, PTS, and
.
A¯rya-satyaka-parivarta (My.); (tr. L. Jamspal), The Range of the
Bodhisattva: A Study of an Early Maha¯ya¯nasu¯·tra, ‘A¯ryasatyakaparivarta’, Discourse of the Truth Teller, Columbia University Ph.D.
thesis, reproduced on microfiche, Ann Arbor, UMI,
(Tibetan text and translation, with introduction, pp. –).
References are to page numbers of the translation.
As··tasa¯hasrika¯ Prajña¯-pa¯ramita¯ Su¯tra (My.); (tr. E. Conze), The
Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, and its Verse Summary,
Bolinas, Four Seasons Foundation, .
Bodhi-carya¯vata¯ra [of S´a¯ntideva] (My.); translations as in:
Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
(Bodhisattvacharyavatara), tr. from Tibetan by S. Batchelor,
Dharamsala, India, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives,
. References to chapter and verse. Other translations
are:
xiv
List of abbreviations
BCE
BPS
Bv.
c.
CE
Cp.
D.
D. A.
Dhp.
Dhp. A.
Dhs.
It.
J.
Khp.
Khp. A.
xv
Crosby, K. and Skilton, A., S´a¯ntideva: The Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra,
World’s Classics, Oxford and New York, Oxford University
Press, .
Matics, M. L., Entering the Path of Enlightenment: The
Bodhicarya¯vata¯ra of the Buddhist Poet S´a¯ntideva (from Sanskrit),
London, George Allen & Unwin, .
Before the Christian era.
Buddhist Publication Society
Buddhavam
· sa (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), in Minor Anthologies, vol. ,
London, PTS, . Also includes translation of Cp.
circa.
Christian Era.
Cariya¯pit·aka (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), in Minor Anthologies, vol. ,
London, PTS, . Also includes translation of Bv.
Dı¯gha Nika¯ya (Th.); (tr. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids), Dialogues
of the Buddha, vols., London, PTS, –. Also translated
by M. Walshe, Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the
Buddha, London, Wisdom Publications, , in one volume.
Commentary on D.; untranslated.
Dhammapada (Th.); (tr. Na¯rada Thera), The Dhammapada,
London, John Murray, (the same translation, accompanied by the Pali text, is also published by the Buddhist
Missionary Society, Kuala Lumpur, – available from
Wisdom Publications, London); (tr. Acharya Buddharakkhita),
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, Kandy, Sri
Lanka, BPS, . In verse.
Dhammapada Commentary (Th.); (tr. E. W. Burlingame), Buddhist
Legends, vols., Harvard Oriental Series, Cambridge, Mass.,
Harvard University Press, ; repr. London, PTS, .
Dhamma-san˙gan·¯ı (Th.); (tr. C. A. F. Rhys Davids), Buddhist
Psychological Ethics, London, PTS, , rd edn, .
Itivuttaka (Th.); (tr. F. L. Woodward), As it was Said, in Minor
Anthologies, Part II, London, PTS, ; also tr. J. D. Ireland, The
Itivuttaka: The Buddha’s Sayings, Kandy, Sri Lanka, BPS, .
Ja¯taka with Commentary (Th.); (tr. by various hands under E. B.
Cowell), The Ja¯taka or Stories of the Buddha’s Former Births, vols.,
London, PTS, –.
Khuddaka-pa¯·tha (Th.); (tr. with its commentary, Bhikkhu
Ña¯n·amoli), Minor Readings and Illustrator, London, PTS, .
Buddhaghosa’s commentary on Khp.
xvi
Kvu.
List of abbreviations
Katha¯vatthu (Th.); (tr. S. Z. Aung and C. A. F. Rhys Davids),
Points of Controversy, London, PTS, .
M.
Majjhima Nika¯ya (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), Middle Length Sayings,
vols., London, PTS, –. Also tr. Bhikkhu Ña¯n·amoli and
Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha,
Boston, Mass., Wisdom, , in one volume.
M. A.
Commentary on M.; untranslated.
Miln.
Milindapañha (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), Milinda’s Questions, vols.,
London, PTS, and .
Miln. T. Commentary on Miln., untranslated.
·
Mvs.
