Buddhist Morality – Why it is
Different from Other Religions
While
moral sense is
an inborn quality in each of us, this faculty varies from person to
person. Good and bad are inherent in our nature though we would
consciously consider certain moral qualities to be good and others
to be bad. Why then are
there so many varying patterns of moral behavior existing in this
world? Why are there so many conflicting moral standards
contradicting each other offered by different religions? One can
conclude that the differences in the moral systems lies with each
religion issuing different standards for judging what is considered
to be good and what is bad. Some also prescribe specific limits and
roles for the various moral virtues and values that do not give a
balanced and coherent plan on social conduct. It is also
because of the way they place man and their purpose on
earth.
Some religions
think that what is declared in their Holy books should be
universally accepted as they are the Words of a Supreme
unfathomable being. It should never be questioned but obeyed by
all. It is moral laws that emphasize on the purity and sanctity on
what their God commands even if the commands are contradictory. We
see in these God-centred religions preaching of love and
forgiveness on the one hand and in the same breath handing out
death sentences and tortures of the most brutal manners
on
wrong doers. They sanction or command murder, rape, torture,
slavery, ethnic cleansing, and genocide on unbelievers.
They condemn homosexual behavior as immoral because it is God
command rather than whether such acts is causing harm to
anyone.
These religions besides having a God-centred moral system, is also
human-centred. It is where all things created by their God are
considered to be resources for the human race’s use, consumption
and pleasure. It is not an eco friendly system and is exploitative
of other living beings and also nature as a
whole.
The morality here is based on complete subservient, obedience and
fear of punishments and also a promise of reward in the afterlife.
Subservient and total obedience would be fine if there are no
contradictory exceptions present in their commandments. But there
are plenty of these where one is license or command to act upon.
What can happen is, with total surrender and submission to a higher
Supreme Being, an individual can be merciless, ruthless or
unfeeling in carrying out such exceptions. There is no compassion
shown, no quarter given to the victims even if such acts are
completely bad or evil. The most visible form of these evils can be
seen in the act of suicide bombers indiscriminately taking away
innocent lives because of a promise of paradise in the afterlife.
The more recent example is the trading of human lives into slavery
for just a pack of cigarettes as is reported in the way the IS
treats their captives.
In the Hindu faith, morality is largely determined by the social
environment. It is descriptive relativism in nature, with ethical
practices hand down from ancestors. It is castes based and also
depend on one’s stage in life with each caste having their own sets
of duties to follow.
How
fast one reach the final goal of moksha depends on how much good
works one have perform within the caste they are born
into.
The Buddhist moral and ethical system can best be label as
Life-centred. It is a system that believes in radiating
‘unconditional love’ to all living beings and nature. One can see
this Life-centred system in the verses of the Karaniya Metta Sutta
(SN 1.8). It is the Buddha's Words on the subject of
Loving-Kindness. Together with SN 55.7, the Veludyvareyya Sutta, a
good guideline is available for the practice of Buddhist
morality.
Also in the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta (AN 10.176), the Buddha speaks
of what is Unskillful Bodily Action as follows:
"And how is one made impure in three ways by bodily action? There
is the case where a certain person takes life, is a hunter,
bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy
to living beings. He takes what is not given. He takes, in the
manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong
to others and have not been given by them. He engages in sensual
misconduct. He gets sexually involved with those who are protected
by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters,
their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who
entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another
man. This is how one is made impure in three ways by bodily
action”.
The Blessed One, the Buddha, expounded the Veludyvareyya
Sutta, the Discourse to the
People of Bamboo Gate as follows:
Here, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus: 'I am one who
wishes to live, who does not wish to die; I desire happiness and am
averse to suffering. Since I am one who wishes to live, who does
not wish to die; who desires happiness and is averse to suffering;
if someone were to take my life that would not be pleasing and
agreeable to me. Now if I were to take the life of another -- of
one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die, who desires
happiness and is averse to suffering--that would not be pleasing
and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and
disagreeable to me is displeasing and disagreeable to the other
too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and
disagreeable to me?' Having reflected thus, he himself abstains
from the destruction of life, exhorts others to abstain from the
destruction of life, and speaks in praise of abstinence from the
destruction of life. Thus this bodily conduct of his is purified in
three respects.
The Veludyvareyya Sutta speaks on the subject of the 4 precepts.
Besides the above discourse on why one should not take any form of
lives, it also goes on to speak of the act of not stealing, not
committing wrongful Sex and not using False Speech. This Sutta is
about the ethics of Reciprocity
i.e., ‘Do not do unto others what we do not want others to
do unto us’. It teaches us to train our body and speech in
the threefold purity of - Not breaking the precepts ourselves. Not
causing another to break the precepts and not approving any breach
of these precepts. These rules of training will provide us with the
basic foundation for our mental cultivation with the final goal of
spiritual liberation.
The beauty of the ethic of Reciprocity is that, it
is not dependent on stories, superstitions, beliefs, commandments
or speculative views. And even if one ceases
to believe in the faith, one is in no danger
of our ethics collapsing. It is a teaching that is
universal and applicable to anyone in any age,
place, or culture. It is true in the beginning, the middle and the
end.
The
Karaniya Metta Sutta provides the
basic meditation tool to be used in the cultivation on
loving-kindness. A practitioner will eventually cultivate a mind
that is peaceful, calm and fill with gentleness. This state of mind
will help us to generate goodwill towards all sentient beings. The
understanding and acceptance that our actions, our kamma too will
have consequences to ourselves will also give us the necessary
mental and physical impetus to develop and help in keeping the 5
precepts. The intrinsic quality of loving-kindness would reduce and
quench anyone urge to kill, to steal,
to commit sexual misconduct, to lie, or to indulge in drinks or
drugs. And when we are morally virtuous, it is easier for us to go
deeper into our meditation as we tend to become a calmer
person.
As one start to awaken to the noble truths of suffering, to the
impermanent of all things, so too will our tendency to cling and to
crave. Our ‘Wants’ too, will weakened resulting in us not desiring
to compete for these things. It is a natural self-progression from
there that as our awakening deepens, so too would our intrinsic
wholesome qualities of love, compassion, generosity, contentment,
wholesome communication, mental calmness and clarity become a part
of our habits and natural way of life.
It is said: He
who is possessed of constant virtue, has understanding, and is
concentrated, is strenuous and diligent as well. He will cross the
flood so difficult to cross. - The Buddhist
way.