Buddhism and
Morality
Barbara O'Brien March 06,
2017 ThoughtCo.
An Introduction to the
Buddhist Approach to Morality
How do Buddhists approach
morality? Western culture seems at war with itself over moral
values. On one side are those who believe one lives a moral life by
following rules handed down by tradition and religion. This group
accuses the other side of being "relativists" without values. Is
this a legitimate dichotomy, and where does Buddhism fit into
it?
"Dictatorship of
Relativism"
Shortly before he was named
Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said,
"Relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by
every wind of teaching, looks like the only attitude acceptable to
today’s standards… We are moving toward a dictatorship of
relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and has
as its highest value one’s own ego and one’s own
desires."
This statement is
representative of those who believe that morality requires
following external rules. According to this view, the only other
arbiter of morality is "one's own ego and one's own desires," and
of course ego and desire will lead us to very bad
behavior.
If you look for them, you
can find essays and sermons all over the Web that decry the heresy
of "relativism" and insist that we humans, flawed as we are, cannot
be trusted to make moral decisions on our own. The religious
argument, of course, is that the external moral rules are God's law
and must be obeyed in all circumstances without
question.
Buddhism -
Freedom Through Discipline
The Buddhist view is that
moral behavior flows naturally from mastering one's ego and desires
and cultivating loving kindness (metta) and compassion
(karuna).
The foundation teaching of
Buddhism, expressed in the Four Noble Truths, is that the stress
and unhappiness of life (dukkha) is caused by our desires and
ego-clinging.
The "program," if you will,
for letting go of desire and ego is the Eightfold Path. Ethical
conduct -- through speech, action, and livelihood -- is part of the
path, as are mental discipline -- through concentration and
mindfulness -- and wisdom.
The Buddhist Precepts are
sometimes compared to the Ten Commandments of the Abrahamic
religions.
However, the Precepts are
not commandments, but principles, and it is up to us to determine
how to apply these principles to our lives. Certainly, we receive
guidance from our teachers, clergy, scriptures and other Buddhists.
We are also mindful of the laws of karma. As my first Zen teacher
used to say, "what you do is what happens to you."
The Theravada Buddhist
teacher Ajahn Chah said,
"We can bring the practice
all together as morality, concentration, and wisdom. To be
collected, to be controlled, this is morality. The firm
establishing of the mind within that control is concentration.
Complete, overall knowledge within the activity in which we are
engaged is wisdom. The practice, in brief, is just morality,
concentration, and wisdom, or in other words, the path. There is no
other way."
The Buddhist
Approach to Morality
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a
professor of theology and a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition,
explains,
"There are no moral
absolutes in Buddhism and it is recognized that ethical
decision-making involves a complex nexus of causes and conditions.
'Buddhism' encompasses a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices,
and the canonical scriptures leave room for a range of
interpretations.
All of these are grounded
in a theory of intentionality, and individuals are encouraged to
analyze issues carefully for themselves. ... When making moral
choices, individuals are advised to examine their
motivation--whether aversion, attachment, ignorance, wisdom, or
compassion--and to weigh the consequences of their actions in light
of the Buddha's teachings."
Buddhist practice, which
includes meditation, liturgy (chanting), mindfulness and
self-reflection, make this possible. The path requires sincerity,
discipline, and self-honesty, and it is not easy. Many fall short.
But I would say the Buddhist record of moral and ethical behavior,
while not perfect, compares more than favorably to that of any
other religion.
The "Rules"
Approach
In his book The Mind of
Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics, Robert Aitken Roshi said
(p.17), "The absolute position, when isolated, omits human details
completely.
Doctrines, including
Buddhism, are meant to be used. Beware of them taking life of their
own, for then they use us."
The controversy over using
embryonic stem cells provides a good example of what Aitken Roshi
meant. A moral code that values surplus, eight-cell frozen
blastocysts over children and adults who are sick and suffering is
self-evidently screwy. But because our culture is fixated on the
idea that morality means following rules, even people who see the
screwiness of the rules have a hard time arguing against
them.
Many atrocities perpetrated
in the world today -- and in the past -- have some connection to
religion. Nearly always, such atrocities require putting dogma
ahead of humanity; suffering becomes acceptable, even righteous, if
it is caused in the name of faith or God's law.
There is no justification
in Buddhism for causing others to suffer for Buddhism.
A False
Dichotomy
The notion that there are
only two approaches to morality -- you either follow the rules or
you are a hedonist with no moral compass -- is a false one. There
are many approaches to morality, and these approaches should be
judged by their fruits -- whether their overall effect is
beneficial or harmful.
A strictly dogmatic
approach, applied without conscience, humanity or compassion, often
is harmful.
To quote St. Augustine
(354-430), from his seventh homily on the First Epistle of
John:
"Once for all, then, a
short precept is given you: Love, and do what you will: whether you
hold your peace, through love hold your peace; whether you cry out,
through love cry out; whether you correct, through love correct;
whether you spare, through love do you spare: let the root of love
be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is
good."