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Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction


Written by Damien Keown

Narrated by James Anderson Foster

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With over 520 million followers, Buddhism is now the world's fourth largest religion. Over the last seventy years or so there has been a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West, who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs.



For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West. In this Very Short Introduction, Damien Keown explores how Buddhism approaches a range of moral issues of our age, including our relationship with our environment, our treatment of animals, and our stance on abortion, on sexuality and gender, on violence and war. This new edition also includes a discussion of the ethical challenges posed by cutting-edge developments in science and biomedical technologies, including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and gene editing.

Buddhism
Philosophy
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Tantor Audio
RELEASED:
Sep 1, 2020
ISBN:
9781705206966
FORMAT:
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About the author
Damien Keown


Damien Keown is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Ethics at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His research interests centre on the study of contemporary moral problems from a Buddhist perspective. He is co-founder of The Journal of Buddhist Ethics and the author of the best-selling 'Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction' and 'Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction', both from Oxford University Press.

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Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction Paperback – 1 October 2005
by Keown (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 31 ratings


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Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
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The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West, and publications on the subject are few and far between. Here, Damien Keown, author of Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, illustrates how Buddhism might approach a range of fascinating moral issues ranging from abortion and suicide to cloning.
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Print length

168 pages


From the Publisher
Damien Keown is Reader in Buddhism at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His entire academic career has been devoted to research in Buddhist ethics, and he has been teaching the subject for over 20 years. He is also Editor of The Journal of Buddhist Ethics and Coeditor of The Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism series.
About the Author
Damien Keown is Reader in Buddhism at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His entire academic career has been devoted to research in Buddhist ethics, and he has been teaching the subject for over 20 years. He is also Editor of The Journal of Buddhist Ethics and Coeditor of The Curzon Critical Studies in Buddhism series.


Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 019280457X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press UK; 1st edition (1 October 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 168 pages
Customer Reviews:
4.2 out of 5 stars 31 ratings


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Rev Gherkin
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on subject by authoritative scholarReviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 October 2008
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Keown is without doubt a leading scholar in this area and makes the topic accessible to his readers. He makes very difficult subject matter understandable and interesting. I highly recommend this book and this author.

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Paul Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2016
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Excellent
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David Harry White
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2016
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Excellent
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Vibey
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved itReviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2018
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Michael Schröder
4.0 out of 5 stars Gelungene EinführungReviewed in Germany on 10 October 2018
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Das Buch ist meiner Ansicht nach eine sehr gelungene Einführung in das Thema "Buddhistische Ethik". In einem so kleinen Buch sind naturgemäß nicht alle Themen umfassend darstellbar. Die zentralen Grundannahmen, von denen eine buddhistische Ethik ausgehen kann sowie einige aktuelle Anwendungsthemen werden gut beschrieben und analysiert.
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Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

by Damien Keown

 3.59  ·   Rating details ·  264 ratings  ·  33 reviews

The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. Numerous introductory books have appeared in recent years to cater for this growing interest, but almost none devotes attention to the specifically ethical dimension of the tradition. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West, and publications on the subject are few and far between. Here, Damien Keown, author of Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction , illustrates how Buddhism might approach a range of fascinating moral issues ranging from abortion and suicide to cloning. Readership: Students and general readers with an interest in Buddhism, ethics, or comparative religion. Anyone seeking a clear and straightforward answer to the question 'What is the Buddhist view on X?', or who read and enjoyed Keown's VSI to Buddhism. (less)

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Published June 23rd 2005 by OUP Oxford

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Ahmad Sharabiani

Jun 05, 2016Ahmad Sharabiani added it

Shelves: religion, buddhism, theology, culture, china, india, 21th-century, non-fiction

Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #130), Damien Keown

The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs.

flag10 likes · Like  · comment · see review

Lauren 

Oct 23, 2016Lauren rated it liked it

Shelves: buddhism, philosophy

What does Buddhism say about animal welfare? suicide? homosexuality?

As it turns out, it's pretty complicated - of course it is, it's ethics!- and not universal across Buddhist traditions. From some previous readings, I knew some basics of Buddhist views on sexuality, marriage, celibacy, and feminism, but this book gets a bit deeper (although one criticism - likely due to the "very short" nature in the title - is that so many examples seem cherry-picked to prove the thesis, where I am certain that there is much more to the story).

The chapter that stood out for me was the one on suicide and euthanasia. The indelible 1960s image of the Vietnamese monks on fire leads the chapter, framing this self-immolation as an ancient practice. While several modern Buddhist countries have ritual suicide or 'voluntary death' traditions, e.g. seppuku in Japan, the book argues that this practice came into regional Buddhism through indigenous culture. Euthanasia is also a complicated issue, as monks and nuns were traditionally caretakers for the dying, and there are several accounts of euthanasia using the central precept of compassion.

3/5 stars - some interesting things covered, even though it did seem "cherry-picked" to fit in as much as it could in less than 200 pages.

(less)

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Istvan Zoltan

Jun 11, 2021Istvan Zoltan rated it liked it

Shelves: philosophy, ethics-moral-philosophy, history-of-philosophy

A very handy, easy to read and clear introduction to Buddhist ethics.

