The Role and Basis of Ethics in Buddhism

In Buddhism, moral virtue (Pali sīla, Skt śīla) is the foundation of the spiritual path, though a fixed clinging to rules and observances as if they alone were the whole of the path is seen as a hindering ‘fetter’ (see p. 85). Virtue is seen to generate freedom from remorse, and this helps a person to develop on through gladness and joy to meditative calm, insight and liberation (A.v.2). While this model of ethics as part of a ‘path’ predominates, it is modified in some Mahāyāna schools, particularly in Japan. Here, Sōtō Zen sees morality as the making manifest of one’s innate Buddha-nature, while Jōdo-shin sees it as simply expressing gratitude to Amitābha for having saved one.

The overcoming of dukkha, both in oneself and in others, is Buddhism’s central preoccupation, towards which ethical action contributes. It is seen as in the nature of things that behaving ethically reduces suffering and increases happiness, for oneself and those one interacts with. A moral life is not a burdensome duty or set of bare ‘oughts’ but an uplifting source of happiness, in which the sacrifice of lesser pleasures facilitates the experiencing of more enriching and satisfying ones. Accordingly, Buddhism says that, if one wants to attain prosperity, amicable social relationships or a good reputation, self-confidence or calm and joy, a good rebirth or progress towards Nirvāṇa, then act in such and such a way: for this is how such things are fostered (BS1.83–6). If one behaves otherwise, then one will suffer in this and subsequent lives, as a natural (karmic) result of unwholesome actions. It is not, though, that the reason something is a good action is that it brings pleasant karmic fruits to the person who does the action. Rather, such fruits come because an action is itself a blameless one which is kusala (Skt kuśala): ‘wholesome’ – coming from a morally healthy state of mind, and nurturing this – and ‘skilful’ – informed by wisdom (Cousins, 1996b; Harvey 2009b: 381–2). That said, the karmic benefits of virtuous actions often become part of the motivation for doing them, though a higher motive is to do it for the goodness of the action itself.

As European powers expanded into Asia, knowledge of its religions became more soundly based. Changes in European thought also led to some receptivity to ideas from non-Christian religions. In the eighteenth century, the Enlightenment’s emphasis on ‘reason’ and ‘science’ weakened reliance on authoritative ‘revelation’ in religious matters, and a number of people thought that they saw a ‘natural religion’ held in common by people of all cultures, though best expressed in Christianity. In the nineteenth century, advances in geology and Biblical studies led to a weakening of Biblical literalism, and the concept of biological evolution seemed, to many, to cast doubts on the ‘revealed’ Christian account of creation. In this context, the idea of making a ‘scientific’, ‘comparative’ study of all religions came to be advanced (Sharpe, 1986).

These elements came together in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, when there was something of a vogue for (modernist) Buddhism among sections of the middle classes in America, Britain and Germany. Like Christianity, Buddhism had a noble ethical system, but it appeared to be a religion of self-help, not dependent on God or priests. Like science, it seemed to be based on experience, saw the universe as ruled by law, and did not regard humans and animals as radically distinct. Yet for those with a taste for mysticism, such as those touched by the Romantic movement, it offered more than science.

Most traditions of Buddhism consider saddhā (Skt śraddhā), ‘trustful confidence’ or ‘faith’, as a quality which must be balanced by wisdom, and as a preparation for, or accompaniment of, meditation. Given this proviso, devotion plays an important part in the life of most Buddhists. While it can often have a meditative quality to it, it is associated with ‘morality’ in the triad ‘morality, meditation and wisdom’, and is seen as perfected at the same time as it, on reaching stream-entry (see p. 85). Among the ideas that are implicit in the devotion-related actions of most Asian Buddhists, Shenpen Hookham (2004) has identified the following:

• Adhiṣṭhāna (Skt, Pali adhiṭṭhāna): ‘influence or blessing, a kind of power that passes from one person to the next like a contagious disease’ (2004: 187). Monks and nuns bear this by their connection back to the Buddha’s great spiritual power through their ordination-lineages, as well as through the virtue of their way of life. Such a blessing may be conveyed by a short chant, or laying hands on the head, or the passing on of a blessed object, such as a piece of script, an image, or a cord that has been connected to chanting monks.