Maha¯vastu [of the Lokottarava¯da school]; (tr. J. J. Jones), The
Maha¯vastu, Translated from the Buddhist Sanskrit, vols., London,
PTS, –.
Cullaniddesa (Th.); untranslated.
Nd. II.
Ps.
Pat·isambhida¯-magga (Th.); (tr. Bhikkhu Ña¯n·amoli), The Path of
Discrimination, London, PTS, .
PTS
Pali Text Society.
Pug.
Puggala-paññatti (Th.); (tr. B. C. Law), Designation of Human Types,
London, PTS, .
Pv.
Petavatthu (Th.); (tr. H. S. Gehman), The Minor Anthologies of the
Pali Canon, Part IV (also includes a translation of Vv. by I. B.
Horner), London, PTS, . References to chapter and story
number.
RPR.
Ra¯ja-parikatha¯-ratnama¯la¯ [of Na¯ga¯rjuna] (My.); (tr. J. Hopkins
and Lati Rinpoche), Nagarjuna and the Seventh Dalai Lama,
The Precious Garland and the Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, London,
George Allen & Unwin, (also includes translation of a
short text by the Seventh Dalai Lama). Reference is to verse
number.
S.
Sam
· yutta Nika¯ya (Th.); (tr. C. A. F. Rhys Davids and F. L.
Woodward), The Book of Kindred Sayings, vols., London, PTS,
–.
S. A.
Commentary on S.; untranslated.
Skt
Sanskrit.
Sn.
Sutta-nipa¯ta (Th.); (tr. K. R. Norman), The Group of Discourses
(Sutta-Nipa¯ta) Volume I (in paperback, The Rhinoceros Horn and
Other Early Buddhist Poems), London, PTS, ; revised translation by Norman, with detailed notes, The Group of Discourses
(Sutta-Nipa¯ta) Volume II, Oxford, PTS, . Also tr. H. Saddhatissa, The Sutta-Nipa¯ta, London, Curzon Press, . In verse.
List of abbreviations
xvii
S´iks·a¯-samuccaya (My.); (tr. C. Bendall and W. H. D. Rouse, S´iks·a¯
Samuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhist Doctrine, Compiled by
S´a¯ntideva Chiefly from the Early Maha¯ya¯na Su¯tras, Delhi, Motilal
Banarsidass, (st edn, ). References are to translation
pagination.
Svb.
Suvarn·a-bha¯sottama Su¯tra (My.); (tr. R. E. Emmerick), The Su¯tra of
Golden Light, London, Luzac & Co., . Reference to Sanskrit
pagination, as indicated in Emmerick’s translation.
Taisho¯
Taisho¯ Daizo¯kyo¯: Japanese edition of the Chinese Buddhist
Canon, published –.
Thag.
Thera-ga¯tha¯ (Th.); (tr. K. R. Norman), Elders’ Verses, vol. ,
London, PTS, . In verse.
Thig.
Therı¯-ga¯tha¯ (Th.); (tr. K. R. Norman), Elders’ Verses, vol. ,
London, PTS, . This translation is also found, with C. A.
F. Rhys Davids’ translation of the texts and extracts from
the commentary, Psalms of the Sisters, in C. A. F. Rhys Davids
and K. R. Norman, Poems of Early Buddhist Nuns, Oxford, PTS,
. In verse.
Thig. A. Commentary on Thig.; (tr. W. Pruitt), The Commentary on the
Verses of the Therı¯s, Oxford, PTS, .
Ud.
Uda¯na (Th.); (tr. F. L. Woodward), Verses of Uplift, in Minor
Anthologies Part II, London, PTS, . Also tr. P. Masefield, The
Uda¯na, Oxford, PTS, , and J. D. Ireland, The Uda¯na:
Inspired Utterances of the Buddha, Kandy, Sri Lanka, BPS, .
Ud. A. Commentary on Ud. (tr. P. Masefield), The Uda¯na Commentary,
vol. , Oxford, PTS, .
Uss.
Upa¯saka-s´¯ıla Su¯tra (My.); (tr. Heng-ching Shih), The Sutra on
Upa¯saka Precepts, Berkeley, Numata Center for Buddhist
Translation and Research, Bukkyo¯ Dendo¯ Kyo¯kai, (translation from Chinese of Taisho¯, vol. a–b, no. ).
