The Nature of Buddhist Ethics PDF
Preview The Nature of Buddhist Ethics
THE NATURE OF BUDDHIST ETHICS The Nature of Buddhist Ethics Damien Keown Lecturer in Indinn Religion Goldsmiths' College, University of London Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978-1-349-22094-6 ISBN 978-1-349-22092-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22092 © Damien Keown 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover Ist edition 1992 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly and Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 First published in the United States of America in 1992 ISBN 978-0-312-07905-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Keown, Damien, 1951- The nature of Buddhist ethics / Damien Keown. p. em. Revision of thesis (Ph. D.)-Oxford. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-312-07905-5 1. Buddhist ethics. I. Title. BJ1289.K44 1992 294.3'5-dc20 91-47931 CIP For my parents VijjiicaraIJa-sampanno so seftho devamanuse 'The one who is perfect in knowledge and conduct is supreme among gods and men' Contents Preface viii List of Abbreviations x 1 The Study of Buddhist Ethics 1 2 Aspects of SUa 25 3 Ethics and Psychology 57 4 The Transcendency Thesis 83 5 Ethics and Soteriology 107 6 Ethics in the Mahayana 129 7 Buddhism and Utilitarianism 165 8 Buddhism and Aristotle 193 Conclusion 229 Notes 233 Bibliography 251 General Index 261 Index of Names 267 vii Preface This book is a revised version of my Oxford D.Phil dissertation. Although intended primarily as a contribution to Buddhist studies I hope it will also be of interest to students of religious ethics and comparative religious ethics. In revising the text I have tried to make it as 'user-friendly' as possible to the non-specialist in Buddhism by using English translations wherever possible for technical terms and the names of texts. In addition, Chapter 1 provides something of an overview of the particular problems in Buddhist ethics and the approaches of previous writers. This should provide orientation as well as indicating where my own position differs from the interpretations offered so far. In spite of this there remain many technical concepts and problems which are unique to Buddhist ethics and which cannot simply be 'translated away'. I can only hope that the more arcane parts of the discussion will not be too much of a deterrent to the reader who wishes to come to terms with the fundamental issues. Readers with a background in Buddhism but not ethics may find some of the ethical concepts employed here unfamiliar, or at least a little odd in the context of Buddhism. I have therefore provided a basic exposition of the principal features of the two ethical systems which I consider as having at least a 'family resemblance' to Buddhist ethics, namely Utilitarianism (under which I include Situation Ethics) and Aristotelianism. Ethicists may find some of this discussion elementary, and if so I suggest that they pass over this material which will be found at the beginning of each of the last two chapters. My reason for including it is that in much previous work on Buddhist ethics - as may be seen in Chapter 1 - ethical terminology has been bandied around rather freely and with a lack of precision. In attempting to come to terms with the basic structure of Buddhist ethics I have found it necessary to go back to basics and distinguish the various forms of ethical theories such as Utilitarianism before attempting to determine whether such characterisations can be successfully applied to Buddhism. This book is basically an attempt to pursue in a sustained way some problems which have hovered around the fringes of Bud dhist studies for far too long. Although they have been regularly viii Preface ix swept under the carpet they have never really gone away. Like many 'minor' questions they have in the end required a major reassessment of views which had passed into orthodoxy before their credentials were properly examined. In approaching Buddh ism through its ethics I have been obliged to reassess the meaning and relationship of many basic Buddhist doctrines such as the Eightfold Path, nirvana, karma, the 'aggregates', and of the role of meditation. Even if my own reinterpretation of some of these doctrines turns out to be wide of the mark, I hope that the book will at least target the problem areas and attract serious attention to the study of Buddhist ethics. In terms of style I have adopted the policy that words recognised by my wordprocessor - such as 'nirvana' and 'karma' - have passed into the English language. They are therefore not italicised, although their less familiar Pali counterparts (nibbiina and kamma) are. The Pali and Sanskrit forms of words are used interchangeably as the context demands, although Pali forms predominate. Trans lations without attribution are my own. Finally, I would like to record my thanks to Richard Gombrich, Alexis Sanderson and Paul Williams for their unstinting help and assistance during my postgraduate studies; to my students for asking awkward questions, and to Jo for encouraging me to get the thesis into print. List of Abbreviations A Anguttara-Nikaya AA Anguttara-Ni kaya-AUhakathd Adhs Abhidharmasamuccaya Abhs Abhidhammattha-sangaha ~ta A~tasahasrika-prajfulpdramitd Asl Atthasdlinf Bhd~ya Abhidharmakosa-bhd~ya BCA Bodhicarydvatdra BJS Brahmajdla SiUra Bo.BhU Bodhisattva-bhumi Collection Sflakkhandavagga BPMS Bodhisattva-Prdtimo~a-Sutra D Dfgha-Nikdya DA Dfgha-Nikdya-AUhakathd D.An De Anima Dh Dhammapada Dhs Dhamma-Sanganf DhSam Dharma-Samuccaya Dialogues Dfgha-Nikaya tr. Dfpa Abhidharmadfpa EB Encyclopedia of Buddhism EE Eudemian Ethics HOS Harvard Oriental Series IHQ Indian Historical Quarterly JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion Jewel The Jewel Ornament of Liberation JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society JRE Journal of Religious Ethics Kosa Abhidharmakosa Kvu Kathdvatthu Lank Lankavatdra-sutra M Majjhima-Nikaya Matt Matthew MA Majjhima-Nikaya-AUhakathd M.Av Madhyamakavatdra Madhu Madhuratthavildsinf x
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