The Place of Ethics in Buddhism

In normative ethics, there are two main approaches in which can be used to understand the scope of ethics. They are,

- Teleological theory
- Deontological theory

The consequences of an action are concerned in teleological theory. Deontological theory does not concern about the consequences of an action and it is focused on doing duty for the sake of duty. Buddhist ethics are related to teleological theory. But it has some characteristics of utilitarianism which studies under deontological theory. Mainly, Buddhist ethics are focused on the final goal of nibbāna.

Buddhist ethics leads a person towards achieving nibbāna as a way of discipline which ease of the path to nibbāna. The whole teaching of Buddhist ethics is based on attaining liberation. Buddhist ethics can be discussed under three basic teachings.

- Personal identity
- Free will
- Rebirth concept

Personal identity is very important in ethics since if there is not a personal identity or a being called a ‘person’, then there is no use of ethics. For that the existence of a being should be accepted. When it comes to Buddhist perspective on the personal identity, it is divided into two levels called conventional reality and ultimate reality.
In the conventional reality there are things which can consider as me and mine. That ongoing process should be there to make the process of the world. There should be a practical world which can be seen and then only we can discuss about ethical values. For that Buddhism accepts the conventional world. When it comes to the ultimate reality it describes that there is nothing called a person or material things. Only there is something which consists of matter, feeling, senses, good and bad actions and consciousness. But they are always changing. It is unable to access a personal identity and it is meaningless. Therefore, there is not a person or a thing as such since the five aggregates are in a dynamic process.

Personal identity is essential in order to established ethical norms. Otherwise there would be no one to take moral obligations. Then the responsibility of a person and moral obligation would be meaningless topics. When there is not the subject matter of personality, there cannot be moral obligation too.

There should be a personal identity in the conventional reality. To illustrate, suppose someone planned a holiday with another one couple of days ago and now they are spending the holidays together. If there is not a personal identity, then there cannot be an identity between the person who was invited to spend the holiday and the person who is spending the holiday. In other words, the person who is living at 9 pm is a result of the person who lived at 7 am in the morning. When it comes to the practical world, there should be a personal identity in order to deal with the things in the conventional world.

Furthermore, freewill which means the ability to do things without any fear or force is another fundamental fact in Buddhist ethics. According to the kālāma sutta which was preached to the kālāmas who were doubted the ways in which one could gain knowledge, the Buddha has appreciated free will. In kālāma sutta the Buddha has mentioned ten conditions which should not merely neither accept nor reject. “In his address to the kālāmas and to Bhaddiya Liccavi, where he criticizes six ways of knowing based on authority and four ways of knowing based on reason may turn out to be true o false” (Jayathilake, Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, 1980, p. 416). The Buddha has stated that “one should accept a proposition as true only when one has ‘personal knowledge’ of it, taking into account the views of the wise” (Jayathilake, Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, 1980, p. 416). Therefore, it is clear that the Buddha has emphasized the importance of using free-will than forceful extremist methods.

Moreover, the concept of rebirth has a high impact towards Buddhist ethics. “Though some assume that the doctrine of karma is a metaphysical doctrine, it is actually a psychological principle or a law of causation as applied to a series of mental events” (Dharmasiri, 1998, p. 15). Whenever a person generates bad thoughts and if that person continuously generates bad thoughts, then it created bad consequences. If a person generates good thoughts, then it further creates good consequences. Every living creature is attached to the circle of samsāra. To illustrate, every living creature that lives in this world has had previous lives which had created according to their karmic power and there will be future lives which will be created according to the karmic action which they are doing in the present. The karma creates according to the good and bad actions, thoughts etc. it is now clear that the rebirth concept also binds with the ethical values in Buddhist thought.
According to Buddhism, sīla or the discipline is the basis of ethics since it controls the things we say and the things we do. For that one should culminate good behavior within them. There are three unjustifiable actions that people do as prānaghāta (killing), adattādānaya, kāmamityācāraya (sexual misconduct). When it comes to the improper usage of words, there are four types that people do misconduct. They are musāvādā, parusāvācāvā, pisunāvācāvā and sampappalāpā. Sīla (discipline or morality) and paňňā (wisdom) have an interconnection.