References are to translation pagination.
Vc.
Vajracchedika¯ Prajña¯-pa¯ramita¯ Su¯tra (My.); (tr. and explained by E.
Conze), in Buddhist Wisdom Books: The Diamond Sutra and the Heart
Sutra, London, George Allen & Unwin, .
Vibh.
Vibhan˙ga (Th.); (tr. U. Thittila), The Book of Analysis, London,
PTS, .
Vin.
Vinaya Pit·aka (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), The Book of the Discipline,
vols., London, PTS, –. Vin. and are translated as
Book of the Discipline, vols. , and , and Vin. and are translated as Book of the Discipline, vols. and . Note, also, that in
Ss.
xviii
Vin. A.
Vism.
Vv.
Vv. A.
WFBR
List of abbreviations
Horner’s translations, the page number of the original Pali
text, which appears in bold in the midst of the English, means
‘Page x ends here.’ In all other translations by the PTS, it means
‘Page x starts here.’
Commentary on Vin.; untranslated directly into English, but
translated from the Chinese translation: Bapat and Hirakawa,
.
Visuddhimagga [of Buddhaghosa] (Th.); (tr. Bhikkhu Ña¯n·amoli),
The Path of Purification, rd edn, Kandy, Sri Lanka, BPS, ,
and vols., Berkeley, Calif., Shambhala, .
Vima¯navatthu (Th.); (tr. I. B. Horner), The Minor Anthologies of the
Pali Canon, Part IV (also includes a translation of Pv. by H. S.
Gehman), London, PTS, . References to story number.
Commentary on Vv.; untranslated.
World Fellowship of Buddhists Review.
Most of these works are still in print; reprints have only been mentioned
where the publisher differs from the original one. Translations given in
this book are not necessarily the same as the cited translations, particularly in the case of translations from Pali. For Therava¯da texts, the references are to the volume and page number of the edition of the text by
the PTS, or to the verse number for texts in verse. The page numbers of
the relevant edition of an original text are generally given in brackets in
its translation, or at the top of the page. The volume number of the
translation generally corresponds to the volume of the PTS edition of
the texts, except for the Vinaya (see above).
A note on language and pronunciation
Most of the foreign words in this work are from Pali and Sanskrit, which
are closely related languages of ancient India. Pali is the scriptural, liturgical and scholarly language of Southern Buddhism, one of the three
main cultural traditions of Buddhism. Sanskrit, or rather ‘Buddhist
Hybrid Sanskrit’, is the language in which many of the scriptures and
scholarly treatises of Maha¯ya¯na Buddhism came to be written in India.
Northern and Eastern Buddhism, where the Maha¯ya¯na form of
Buddhism predominates, generally use the Tibetan or Chinese translations of these texts. Many works on Buddhism give only Sanskrit versions of words, but this is artificial as Sanskrit is no longer used by
Buddhists (except in Nepal), but Pali is still much in use.
This work therefore uses Pali versions of terms for most of early
Buddhism, for Southern/Therava¯da Buddhism, and when discussing
Buddhism in general. Sanskrit versions are used when particularly discussing Maha¯ya¯na forms of Buddhism, for some early schools which
also came to use Sanskrit, and when discussing Hinduism. Sanskrit is
also used for certain key terms that have come to be known in English:
Nirva¯·na (Pali Nibba¯na), karma (Pali kamma), Bodhisattva (Pali Bodhisatta) and
Stu¯pa (Pali Thu¯pa). In many cases, Pali and Sanskrit terms are spelt the
same. Where they are spelt differently, the Pali spelling is the simpler.
Both Pali and Sanskrit have more than twenty-six letters, which
means that when they are written in the roman alphabet, the extra letters
need to be represented by the use of diacritical marks. Once the specific
sounds of the letters are known, Pali and Sanskrit words are then pronounced as they are written, unlike English ones. It is therefore worth
taking account of the diacritical marks, as they give a clear guide to pronunciation. The letters are pronounced as follows:
(i) a is short and flat, like the u in ‘hut’ or ‘utter’
i is short, like i in ‘bit’
u is like u in ‘put’, or oo in ‘foot’
xix
xx
A note on language and pronunciation
e is like e in ‘bed’, only pronounced long
o is long, like o in ‘note’ (or, before more than one consonant, more
like o in ‘not’ or ‘odd’).
