Transcript Buddhist Ethics - NCC Courses: Dr. Sarah B. Fowler

THE FOUR NOBLE
TRUTHS
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
The Four Stages
1. “blissful stage of meditation”
2. “beyond reasoning”
3. “attentive & conscious, with
equal mind to joy or aversion”
4. “beyond pain & pleasure, with
equal mind to joy and aversion”
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Noble Truth of Pain
• Birth, age, sickness, death,
sorrow & despair are painful.
The Noble Truth of the Cause of
Pain
• It is craving, which leads to
rebirth, pleasure & passion,
existence & non-existence.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Noble Truth of the Cessation
of Pain
• It is the cessation of craving
without remainder, forsaking
detachment and release from it.
The Noble Truth that of the Way
that leads to the Cessation of
Pain
• It is the Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path
1. Right Views
– Give the knowledge of Pain, its
Cause, Cessation & the Path
2. Right Motive
– Gives aspiration to renunciation &
benevolence
3. Right Speech
– Abstains from lies and slander
4. Right Action
– Abstains from stealing, killing &
self-indulgence.
The Noble Eightfold Path
5. Right Livelihood
– Follows right pursuits
6. Right Effort
– Turns against evil states and
towards good
7. Right Mindfulness
– Looks on mind & body with selfcontrol
8. Right Contemplation
– Rises above evil and abides in
equanimity & bliss
“I have found the deathless and
teach the truth …”
Why is the body not the soul?
• Because it is subject to sickness
It is the same with the feelings,
perception, elements &
consciousness.
• Because they are impermanent
& painful
The Buddha does not a teach a
dogma to follow …
The religious life does not depend on
dogmas concerning whether the
world is or is not eternal. Or finite –
or infinite. Why not?
• Because birth, old age, death, sorrow,
lamentation, misery and despair still
exist.
• These are what the Buddha is
addressing.
“Bear in mind what I have not
explained and what I have explained.”
• The questions you ask lead away from
the path.
Buddhist Ethics
Buddhist Ethics
• Essentially, according to Buddhist
teachings, the ethical and moral
principles are governed by examining
whether a certain action, whether
connected to body or speech is likely
to be harmful to one's self or to others
and thereby avoiding any actions
which are likely to be harmful.
• In Buddhism, there is much talk of a
skilled mind. A mind that is skilful
avoids actions that are likely to cause
suffering or remorse.
Buddhist Ethics
Moral conduct for Buddhists differs
according to whether it applies to the
laity or to the Sangha or clergy.
• A lay Buddhist should cultivate good
conduct by training in what are known
as the "Five Precepts".
• These are not like, say, the ten
commandments, which, if broken,
entail punishment by God.
• The five precepts are training rules,
which, if one were to break any of
them, one should be aware of the
breech and examine how such a
breech may be avoided in the future.
Buddhist Ethics
• The resultant of an action (often
referred to as Karma) depends on the
intention more than the action itself.
• It entails less feelings of guilt than its
Judeo-Christian counterpart.
• Buddhism places a great emphasis on
'mind' and it is mental anguish such as
remorse, anxiety, guilt etc. which is to
be avoided in order to cultivate a calm
and peaceful mind.
• The five precepts are:
The five precepts are: 1 & 2
1) To undertake the training to avoid
taking the life of beings. This precept
applies to all living beings not just
humans. All beings have a right to their
lives and that right should be
respected.
2) To undertake the training to avoid
taking things not given. This precept
goes further than mere stealing. One
should avoid taking anything unless
one can be sure that is intended that it
is for you.
The five precepts are: 3 & 4
3) To undertake the training to avoid
sensual misconduct. This precept is
often mistranslated or misinterpreted
as relating only to sexual misconduct
but it covers any overindulgence in any
sensual pleasure such as gluttony as
well as misconduct of a sexual nature.
4) To undertake the training to refrain
from false speech. As well as avoiding
lying and deceiving, this precept
covers slander as well as speech which
is not beneficial to the welfare of
others.
The five precepts are: 5
5) To undertake the training to abstain
from substances which cause
intoxication and heedlessness.
– This precept is in a special category
as it does not infer any intrinsic evil
in, say, alcohol itself but indulgence
in such a substance could be the
cause of breaking the other four
precepts.