• Nidāna: connection, the kind of physical proximity that allows adhiṣṭhāna to pass from one thing or person to another. This is especially the case when, with an open heart, a person makes offerings or shows devotion to an image, monument or person connected to the Buddha.

• Puṇya (Pali puñña, translated in this book as ‘karmic fruitfulness’): the positive power or energy of goodness that can be actively accumulated and then directed to whatever goal one chooses. It is more abundant when giving to those rich in adhiṣṭhāna, or when giving out of compassion to those in need.

• […]

On the Buddhist path, a key quality to develop is that of paññā (Skt prajñā), understanding or wisdom. This is of three kinds, nurtured by: (i) hearing or reading teachings from scriptures and living spiritual teachers; (ii) reflection on these; and (iii) meditative ‘development’ or ‘cultivation’ (bhāvanā) of the citta (heart/mind) and the factors of the Path. The third aspect is what matures true wisdom, which directly sees things ‘as they really are’, hence cutting through spiritual ignorance: the key aspect of awakening/enlightenment. In their different ways, the various methods of Buddhist meditation entail stepping back from involvement in the everyday flow of the mind, so as to pause and contemplatively observe. From this stance, there can then be a deep calming down, a stilling and a transformative waking up.

For all schools, there are meditative aspects to the devotional practices carried out by most laypeople, indeed chanting is perhaps the most prevalent form of Buddhist meditative cultivation. Chanting (see pp. 243–4), when done well, requires appropriate mental application, focus and mindful awareness, and helps generate energy, joy and calm, so that the mind is little affected by hindrances to meditative concentration. It thus contributes to the systematic nurturing and growing of good qualities, and undermining negative traits which hinder this process. Buddhaghosa, in his classical meditation manual the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification), includes as meditation topics mindful recollection (anussati) of the special qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, using formulas that are identical to, or close to, the wording of common Pali chants (A.iii.284–8 (BW.279–81)). Moreover, chanting the Karaṇīya-metta Sutta (see p. 279) may be the most common way of practising mettā-bhāvanā, the cultivation of lovingkindness. When monks chant for the laity, it can also be seen as a form of ‘broadcast meditation’, whose effect on the laity will depend on the quality of attention in both themselves and the chanters.

In the last two centuries, Buddhism has undergone a number of changes, and has had to respond to a range of pressures, coming from:

• Colonization of Asian countries by Western powers, which undermined political structures associated with Buddhism, but also led to Western scholarship on it, so helping its spread to the West, and to stimulating changes in Buddhism, both in colonized countries and in those influenced by them.

• Christianity: criticism of Buddhists by Christians was one element in stimulating increasing Buddhist social activism. Moreover, in South Korea and to some extent the Republic of China, Christianity and Buddhism are currently rivals for people’s commitment.

• Communism: this has been something of a wet blanket on Buddhism in China (now including Tibet), North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia. It remains most repressive in North Korea, though Cambodia and Mongolia have escaped from its rule in the last twenty years.

• Marxist-nationalism in Burma: not anti-Buddhist, as such, but it acts against Buddhist values.

• War or its after-effects, especially in Cambodia and Sri Lanka: Cambodia was affected by American bombing, then by the Khmer Rouge; Sri Lanka has been affected by a civil war between the Sinhalese and Tamils.

• Modern capitalism: originally brought with colonialism, though Japan developed its own capitalism as a foil to Western colonial threats. This has brought greater prosperity to many, but also undermined traditional value-structures.

• Consumerism: a particularly virulent form of capitalism, currently perhaps the greatest corrosive force undermining Buddhism in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and more recently mainland China. Its commodification of life and emphasis on possessions has heightened elements of greed in human nature and it accordingly encourages a reorientation of values.

• Modernity: democracy, egalitarianism, secularization, improved communication and ease of travel.

