SUEKI Fumihiko, Buddhism vs. Ethics

[This is my translation of 仏教vs倫理 (Buddhism vs. Ethics) by Sueki Fumihiko. I had previously released an internally printed version, but this is the final print publication. This file includes the Translator's Introduction and Preface. The full book is available on amazon for less than $11. Also see https://www.createspace.com/6783463 ] In this book, Sueki discusses the difficult relationship between religion and ethics. He understands ethics as something fundamentally tied to inter-human relationships, which presumes mutual intelligibility. How then do we relate to the "other"--that which cannot be reduced to our comprehension? How do we relate to other cultures, other genders, or even ourselves as unintelligible others? How do we relate with the kami, buddhas, and the dead? Sueki refers to this as the problem of "trans-ethics." He argues that it is religion that has constantly tried to focus on this relationship with the other. In the case of Buddhism, this involves attempts to construct ethics, difficulties with ethics, and transcendence beyond ethics.In particular, he highlights the possible role of the much maligned "funeral Buddhism" in such a Buddhist counter-position to ethics.

Journal of Religious Ethics, 2011

I argue that three recent studies (Imagining the Life Course, by Nancy Eberhardt; Sensory Biographies, by Robert Desjarlais; and How to Behave, by Anne Hansen) advance the field of Buddhist Ethics in the direction of the empirical study of morality. I situate their work within a larger context of moral anthropology, that is, the study of human nature in its limits and capacities for moral agency. Each of these books offers a finely grained account of particular and local Buddhist ways of interpreting human life and morality, and each explores complex conceptions of moral agency. I suggest that these three studies share similar interests in moral psychology, the human being across time, the intersubjective dimensions of moral experience, and what life within a karmic framework looks like. I propose that their contributions offer some of the most refreshing and interesting work generated in Buddhist ethics in the last decade.

2004

This article surveys two sources of ethics in Therāvada Buddhism. Firstly, it briefly surveys the texts that record the process of the proclamation of training rules. Secondly, it investigates the main events which provoked proclamation. This process of setting down an ethical standard itself emerges from both an intuitive sense of ethics held by society and the realized ethics of the Buddha. Further, though the proclamation of the 227 vows is designed to restrain physical and verbal action, the underlying purpose of the vows is to control the mind’s motivating unethical action. This survey will show that of the three roots of ignorance, aversion, and attachment, the vows are primarily directed to eliminating the root of attachment. The Buddha’s declaration of ethical rules was seen as one of his two fundamental responsibilities. He states in the Suttavibhaṅga: “The enlightened ones, the lords, question the monks concerning two matters, either ‘Shall we teach dhamma?’ or ‘Shall we d...

Keynote lecture delivered at conference on ‘Contemporary Perspectives on Buddhist Ethics’, Columbia University, New York, October 6th 2011.