In sonadanda sutta, Sonadanda Brahmin suggested five qualities that one should have to have in order to be a Brahmin as caste, color bar Vedic knowledge, morality and wisdom. Afterwards, Sonadanda Brahmin removes one by one from the above mentioned qualities as a reply for the questions that was asked by the Buddha. Nevertheless, he could not remove Sīla (discipline or morality) and paññā (wisdom). According to the Buddha, if a person has morality, but he does not have wisdom he could become a cunning person. If a person has wisdom, but does not have morality, then he could become an idiot. This shows the interconnection between the Sīla (discipline or morality) and paññā (wisdom) that acts as the two sides of a coin.

Buddhist ethics can be classified into several categories. They are,
- Religious ethics
- Social ethics
- Political ethics
- Economical ethics

Buddhist religious ethics teaches people to live without having conflicts. It is mentioned as ‘na kenaci loke viggaiha titthati’. It improves the values and leads people towards a virtuous life. Buddhist ethics encourage people to use ethical ways to develop their life. It can be categorized under several sub sections as purisakāra which means human effort, attakāra which means personal effort, purisāthāma which means human strength, purisa vīriya which means human courage, purisa parakkama which means human adventure and purisa dhoraiha which means human responsibilities.

Furthermore, the main thing in Buddhist ethics is it respects all the other religions and the leaders of those religions. Buddhism was aimed to develop wisdom of the people in accordance with the morality. Therefore, they could understand what to believe by themselves. It is stated in kālāma sutta that “one should accept a proposition as true only when one has ‘personal knowledge’ of it. Taking into account the views of the wise” (Jayathilake, Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, 1963, p. 416).

Buddhist social ethics was introduced to both clergy and lay people in order to make strong social contacts and to develop the society. The five precepts could improve many qualities of people.  Mahā mangala sutta has emphasized on maintaining internal and external relationships. Many issues in the contemporary society have arisen because of violating those conditions. Sigālovāda sutta describes how people should do their duties and responsibilities. Parābhava sutta and vasala sutta describes how people be ignoble in the society. One should have to have yonisomanasikāraya which means that being awareness of the present moment in order to control inconveniences.
Political ethics is a major section in Buddhist ethics. Cakkavatisīhanāda sutta, kutadanta sutta, ten royal virtues and ideal kingship describes political ethics. Buddhist ethics have mainly focused on the ways in which citizen’s can be treated by the rulers and on the relationship between the king and citizens.

Economical ethics are mainly discussed under sigālovāda sutta as the duties and responsibilities that should have to have between the seller and the consumer. If people violate these rules there arose several illegal unethical issues as satta vaṇijjā which means sell animals for meat for labor, sattha vaṇijjā which means weapon businesses, viṣa vaṇijjā which means poison selling, māṃsa vaṇijjā which means selling meats and majja vaṇijjā which means selling drugs. One should divide his profit into several parts as gñāti bali (treat for the relatives), athti bali (treat guests), pubbapeta bali (give merits for those who have already dead), rāja bali (pay taxes) and devatā bali (give merits for gods).

References

Chandavimala thero, R. (2005). Buddha Nithi Sangrahaya. Pokunuvita: Sri Vinayalankaramaya.
Dammadassi thero, A., Wijithadamma thero, M., & Mahinda thero, A. (Eds.). (2016). Prabuddha. Wadduwa: Sri Lanka Pali Granta Samagama.
Dharmasiri, G. (1998). Fundamentals of Buddhist Ethics. Central, Sri Lanka: Paramita International Buddhist Society Ltd.
Jayathilake, K. N. (1963). Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge. New Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass.
Saddatissa, H. (2016). Facets of Buddhism. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.