Buddhist monarchs still exist in Thailand, Bhutan and now again in Cambodia, and Buddhism remains the dominant or largest religion of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Taiwan and Japan. It retains a strong presence in South Korea, and is reviving in Nepal and on a small scale in India. Outside Asia, it has broken entirely new ground.

Please find an online version of these links to resources at: www.cambridge.org/harvey

General Links and Resources

• BuddhaNet: Buddhist Information and Education Network: www.buddhanet.net – including: e-Library, World Buddhist Directory (www.buddhanet.info/wbd) and audio resources.

• DharmaNet: www.dharmanet.org – including: learning resource centre, study centre and directory.

• Australian National University – Buddhist Studies Virtual Library: www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Buddhism.html

• National Taiwan University Digital Library and Museum of Buddhist Studies: http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/BDLM/copyright2E.htm

• LinksPitaka: www.pitaka.ch/intro.htm

• Buddhist Links and General Resources: www.academicinfo.net/buddhismmeta.html

• Sacred Texts site: www.sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm – for out of copyright translations.

• Huntingdon Archive of Buddhist and Related Art: http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/104/whm.html

• International Dunhuang Project: http://idp.bl.uk

• Digital Dictionary of Buddhism: www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb

• Buddhist Dictionary – Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, by Nyanatiloka Mahathera: www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/bud-dict/dic_idx.htm – explains Pali terminology.

Preface to the Second Edition, and Acknowledgements

The first edition of this book has sold over 55,000 copies since its publication in 1990, and has translations in French, Italian and Spanish. It has been used as a textbook from MA level down to secondary school level.

The book was aimed to give a balanced overview of the panorama of Buddhisms in the world, for students, Buddhists and the general public. As a writer, I was an ‘insider’ to Buddhism looking outwards to help others look inside its many ‘rooms’. My own starting point was as: a scholar of Theravāda Buddhism who was mainly used to working with textual material, someone whose first degree was in philosophy, who had taught a university course on Buddhism for a number of years, a practising Theravāda Buddhist, and a meditation teacher in the Samatha Trust tradition. In order to write an introduction to Buddhism as a whole, I had to broaden beyond my base in exploring the textual sources of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and historical and anthropological accounts of all traditions. My background meant that I wrote as an ‘insider’ to various strands of Theravāda Buddhism, but as a sympathetic ‘outsider’ to Mahāyāna traditions and even some strands of Theravāda.

The Buddha is said to have affirmed that he would not die until he had disciples who were monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen (upāsaka and upāsikā) who could teach Dhamma and ‘establish it, expound it, analyse it, make it clear’ (D.ii.104–5). These groups are known as the four ‘assemblies’ (Pali parisā, Skt pariṣat; Jat.i.148). The term Saṅgha (Skt Saṃgha) or ‘Community’ refers in its highest sense to the ‘Noble’ Saṅgha of those, monastic or lay, who are fully or partially enlightened. Most typically, though, it refers to the community of monks and/or nuns, and this chapter deals with this as well as certain types of married clerics. ‘Saṅgha’ in its widest sense was also occasionally used of all the four ‘assemblies’ (A.ii.8) – a sense which became not uncommon in Mahāyāna circles (Prebish, 1999: 203–5).

The terms for monks and nuns are respectively bhikkhu (Skt bhikṣu) and bhikkhunī (Skt bhikṣuṇī), which literally mean ‘almsman’ and ‘almswoman’. The original mendicancy of these, still current to varying extents, symbolized renunciation of normal worldly activities and involvements. While this was an aid to humility, it actually also ensured against becoming isolated from the laity. The often close lay–monastic relationship makes bhikkhus unlike most Christian ‘monks’. They also differ from these in that their undertakings are not always for life, and in that they take no vow of obedience. The Buddha valued self-reliance, and left the monastic Saṅgha as a community of individuals sharing a life under the guidance of Dhamma and Vinaya. The job of its members is to strive for their own spiritual development, and use their knowledge and experience of Dhamma to guide others, when asked: not to act as an intermediary between God and humankind, or officiate at life-cycle rites. Nevertheless, in practice they have come to serve the laity in several priest-like ways.

