How should we live? What values should be our guides? Is it just a matter of following a gut instinct, or are there principles we should follow and guidelines for acting well? These are questions for everyone and our responses form the realm of ethics. Buddhism says that if we want to make any progress on the path, we need to start here.
The most basic formulation of the Buddhist path is the Threefold Way of ethics, meditation and wisdom. Meditation practice requires ethical behaviour as a foundation, and wisdom requires a mind that has become clear and settled as a result of meditation.
In Buddhism, ethics isn’t a matter of punishment and reward. It’s a ‘training’. In other words, ethical practice involves learning from experience rather than slavishly following rules. The basic principle is karma, which could be explained as the principle that ‘actions have consequences’. For Buddhism, ethics speaks to something that is natural to us, and practising ethics means aligning ourselves with this natural wisdom.
We can also think of ethics as living in a way that expresses core values such as mindfulness and compassion. If we become more aware we’ll also become more sensitive to the impact of our behaviour on ourselves and others. And if our underlying motivations are compassionate, we’ll express that in how we act. So, rather than using terms like good and bad, Buddhism views ethics as a skill we can develop over time. Through ethical practice we learn to avoid acting in unskilful ways that are based on motivations such as craving, hatred and ignorance, and acting in skilful ways that are based in states such as contentment, kindness and wisdom.
The basic set of ethical guideline that all Buddhists follow is the five precepts. These are traditionally expressed in negative form – stating the things we shouldn’t do; but they can helpfully be paired with positive counterparts.
This is the fundamental ethical principle for Buddhists, and all the other precepts flow from it. It implies acting nonviolently wherever possible, so many Buddhists are vegetarian or vegan for this reason. The positive counterpart of this precept is love.
Stealing is an obvious way we can harm others, and we can also take advantage of people, exploit them or manipulate them. All these can be seen as ways of taking the not given. The positive counterpart is acting with generosity.
Essentially, this precept means not causing harm in the area of sexual activity. It includes breaking commitments as well as using power and coercion. The positive counterpart is contentment.
Speech is a crucial part of our relations with others, and yet language can be slippery and we often deceive ourselves or others without realising what we’re doing. That’s why truthfulness, the positive counterpart of this precept, is such an important part of an ethical life.
The positive counterpart of this precept is mindfulness, or awareness. Cultivating mindfulness is a fundamental feature of the Buddha’s path, and experience shows that taking intoxicating drink or drugs tends to undermine this.
At ordination, members of the Triratna Buddhist Order undertake to practise ten precepts. This is a traditional ethical list known as ‘the paths or skilful or unskillful action’. The first four of these precepts are the same as in the set of five, but they also include:
Abstaining from harsh speech. The positive counterpart is in developing kindly speech.
Abstaining from frivolous speech. The positive counterpart is in developing meaningful speech.
Abstaining from slanderous speech. The positive counterpart is in developing harmonious speech.
Abstaining from covetousness. The positive counterpart is in developing tranquility.
Abstaining from hatred. The positive counterpart is in developing compassion.
Abstaining from false views. The positive counterpart is in developing wisdom.
There’s more on the precepts concerning speech or communication in the section on Right Speech as an element of the Eightfold Path.
For a deeper exploration of Buddhist ethics, read or listen to Sangharakshita’s paper 'The Ten Pillars Of Buddhism'
🎧 Dharmashalin on the ethics of the private moment