Fundamental Tenets of Buddhism Ethics

Everything changes; thus, nothing is permanent.

To understand change (anicca) and impermanence (anatta) is to know the starting point of Buddhist ethics, which focuses on a single universal problem: suffering (dhukka).

The Buddha assumed that suffering was a fact and “does not just happen. It arises as a consequence of actions conditioned by attachment and aversion, each of which in turn is engendered by confusion regarding the nature of reality” (Garfield). Thus, the Buddhist ethical system is concerned with solving the problem of suffering.

The first step in solving any problem is to find its source. According to Buddhist beliefs, the source of suffering lies in the unquenchable desire of people for things which will never satisfy them, causing dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction, which is ignored by the majority of people, causes suffering. Thus, the solution and goal of Buddhist ethics is liberation from suffering, also known as ‘enlightenment.’

Anything a Buddhist does is ultimately for the attainment of enlightenment. Thus, the fundamental tenets of Buddhist ethics focus on a morality that will lead to enlightenment. However, according to Buddhist ethics, morality is only the first step of the path to enlightenment. Like any building or journey, this foundation of morality must be created and then built upon in order to attain the final goal of freedom from suffering. “Conduct, though essential, is itself insufficient to gain one’s emancipation. It should be coupled with wisdom or knowledge” (Thera). Thus, Buddhist ethics begins with conduct.

Conduct is the way a person acts morally or ethically. In Buddhism, knowing how to act comes from a basic understanding of karma, which is the Buddhist reason for moral conduct. In Buddhist beliefs, there is no higher powers (such as a god) dictating action. Any differences in life – whether a person experiences pain or pleasure, whether a living being is a rat or a human – are dictated and can be explained by karma.

Karma means “action,” but more specifically, karma “is intentional, conscious, deliberate, willful action” (“The Law of Karma”). Thus, a Buddhist believes that, due to karma, any action has a reaction which is similar to the original act.

Since not all actions are alike, there are three varieties of karma: wholesome (kushala), unwholesome (akushala), and neutral.  Wholesome karma (kushala) is normally considered ‘good’ karma, but to a Buddhist, kushala means ‘skillful’ action.  These actions help others or oneself; they are not considered to cause suffering.  Skillful actions come in two forms: either “avoiding the unwholesome actions . . . . [Or] the list of wholesome actions that includes generosity, good conduct, meditation, reverence, service, transference of merits, rejoicing in the merit of others, hearing the Dharma, teaching the Dharma and straightening of one’s own views” (“The Law of Karma”).  On the other hand, unwholesome karma (akushala) is normally considered ‘bad’ karma, or ‘not skillful’ action.  These actions do cause suffering. 

“Specifically, the unwholesome actions which are to be avoided relate to the three doors or means of action, and these are body, speech and mind.  There are three unwholesome actions of the body, four of speech and three of mind that are to be avoided.  The three unwholesome actions of body that are to be avoided are killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.  The four unwholesome actions of speech that are to be avoided are lying, slander, harsh speech and malicious gossip.  The three unwholesome actions of mind that are to be avoided are greed, anger and delusion” (“The Law of Karma”).

Although skillful and unskillful karma are considered the primary varieties of karma, there is one lesser known: neutral (ineffective) karma.  Neutral karma has no consequences because the action itself has no consequence or the action is done involuntarily or unintentionally (“The Law of Karma”).  For example, if a bank teller is forced at gunpoint to take money from the bank and give it to robbers, the teller’s act is considered neutral because it is involuntarily done.

In order to categorize an action as a type of karma, Buddhist philosophers must study the conditions of the action itself. The conditions that modify the karma of an action are: persistence, intention, regrets, and to whom the action was done.

If the action was done with persistence or great intention, it furthers the weight of the karma towards skillful or unskillful action. If an unskillful action was done with little regret, the weight of the action is furthered more towards unskillful (or vice versa). If the action was done to someone with special qualities or someone who had been noteworthy in the past, the action is furthered again.

The “Buddha taught that only things which a person had deliberately done would effect their karma (and any rebirth)” (Richards). Thus, out of all the modifying conditions, intention is the most important. Intention is believed to give meaning to action, even when the result is not what was intended to happen. For example, a person can intend to do a skillful action by giving things to a family in financial trouble, but the family may not want that kindness. Thus, even though the family may become upset at the person, the intention is still considered skillful. The opposite is also true: if a person meant to kill a woman but instead only harmed her, the intent is still unskillful in nature despite the less harmful consequences.