Calculations of energy demand/supply

From Chapter 7 onwards there are a number of depictions of global energy supply and demand. The following criteria have been applied in constructing these graphs of energy statistics.

Where statistics are given in millions of tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe), quantities of nuclear and renewable energy (such as hydroelectric power) are expressed in terms of the oil equivalent as if the energy was generated by an oil-fired electricity-generating plant with an efficiency of around 33% up to 2000 and then 38% thereafter. Consequently, it is possible to make some comparison and to see how these non-fossil energy sources (could) displace oil sources.

Historic proportional energy-supply estimates prior to 1950 are taken from Morgan and Murray (1976) and early carbon emissions were assessed from a variety of sources including from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) of the US Department of Energy and also the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, USA. Carbon emissions from energy for Figure 7.10b came from the International Energy Agency’s CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Combustion 2011. Estimates for fossil fuel from the 1980s and 1990s were also cross-checked against the US Government’s Energy Information Administration in autumn 2004 and spring 2005 (for this book’s first edition), as well as the BP Statistical Review of World Energy (1990, 2000, 2005, 2011) and adapted where necessary, as per previous power-station efficiency assumptions. The Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs series (2003), which in turn draws on additional sources, was used as a further check on statistics post-1950. The UK Department of Trade and Industry’s Energy Trends (also known as Digest of UK Energy Statistics or DUKES) was similarly used as a check for UK data. Any misinterpretation of data sources is the author’s responsibility. Data for this book’s second edition were accessed online in the latter half of 2011.

Current biological symptoms of warming

As noted in Chapter 2, climate change impacts on living species and so in turn these impacts can be used as climatic proxies. As discussed in Chapter 3, climate change throughout the Earth's history has been complex and features a number of distinct and characteristic episodes as well as periods with defining trends. However, as was observed in Chapters 3 and 4, the biological response of species and natural systems to climate change is also complex, as is the biological response of (and impact on) humans. A good proportion of this last is reflected in recorded history. Further, these impact elements – of species response and climatic-event and natural-systems response – are all discernable when applied to climate at the end of the 20th and early 21st century and all exhibit varying degrees of complexity. Some responses are sufficiently complex that they appear as the opposite to what might initially be expected. Even in such cases, when examined carefully, they all clearly reflect the fact that the planet is warming up.

Current boreal dendrochronological response

One illustrative example was briefly mentioned in Chapter 2 when looking at dendrochronology. Figure 2.1 portrays the pooling together of several dendrochronological series from the northern hemisphere's high latitudes. This clearly shows that in the 20th century the north of the northern hemisphere warmed above the 1601–1974 average. However, some dendrochronological series (Figure 2.1, the dashed line on the far right) seem to exhibit a late-20th-century return to average temperatures even though others reflect continued warming (in line with instrumental measurements). As indicated, this deviation from what would be expected may be due to increased snowfall with the volume of the extra snow delaying the melting of snow cover and so delaying the onset of spring greening. This is not unexpected, because, as previously noted, a warmer planet would have increased ocean evaporation and hence increased precipitation (be it rain or snow). Another explanation mentioned is that some other environmental factor impedes growth. As noted in Chapter 2, species respond to a range of environmental factors, some of which act synergistically, sometimes in a positive way and others in a negative way.

If palaeoclimatologists had their wildest dreams come true then they would undoubtedly travel back in time to make meteorological recordings before humans existed, let alone thermometers. If only life would be so obliging. Instead, preserved indications of past climate have to be identified, calibrated and then used to infer usually just one aspect of the climate, and frequently just at one locality. Such a preserved indication provides us with a single proxy measurement.

Many measurements are needed from many proxies to build up a climatic picture of the past. Indeed, there are also many types of climate proxies and the principal ones will be reviewed in this chapter. The products of proxy analyses are often termed palaeoclimatic data. Palaeoclimatic data commonly come with considerable uncertainty in one or more of the following regards: the inferred temperature, the inferred time and the space to which it applies. It is important to emphasise this and to recognise that most proxy data rarely ever give a direct measure of a single meteorological parameter. For example, tree-ring thickness is affected by numerous factors, not just climate. These include: the aspect in which the tree is found, be it in a valley or on a hillside, and whether it is south- or north-facing; soils, which affect nutrients; and local geology, which affects water availability.