(ii) A bar over a vowel makes it long:
a¯ is like a in ‘barn’
ı¯ is like ee in ‘beet’
u¯ is like u in ‘brute’.
(iii) When there is a dot under a letter (t· , d
·,n
· , ·s , ·r , ·l ), this means that
it is a ‘cerebral’ letter. Imagine a dot on the roof of one’s mouth
that one must touch with one’s tongue when saying these letters.
This produces a characteristically ‘Indian’ sound. It also makes ·s
into a sh sound, and ·r into ri.
(iv) s´ is like a normal sh sound.
(v) Aspirated consonants (kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, th, dh, ph, bh) are
accompanied by a strong breath-pulse from the chest, as when
uttering English consonants very emphatically. For example:
ch is like ch-h in ‘church-hall’
th is like t-h in ‘hot-house’
ph is like p-h in ‘cup-handle’.
When aspirated consonants occur as part of a consonant cluster,
the aspiration comes at the end of the cluster.
(vi) c is like ch in ‘choose’.
(vii) ñ is like ny in ‘canyon’; ññ is like nnyy.
(viii) m
· is a pure nasal sound, made when the mouth is closed but air
escapes through the nose, with the vocal chords vibrating; it
approximates to ng.
(ix) n˙ is an ng, nasal sound said from the mouth, rather than the nose.
(x) h is like a normal h sound, but followed by a faint echo of the pre·
ceding vowel.
(xi) v may be somewhat similar to English v when at the start of a word,
or between vowels, but like w when combined with another consonant.
(xii) Double consonants are always pronounced long: for example nn is
as in ‘unnecessary’.
All other letters are pronounced as in English.
o¯ is used to denote a long o in Japanese (as in ‘note’, rather than ‘not’).
For Tibetan words, this book gives a form which indicates the pronunciation, followed by the Wylie form of writing Tibetan in roman script,
which includes unpronounced letters.
Introduction
Buddhist ethics as a field of academic study in the West is not new, but
in recent years has experienced a considerable expansion, as seen, for
example, in the very successful Internet Journal of Buddhist Ethics. The
schools of Buddhism have rich traditions of thought on ethics, though
this is often scattered through a variety of works which also deal with
other topics. This book aims to be an integrative over-view of ethics in
the different Buddhist traditions, showing the strong continuities as
well as divergencies between them. It seeks to do this in a way that
addresses issues which are currently of concern in Western thought on
ethics and society, so as to clarify the Buddhist perspective(s) on these
and make Buddhist ethics more easily available to Western thinkers on
these issues. In exploring Buddhist ethics, this work aims to look at what
the scriptures and key thinkers have said as well as at how things work
out in practice among Buddhists, whose adherence may be at various
levels, and who naturally operate in a world in which their religion is
only one of the factors that affect their behaviour. Even when
Buddhists fall short of their ethical ideals, the way that they tend to do
so itself tells one something about the way the religion functions as a
living system.
Chapters – prepare the way for looking at ethical issues by exploring the framework of Buddhist ethics in terms of the foundations of
ethics in Buddhism’s world-view(s), and the key values which arise from
this. While the ethical guidelines of different religions and philosophies
have much in common, each is based on a certain view of the world
and of human beings’ place in it. Such a world-view gives particular
emphases to the related ethical system, gives it a particular kind of
rationale, and provides particular forms of motivation for acting in
accord with it. A religion is more than beliefs and ethics, though, so its
ethics also need to be understood in the context of its full range of
practices.
An introduction to Buddhist ethics
The term ‘ethics’ is used in this work to cover:
() thought on the bases and justification of moral guidelines (normative
ethics), and on the meaning of moral terms (meta-ethics);
() specific moral guidelines (applied ethics);
() how people actually behave (descriptive ethics).
David Little and Sumner Twiss, in their work on comparative religious
ethics, have defined a ‘moral’ statement as one which addresses problems of co-operation among humans. It gives an ‘action-guide’ for individuals and groups so as to initiate, preserve or extend some form of
co-operation, by guiding actions, character, emotions, attitudes etc. that
impinge on this. Morality is ‘other-regarding’: focused on the effect of
our actions etc. on others (: –). While this is a reasonable view, it
is an incomplete one for Buddhist morality, as this is also concerned with
the quality of our interactions with non-human sentient beings too.