It is also by these examples that it is evident how karmic consequences are communal in nature; a person’s actions affect others around them and, in turn, will affect indefinitely many other people. A good example comes from the movie Pay It Forward. In the movie, a young boy attempts to make the world better by issuing a statement of ‘pay it forward’ instead of ‘pay me back;’ instead of having someone owe him a debt, the person he helped is to help three other people. It is not evident to the little boy in the movie that his original act of helping a drug addict makes the world better. However, after several good deeds have been performed by the various characters that do pay it forward, a reporter (and recipient of a good deed) traces the entire scheme back to this little boy. As this occurs, the boy is killed by a schoolmate during a fight; the manifestation of his idea comes with his death: hundreds of people, upon hearing the boy’s story from the reporter, flock to the boy’s house and, to the shock of his mother and schoolteacher, stand in a candlelight vigil. The ending scene is of a seemingly endless band of car lights into the horizon coming towards the boy’s home. Thus, like the idea of “pay it forward,” karma affects an indefinite amount of people.

“Essentially, according to Buddhist teachings, the ethical and moral principles are governed by examining whether a certain action . . . is likely to be harmful to one’s self or to others and thereby avoiding actions which are likely to be harmful” (“Buddhist Ethics” Buddhanet.net).

Actions are further examined through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which I have detailed separately in this Hub due to their complexity.

In summation, Buddhist ethics is concerned with a problem: suffering.  Morality, in its many forms, is designed to create a sense of peace and stability within the practitioner.  However, the terms ‘peace’ and ‘stability’ can mean different things due to each individual’s interpretation of them.  “The Buddhist tradition acknowledges that life is complex and throws up many difficulties, and it does not suggest that there is a single course of action that will be right in all circumstances” (“Buddhist Ethics” FWBO).  Thus, in Buddhism, there is no single course of action but rather dimensions of conduct that give guidelines for daily life without explicitly stating every right or wrong action.  Also, unlike many other moral traditions, Buddhism is adjustable.  “Before his passing, the Buddha instructed that permission was granted for the abandonment or adjustment of minor rules should prevailing conditions demand such a change” (“Buddhist Ethics” Buddhanet.net).  Thus, the point of practicing Buddhist ethics lies in karma and the attainment of freedom from suffering rather than in prescribing to set actions or responses to actions.  By acting wholesomely as defined in the Eightfold Path, an individual can hope to increase their wholesome karma and become closer to freedom from suffering.  This system does not expect the ideal of perfect wholesome action, but rather encourages it because wholesome action leads to freedom and enlightenment.  Through being devoid of a set course of action and possessing a sense that the world changes and minor rules should be adjusted according to those changes, Buddhist ethics is a unique system.  It embraces all of humanity, but it is not impossible to follow due to high standards; it is also, unlike many other religions, devoid of specific taboos (Richards). 

            Instead of elaborate codes of forbidden indulgences and evil deeds, the fundamental tenets of Buddhist ethics, as explained in the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts, and the four jhāna, provide a way to understand and free an individual from the problem of suffering.  Although there are many texts which refer to specific wholesome or unwholesome actions, these twenty-one or so fundamental tenets of Buddhist ethics provide a comprehensive yet achievable end to freedom from suffering.  In the Dhammapada, the main ethical text in Buddhism, is the best way to sum up Buddhist ethics:

“Not to do any evil, to do good,

To purify one’s mind, this is the teaching of the Buddhas” (Gunasekara).

“Buddhist Ethics.” Buddhanet.net 2005. BuddhaNet: Buddha Dharma Education Association. 6 July 2006.

“Buddhist Ethics.” The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. FWBO. 6 July 2006.

Garfield, Jay L. “Buddhist Ethics.” Smith College. The University of Melbourne Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. 6 July 2006.

“The Law of Karma.” Buddhanet.net 2005. BuddhaNet: Buddha Dharma Education Association. 6 July 2006.

Richards, Stephen A. “Buddhist Ethics: An Introduction.” www.faithnet.org.uk 2006. Pelusa Media Group. 6 July 2006.

Thera, Narada. “Is Buddhism an ethical system?” Buddhism in a Nutshell. BuddhaNet: Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. 6 July 2006.