This book is about biology and human ecology as they relate to climate change. Let's take it as read that climate change is one of the most urgent and fascinating science-related issues of our time and that you are interested in the subject: for if you were not you would not be reading this now. Indeed, there are many books on climate change but nearly all, other than the voluminous UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, tend to focus on a specialist aspect of climate, be it weather, palaeoclimatology, modelling and so forth. Even books relating to biological dimensions of climate change tend to be specialist, with a focus that may relate to agriculture, health or palaeoecology. These are, by and large, excellent value provided that they cover the specialist ground that readers seek. However, the biology of climate change is so broad that the average life sciences student, or specialist seeking a broader context in which to view their own field, has difficulty finding a wide-ranging review of the biology and human ecology of climate change. Non-bioscience specialists with an interest in climate change (geologists, geographers and atmospheric chemists, for example) face a similar problem. This also applies to policy-makers and policy analysts, or those in the energy industries, getting to grips with the relevance of climate change to our own species and its social and economic activities.

In addition, specialist texts refer mainly to specialist journals. Very few libraries in universities or research institutes carry the full range. Fortunately the high-impact-factor and multi-disciplinary journals such as Science and Nature do publish specialist climate papers (especially those relating to major breakthroughs) and virtually all academic libraries, at least in the Anglophone world, carry these publications. It is therefore possible to obtain a grounding in the biology (in the broadest sense) of climate change science from these journals provided that one is prepared to wade through several years’ worth of copies.

Having an understanding of climate change is one thing, but relating it to real-world development is another. In the latter half of the 20th century it became apparent to politicians that human impacts on the environment were sufficiently detrimental that they undermined the sustainability of human well-being, and hence environmental quality. ‘Human well-being’ is a catch-all term relating to material and cultural standards as well as quality of life.

Many of these terms, while having a clear meaning to Western politicians and policy-makers, have no strict definition or individual basis of quantitative indexing in the strict scientific sense, although in some instances attempts have been made. Other terms have been used so much by the media that they are often used in policy-making, although human ecologists are often more precise. For example, ‘carbon footprint’ is misleading as it generally does not include biofuels (which are carbon-based) and it also seemingly relates to the spatial concept of ecological footprint as opposed to a quantitative dimension of carbon mass. Academic comment on misleading terms and usage has reached the highest impact-factor journals (for example, see Hammond, 2007). A better term is fossil carbon burden, or fossil burden for short. Indeed some terms (such as medieval climatic optimum, climate tipping point and fertility that were discussed in earlier chapters, and zero carbon, which will be mentioned in section 8.5.1) are not only misleading but mean different things to different people. In 2009, with regards to the term ‘carbon neutral’ the UK government's Department of Energy and Climate Change even held a formal consultation on the term's usage (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2009).

With this book's first edition (2007) Cambridge University Press kindly afforded a couple of pages as Appendix 4 to allow a brief summary of the IPCC's 2007 assessment (AR4) at the book's final page-proof stage: that assessment literally came out a couple of months before this book's first edition was published. This time the IPCC's 2013 assessment (AR5) will come out several months after this edition sees light of day and so I now use this appendix in a different way.

In the course of lectures and encounters following this book's first edition I have invariably been asked a number of questions as to my personal thoughts, as opposed to recounting the climate science and policy developments. Other than commenting on likely prospective research and policy analysis avenues, in the main I have shied away from answering, especially as most people have expected me to be predictive: what will happen to such and such in coming decades? And of course nobody can predict the future. Having said that, I do have some personal thoughts on climate science and policy. Given that there has been interest in my own take beyond that of appraising the literature, I now make a couple of points in this short appendix, quite separate from the main body of the text: I do not wish to contaminate my earlier (hopefully) sober review of the science and policy with wilder personal musings.