Moral ‘action-guides’ demand attention, though they sometimes
conflict with each other – should one protect someone by lying to
someone else? – and may conflict with religious action-guides, such as in
the story of Abraham and the burning bush, where he is prepared to kill
his son through faith in God. Actions done for purely prudential reasons
– I do not want to go to jail, or to hell – are not really done from ethical
considerations, though they may help form behavioural traits that are
supportive of moral development. Religions sometimes use prudential
considerations, for example karmic results, to help motivate actions
benefiting others, without justifying/validating such actions on prudential,
non-moral grounds. Broadly, religious-based ethical systems support
ethics by motivating and justifying positive other-regarding actions and
discouraging actions harmful to others, and strengthening the character-traits which foster moral action.
Little and Twiss regard a ‘religious’ statement as one that expresses
acceptance of a set of beliefs, attitudes and practices based on a notion
of a sacred source of values and guidance, that functions to resolve the
‘ontological problems of interpretability’ (: ). That is, religion is
focused on making sense of life, including suffering, death and evil, so as
to help people understand, and resolve, the human predicament.
Morality and ethics can exist apart from religion, for example in humanism or utilitarianism, or ethics can be integrated into a religious system.
The same prescription, for example ‘do not kill’, may be justified by a
purely ethical reason, for example this has a bad effect on the welfare of
others, or a purely religious one, for example it is forbidden by God, or
a mixture, for example it is forbidden by God because it harms others.
Introduction
In a Buddhist context, the effect of actions on the welfare of others is
itself a key consideration, as is the effect of an action on spiritual
progress, and what the Buddha is seen as having said on it. Religions
often move imperceptibly from ethical concerns, relating to material
welfare of others, to more ‘spiritual’ ones such as self-discipline and
renunciation, though these may, in turn, have ethical spin-offs.
The history of Buddhism spans almost , years from its origin in
India with Siddhattha Gotama (Pali; Siddha¯rtha Gautama in Sanskrit;
c. – BCE), through its spread to most parts of Asia and, in the
twentieth century, to the West. While its fortunes have waxed and waned
over the ages, over half of the present world population live in areas
where Buddhism is, or has been, a dominant cultural force.
The English term ‘Buddhism’ correctly indicates that the religion is
characterized by a devotion to ‘the Buddha’, ‘Buddhas’ or
‘Buddhahood’. ‘Buddha’ is not, in fact, a proper name, but a descriptive
title meaning ‘Awakened One’ or ‘Enlightened One’. This implies that
most people are seen, in a spiritual sense, as being asleep – unaware of
how things really are. In addition to ‘the Buddha’ – i.e. the historical
Buddha, Gotama, from its earliest times the Buddhist tradition has postulated other Buddhas who have lived on earth in distant past ages, or
who will do so in the future. The Maha¯ya¯na tradition also postulated the
existence of many Buddhas currently existing in other parts of the universe. All such Buddhas, known as samma¯-sambuddhas (Pali; Skt samyaksambuddhas), or ‘perfect fully Awakened Ones’, are nevertheless seen as
occurring only rarely within the vast and ancient cosmos. More
common are those who are ‘buddhas’ in a lesser sense, who have awakened to the truth by practising in accordance with the guidance of a
perfect Buddha such as Gotama.
In its long history, Buddhism has used a variety of teachings and
means to help people first develop a calmer, more integrated and compassionate personality, and then ‘wake up’ from restricting delusions:
delusions which cause attachment and thus suffering for an individual
and those he or she interacts with. The guide for this process of transformation has been the Dhamma (Pali; Skt Dharma). This means the
eternal truths and cosmic law-orderliness discovered by the Buddha(s),
Buddhist teachings, the Buddhist path of practice, and the goal of
Buddhism, the timeless Nirva¯·na (Skt; Pali Nibba¯na). Buddhism thus essentially consists of understanding, practising and realizing Dhamma.
The most important bearers of the Buddhist tradition have been the
monks and nuns who make up the Buddhist San˙gha (Pali; Skt Sam
· gha):
