The Nature of Buddhist Ethics

274 Pages·1992·26.55 MB·English

by  Damien Keown (auth.)

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