 Hanthana Philosophy E-Journal Volume II, University of Peradeniya, 2023

The proposition is divided into certain themes for the clearance of conveying and comparing different opinions regarding what it is indicated by Buddhists ethics. In order to identify what Buddhist implications regarding ethics are, the study has referred several suttas from sutta Piṭaka as primary texts. Secondly, several highlighted arguments held by the respective scholars have also been subjected to consideration throughout the study. Lastly, this article discusses how each of their arguments and assumptions become align and differs from different angles. Literature Review P.D.Premasiri in his article to Encyclopedia of Buddhism has given a broader perspective on ethics in Buddhism and there he mainly discuss about the terminology that is relevant with what it indicate by Buddhist ethics. One of his well noted arguments is his disagreement with the S.Tachibana"s interpretation on good and evil. Tachibana asserts that the Buddhist enlightened individual is above good and evil. According to P.D. Premasiri, Tachibana's interpretation of the pertinent pāli words that lead him to make these claims is completely inaccurate. (Premasiri 1990, 145). Contrary to Tachibana's theory, Premasiri pointed out that there is sufficient evidence in Buddhist texts to demonstrate that the ultimate knowledge acknowledged in Buddhism serves a moral purpose and also serves to eradicate evil inclinations. (Premasiri 1990, 145). Premasiri claims that it is difficult to accept Tachibana's claim that perfected saints transcend all moral divisions since, if true, Buddha would have to be different from all moral dispositions once he reached enlightenment. As he claims, after becoming enlightened, Buddha fully asserted the distinction between good and bad, right and wrong, and taught others about this distinction throughout his life. (Premasiri 1990, 145). In his work, "Fundamentals of Buddhist Ethics," Gunapala Dharmasiri asserts that after achieving liberation; the Buddha realized that ethics and insight are the two fundamental routes to enlightenment, giving ethics equal weight with wisdom. (Dharmasiri 2007, 2). He argues that there are four basic categories under which Buddhist teachings can be divided, including morality, which plays a significant role in describing Buddhist ethics. (Dharmasiri 2007, 2). The other three are 2 epistemology, theory of the universe, and Nirvāna. He also discusses the concept of Anattā, the dependent origination theory, and the interconnectedness and interdependence of everything. (Dharmasiri 2007, 18). According to M. Anesaki's "Buddhist Ethics and Morality", moral principles that included in Buddhism reveal clearly their ancestry from the common Hindu mental disposition, and they only slightly differ from the other religious organizations of India. (Anesaki 1912, 1) Meanwhile, he also discovers that Buddhism shows a fundamental difference from Brāhmanic morality in that it does not adhere to social institutions and traditions instead, it seeks the basis of morality from the universal truths that could possibly be experienced only through one's wisdom and attainment. (Anesaki 1912, 1) H.Saddhathissa emphasizes the distinctiveness of the ethical standards upheld by Buddhism. He stresses that any precepts or guidelines followed by monks or laypeople were not arbitrary decreed commandments but rather norms of training that were willingly observed as long as one was aware of their intended use (H.Saddhatissa 1970, 8). Ethical teachings in Buddhism help to develop the mind's capacity to resist sense craving. (H.Saddhatissa 1970, 9). Furthermore, by highlighting some of their aphorisms like "a good man is a happy man", he offers a philosophical investigation into some of the issues that were raised under normative ethics by well-known philosophers like Aristotle in his book "Buddhist Ethics". (H.Saddhatissa 1970, 18). A branch of philosophical ethics known as normative ethics analyzes ethical behavior and looks into issues like how one should behave morally. (Britannica 2023) When considering all of these remarks, it's crucial to keep in mind that although they all referred ideas like morality, the kamma concept, and the eight noble fold paths to describe what Buddhist ethics entail, there have been disputes over the incorrect interpretation of particular terms, which has obscured the true meaning of Buddhist ethics.

Filozofia Publiczna i Edukacja Demokratyczna, 2018

The article attempts to illuminate the ethical perspectives of Buddhism (dividing into four sections) by exploring the true nature of moral elements, which form the foundation of Buddhist philosophy. The ethical concerns of Buddhism give more emphasis on renunciation and a selfless attitude towards constructive and spiritual moral development. All its concerns are related with the problem of human suffering. Only human being's sincere effort can remove human suffering and can attain to a life totally free from all miserable conditions. Human being is enough to become master of all. To understand our action and conduct in every phase of our life is the core element of Buddhist moral principles. Buddhism is a system found wholly characterized by the ethical principle seeking the meaning of life in life itself. It is mainly based on the ethical way of living and prescribes rigorous codes to promote the living of a virtuous life.

Hsi Lai Journal of Humanistic Buddhism, 2000

Humanistic Buddhism may be viewed as Mahayanist interpretation and understanding of the original teachings of the Buddha and the early teachings of Buddhism, not from a sectarian perspective but from the perspective of a teaching that grows and develops in a manner that is integrative and organic. One may come to the opinion, quite correctly in my view, that Humanistic Buddhism derives both from the Buddhist experience in China - what Jonathan Z. Smith terms locative religion - and from the universal or timeless Buddhist experience as derived in the Pali texts - what Smith terms utopian religion. It is to the universal and timeless portion of Humanistic Buddhism that the rest of the paper turns its attention: ethics. The paper compares Judea-Christian ethics with those of the Buddhist tradition and concludes that although the ethics of both traditions are remarkably similar, there are fundamentally different paths and interpretation s that lead to these similarities . The remainder of the paper will discuss these differences, with special emphasis on the significance of Dependent Origination and karma.

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