Buddhist Morality – Why it is Different from Other Religions
While moral sense is an inborn quality in each of us, this faculty varies from person to person. Good and bad are inherent in our nature though we would consciously consider certain moral qualities to be good and others to be bad. Why then are there so many varying patterns of moral behavior existing in this world? Why are there so many conflicting moral standards contradicting each other offered by different religions? One can conclude that the differences in the moral systems lies with each religion issuing different standards for judging what is considered to be good and what is bad. Some also prescribe specific limits and roles for the various moral virtues and values that do not give a balanced and coherent plan on social conduct. It is also because of the way they place man and their purpose on earth.
Some religions think that what is declared in their Holy books should be universally accepted as they are the Words of a Supreme unfathomable being. It should never be questioned but obeyed by all. It is moral laws that emphasize on the purity and sanctity on what their God commands even if the commands are contradictory. We see in these God-centred religions preaching of love and forgiveness on the one hand and in the same breath handing out death sentences and tortures of the most brutal manners on wrong doers. They sanction or command murder, rape, torture, slavery, ethnic cleansing, and genocide on unbelievers. They condemn homosexual behavior as immoral because it is God command rather than whether such acts is causing harm to anyone.
These religions besides having a God-centred moral system, is also human-centred. It is where all things created by their God are considered to be resources for the human race’s use, consumption and pleasure. It is not an eco friendly system and is exploitative of other living beings and also nature as a whole.
The morality here is based on complete subservient, obedience and fear of punishments and also a promise of reward in the afterlife. Subservient and total obedience would be fine if there are no contradictory exceptions present in their commandments. But there are plenty of these where one is license or command to act upon. What can happen is, with total surrender and submission to a higher Supreme Being, an individual can be merciless, ruthless or unfeeling in carrying out such exceptions. There is no compassion shown, no quarter given to the victims even if such acts are completely bad or evil. The most visible form of these evils can be seen in the act of suicide bombers indiscriminately taking away innocent lives because of a promise of paradise in the afterlife. The more recent example is the trading of human lives into slavery for just a pack of cigarettes as is reported in the way the IS treats their captives.
In the Hindu faith, morality is largely determined by the social environment. It is descriptive relativism in nature, with ethical practices hand down from ancestors. It is castes based and also depend on one’s stage in life with each caste having their own sets of duties to follow. How fast one reach the final goal of moksha depends on how much good works one have perform within the caste they are born into.
The Buddhist moral and ethical system can best be label as Life-centred. It is a system that believes in radiating ‘unconditional love’ to all living beings and nature. One can see this Life-centred system in the verses of the Karaniya Metta Sutta (SN 1.8). It is the Buddha's Words on the subject of Loving-Kindness. Together with SN 55.7, the Veludyvareyya Sutta, a good guideline is available for the practice of Buddhist morality.
Also in the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta (AN 10.176), the Buddha speaks of what is Unskillful Bodily Action as follows:
"And how is one made impure in three ways by bodily action? There is the case where a certain person takes life, is a hunter, bloody-handed, devoted to killing & slaying, showing no mercy to living beings. He takes what is not given. He takes, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong to others and have not been given by them. He engages in sensual misconduct. He gets sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man. This is how one is made impure in three ways by bodily action”.
The Blessed One, the Buddha, expounded the Veludyvareyya Sutta, the Discourse to the People of Bamboo Gate as follows:
Here, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus: 'I am one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die; I desire happiness and am averse to suffering. Since I am one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die; who desires happiness and is averse to suffering; if someone were to take my life that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now if I were to take the life of another -- of one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die, who desires happiness and is averse to suffering--that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me is displeasing and disagreeable to the other too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me?' Having reflected thus, he himself abstains from the destruction of life, exhorts others to abstain from the destruction of life, and speaks in praise of abstinence from the destruction of life. Thus this bodily conduct of his is purified in three respects.
The Veludyvareyya Sutta speaks on the subject of the 4 precepts. Besides the above discourse on why one should not take any form of lives, it also goes on to speak of the act of not stealing, not committing wrongful Sex and not using False Speech. This Sutta is about the ethics of Reciprocity i.e., ‘Do not do unto others what we do not want others to do unto us’. It teaches us to train our body and speech in the threefold purity of - Not breaking the precepts ourselves. Not causing another to break the precepts and not approving any breach of these precepts. These rules of training will provide us with the basic foundation for our mental cultivation with the final goal of spiritual liberation.
The beauty of the ethic of Reciprocity is that, it is not dependent on stories, superstitions, beliefs, commandments or speculative views. And even if one ceases to believe in the faith, one is in no danger of our ethics collapsing. It is a teaching that is universal and applicable to anyone in any age, place, or culture. It is true in the beginning, the middle and the end.
The Karaniya Metta Sutta provides the basic meditation tool to be used in the cultivation on loving-kindness. A practitioner will eventually cultivate a mind that is peaceful, calm and fill with gentleness. This state of mind will help us to generate goodwill towards all sentient beings. The understanding and acceptance that our actions, our kamma too will have consequences to ourselves will also give us the necessary mental and physical impetus to develop and help in keeping the 5 precepts. The intrinsic quality of loving-kindness would reduce and quench anyone urge to kill, to steal, to commit sexual misconduct, to lie, or to indulge in drinks or drugs. And when we are morally virtuous, it is easier for us to go deeper into our meditation as we tend to become a calmer person.
As one start to awaken to the noble truths of suffering, to the impermanent of all things, so too will our tendency to cling and to crave. Our ‘Wants’ too, will weakened resulting in us not desiring to compete for these things. It is a natural self-progression from there that as our awakening deepens, so too would our intrinsic wholesome qualities of love, compassion, generosity, contentment, wholesome communication, mental calmness and clarity become a part of our habits and natural way of life.
It is said: He who is possessed of constant virtue, has understanding, and is concentrated, is strenuous and diligent as well. He will cross the flood so difficult to cross. - The Buddhist way.