Being Benevolence: The Social Ethics of Engaged Buddhism

3 Engaged Buddhist Ethical Theory

3 Engaged Buddhist Ethical Theory There has been considerable discussion among scholars of late regarding what kind of ethical system Buddhism has. Much of this discussion has compared Buddhist ethical thinking to the varieties of Western ethical thought. Like Padmasiri de Silva, though even more inclusively, I see elements of most Western ethical theories in the ethics of Buddhism.1 Like James Whitehill and Damien Keown, I give pride of place among these theories to virtue ethics.2 The Dalai Lama gives a good example of how Buddhist ethics includes elements of many ethical systems considered distinct in Western philosophy: [O]ne of the things which determines whether an act is ethical or not is its effect on others’ experience or expectation of happiness. An act which harms or does violence to this is potentially an unethical act. I say potentially because although the consequences of our actions are important, there are other factors to consider, including both the question of intent and the nature of the act itself. We can all think of things which we have done that have upset others, despite the fact that it was by no means our intention to do so. . . . Again, it is not difficult to imagine a case where an individual may suppose their actions to be well intended and directed toward the greater good of others, but where they are in reality totally immoral. Here we might think of a soldier who carries out orders summarily to execute civilian prisoners. Believing the cause to be a just one, this soldier may suppose such actions are directed toward the greater good of humanity. Yet, according to the principle of non-violence I have put forward, such killing would by definition be an unethical act. . . . In other words, the content of our actions is also important in determining whether they are ethical or not, since certain acts are negative by definition. . . . In Tibetan, the term for what is considered to be of the greatest significance in determining the ethical value of a given action is the individual ’s kun long. . . . It . . . denotes the individual’s overall state of heart and mind.3 Engaged Buddhist Ethical Theory • 43 This one passage contains elements of teleology (‘‘an act which harms or does violence . . . is potentially an unethical act’’), deontology (‘‘certain acts are negative by definition’’), and virtue ethics (‘‘the individual’s overall state of heart and mind’’ is the most important factor ‘‘in determining the ethical value of a given action’’). Although the state of heart and mind is cited as the most important factor, the other factors are still part of the ethical picture. As the quotation shows, Buddhist ethical thought does not fit neatly into any Western school of ethical thought. Therefore, rather than trying to fit Buddhist ethics into an alien thought system, in this chapter, I intend to characterize the Engaged Buddhist ethical system in terms of the most prominent features that I observe in it. In other words, I will take an inductive approach, examining the important features of Engaged Buddhist ethics one by one. This will allow us to understand the internal conceptual structure of Engaged Buddhist ethics, resulting in a verbal portrait of Engaged Buddhist ethics sui generis. I do not wish to imply that all of the following features can be found in the thought of all of the Engaged Buddhists. Only some of the leaders of this movement are philosophers, and perhaps only the work of Phra Prayudh Payutto begins to approach the completeness of a systematic philosophy. Therefore, we should not expect to be able to study the speeches and writings of the Engaged Buddhists and examine the status of a particular concept or issue in each of them. Furthermore, not all of the Engaged Buddhists discuss all of the important issues. My intention, therefore, is to identify particular features of ethical thought wherever they are found among the Engaged Buddhists and to investigate their meaning and significance . NATURAL LAW Philosophically, natural law plays an explicit foundational role in the ethical thought of two Engaged Buddhists, Payutto, and Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. Natural law is implicit in the thought of some other Engaged Buddhists, and some of them speak in natural law language from time to time. Because only Payutto and Buddhadasa have philosophically developed accounts of natural law in their thinking , however, I will focus on their thought. I speak of natural law as ‘‘foundational’’ in Payutto and Buddhadasa...