Naturalism

This chapter argues that naturalism is a virtue in an account of human experience, and thus desideratum in any ethical theory, and that Buddhist ethics is indeed naturalistic. In particular, its ethical orientation relies on no transcendent or transcendental concerns; its theory of the good is rooted in an account of human nature and the nature of the natural world, and its account of agency and responsibility is thoroughly causal. The chapter also discusses some of the aspects and implications of karma, including karmic fruition, the ways that our future lives are conditioned by our present ones, and the idea of collective karma.

Methodological Introduction

This chapter explores some of the methodological issues that arise from studying Buddhist ethics. It gives an overview of the four noble truths, and it argues that Buddhist ethical theory is grounded in the Buddhist metaphysical outlook captured by dependent origination, selflessness, and impermanence. It further argues that Buddhist ethics is an attempt to solve the ubiquity of suffering that is grounded in these three characteristics of reality, and that this solution is reflected in the eightfold path. Also addressed are the six realms of transmigration on the Buddhist Wheel of Life, and their applications to the forms of suffering.

Narrative in Buddhist Ethics

This chapter explores the central role of narratives in the articulation of Buddhist ethics. Discussion includes casuistic narratives, and the way that they aid in moral decision making, including providing rationales and examples, both clear cut and not, illuminating the impact of interconnected human relationships and circumstances, and creating greater psychological impact through analysis of specific cases. Also discussed are the way that stories yield moral insight through their focus on developing deeper ways of seeing. Several narratives are addressed in detail, including that of Kisagotami, Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, and a collection of stories from the Mahāvagga and the Avadānaśataka.

Coda

This brief concluding chapter argues that Buddhist ethics constitutes a distinctive voice in ethical theory. While Buddhist ethical thought is distinct in both form and content from any of the major Western metaethical systems, it is supplementary to, rather than inconsistent with them. Buddhist ethics encourages us to look at the subjective, phenomenological side of ethics, and to foreground ethical perception and experience in our account of moral cultivation, as opposed to actions, rules, and consequences. By examining Buddhist ethical theory in conjunction with Western ethical theory, we can discover new questions that make our ethical debate richer than before.

Path as a Structure for Buddhist Ethics

This chapter examines the use of the path metaphor in Buddhist ethics, connecting it to the emphasis on moral phenomenology and to the particularism of Buddhist ethics. It discusses how the concept of a path is used in Buddhist literature, in both the internal and external sense, as well as how these paths may be both followed and cultivated by practitioners. Various uses of this metaphor are addressed throughout the chapter, as well as the objectives and methods associated with each. Discussion includes the eightfold path, the path of purification, the graduated path, the bodhisattva path, and the tantric path.

The Broad Structure of Buddhist Ethics

This chapter argues that Buddhist ethics does not fit into any of the standard Western metaethical theories. It is neither an instance of a virtue theory, nor of a deontological theory, nor of a consequentialist theory. It is closer to a sentimentalist theory, but different from those as well. Instead, it defends a reading of Buddhist ethics as a moral phenomenology and as particularist, utilizing casuistic reasoning. That is, Buddhist ethics is concerned primarily with the transformation of experience, of the way we perceive ourselves and other moral agents and patients. This chapter also argues that the metaphor of path structures Buddhist ethical thought.

Buddhist Ethics

This volume is one of a series of monographs on Buddhist philosophy for philosophers. It presents an outline of Buddhist ethical thought, presenting Buddhist ethical reflection as a distinct approach, or rather set of approaches, to moral philosophy. The book draws on a range of Buddhist philosophers to exhibit the internal diversity of the tradition as well as the lineaments that demonstrate its overarching integrity. This includes early Pāli texts, medieval Indian commentarial literature and philosophical treatises, Tibetan commentaries and treatises, and contemporary Buddhist literature. It argues that Buddhist ethics is best understood not as a species of any Western ethical tradition, but instead as a kind of moral phenomenology, and that it is particularist in its orientation. The book addresses both methodological and doctrinal issues and concludes with a study of the way that Buddhist ethical thought is relevant in the contemporary world.

The Importance of Vow

This chapter addresses the role of vows in Buddhist ethics. Vows generate new moral perspectives, as well as new agent-relative moral considerations. Among the vows addressed are the lay vows, monastic vows, bodhisattva vows, and tantric vows. The chapter discusses the diverse Buddhist interpretations of the metaphysical status of vows, and the ways that they transform one’s moral landscape, changing the ethical status of actions. Also addressed here are the binding power of vows, including the roles of both initial intention and admitted exceptions, and the effects of transgressions, including atonement and confession, and the phenomenon of returning vows.

Engaged Buddhism

This chapter enters the realm of contemporary moral discourse. It discusses the origins of the 20th- and 21st- century Engaged Buddhist movement, which attempts to construct a new understanding of Buddhism and of Buddhist ethics in a political sphere. The chapter also addresses the degree to which such a modernist movement can be considered Buddhist, the degree of continuity between Engaged Buddhism and earlier Buddhist ethical thought, and the impact of modern Western ethical and political theory on Engaged Buddhism. Special attention is devoted to the work of the 14th Dalai Lama, of Thich Nhat Hanh, and of Sulak Sivaraksa.

Buddhist Ethics as Moral Phenomenology

This chapter explains Buddhist ethics as moral phenomenology, that is, as a theory of the transformation of our moral experience of ourselves, others, and the world. It compares Buddhist “input ethics” to Western “output ethics” and explains how Buddhist practice aims at developing a less pathological, less egocentric view of our place in the world by cultivating a sense of interdependence. The discussion is grounded in Śāntideva’s Bodhicāryāvatāra, and explores his insights on anger, aversion, vice, and generosity. Śāntideva argues for the importance of developing our moral self-awareness, and changing the way we view suffering, both of ourselves and others.