My students found it helpful as an assigned reading, before delving into more complex texts on Buddhist ethics. It doesn't presuppose any knowledge of Buddhist philosophy in general. (less)

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Nick Imrie

Feb 21, 2018Nick Imrie rated it really liked it

Shelves: religion-buddhism, non-fiction, philosophy-ethics

The biggest fact I've taken away from Damien Keown is that Buddhism is a lot more conservative than we realise in the West. Because Buddhism came to us via 60s hippies, it has a reputation as being an anything-goes, left-wing religion, which isn't really the case.

For example, Buddhist attitudes about sex are pretty much the same as Christian (which gets villified for being an prudish, sex-negative religion). In both religions, celibacy is the best state of being, and if you can't stay celibate then you should marry. Sex acts that aren't reproductive are pretty much verboten, so Buddhism has similar attitudes to homosexuality as Christianity.

With regards to abortion, Buddhism is, if anything, stricter than Christianity. Christianity, at least, doesn't say much specifically about when or how the soul enters the body. But Buddhist texts are quite explicit that the soul enters the body at the moment of conception, so there can't really be any doubt that abortion is murder. The enforcement and application of that kind of rule isn't so clear though. Most monks seem to be happy to leave it as a matter for secular authorities, and there's a fierce dispute in Japan, about the appropriateness of religious services for the souls of the aborted, which is a new practise adapted from services for miscarriage.

As in his previous VSI book about Buddhism, Keown is writing for the Western audience and trying to highlight how our instictive patterns of thinking about rights, ethics, and religion don't really map onto Eastern ways of thinking. He makes some interesting speculations about whether the difference is caused by the difference in origin. Western philosophy arose in turbulent Greek democracies, while Buddhist ethics arose in strict monarchies.

The chapters focusing on individual ethical conundrums was a good way to do it in a very short introduction, I can only imagine that an attempt at a comprehensive comparison of how Buddhist ethics are reasoned out, and all the subjects they touch on, would be massive. I wasn't sure about the topic of cloning though. Most religions have very little to say about cloning, because it couldn't even be imagined by early man, and the things that people say about it are often daft. But the chapter on suicide, including the protest suicides in Vietnam, or the Japanese ritual seppuku, was very interesting and demonstrate neatly how different strands of Buddhism are influenced by local traditions and religions. Keown does a good job of making clear that there is no one Buddhism. It's a vast collect of different philosophies all springly from the same source. While at the same time he shows how there are general trends that bring all these Buddhisms together. Skillfully, he does this with constantly interrupting himself to remind you #notallbuddhists. (less)

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Teo 2050

Oct 14, 2020Teo 2050 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition

Shelves: technology, by_philosopher, rated-4, y20, _nonfiction, buddhism, _audio, pain-or-suffering, _contents, enhancement

2020.10.14–2020.10.14

Contents

Keown D (2020) (03:46) Buddhist Ethics - A Very Short Introduction (2e)

Acknowledgements

Preface

List of illustrations

• 1. Map of Buddhism in Asia

• 2. The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the embodiment of compassion

• 3. Buddha head in tree roots, Wat Mahathat, Ayutthaya, Thailand

• 4. The wheel of life

• 5. Mipham

• 6. Jizō Bosatsu

• 7. Mizuko Jizō memorial at Raikoji (Kamakura, Japan)

• 8. Suicide of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc in Saigon, 1963

• 9. A robot modelled after the bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara) gives its first teachings at the Kodaiji temple in Kyoto on 23 February 2019

• 10. Ray Kurzweil believes the Singularity is close at hand

Note on citations and pronunciation

Language and pronunciation

1. Buddhist morality

• Dharma and karma

• Box 1 The Four Noble Truths

• Box 2 The Eightfold Path and its Three Divisions

• Precepts

• Box 3 The Five Precepts (pañcaśīla)

• Vinaya

• Virtues

• Mahāyāna morality

• Box 4 The Six Perfections (pāramitā)

2. Ethics East and West

• Three ethical theories

• Particularism

• Perfectionism

• The absence of ‘ethics’

• Box 5 Stoicism

• Engaged Buddhism

• Rights

3. Animals and the environment

• The moral status of animals

• Plant life and wilderness

• Equality or hierarchy?

• Vegetarianism

• Towards a Buddhist ecology

• Box 6 Climate change

4. Sexuality and gender

• The dangers of sexual desire

• Marriage

• The third precept

• Box 7 Ways in which the third precept can be broken, according to the ancient commentators

• Box 8 Sex abuse scandals

• Homosexuality

• Box 9 Transgenderism

5. War, violence, and terrorism

• Classical sources on war

• Buddhism at war

• Box 10 From the Dhammapada (trans. Norman)

• The just war

• Terrorism

6. Abortion

• Buddhist embryology

• Abortion and the precepts

• Box 11 The third pārājika, the monastic precept against taking human life

• Personhood

• Box 12 The five aggregates (skandhas)

• Abortion in Buddhist countries

• Table 1. Legality of abortion in selected Asian countries (2017)

• Thailand

• Japan

• Box 13 A hymn to Jizō often used in the mizuko kuyō liturgy

• Box 14 Verse from a popular song about the mizuko kuyō ceremony

7. Suicide and euthanasia

• Box 15 Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam: The Lotus in a Sea of Fire (1967)

• Self-immolation

• Box 16 The Brahmajāla Sūtra (Fan Wang Ching)

• Suicide in Indian Buddhism

• Box 17 The third pārājika, the monastic rule prohibiting taking human life

• Euthanasia

• Must life be preserved at all costs?

8. Clones, cyborgs, and singularities

• Cloning and genetics

• Gene editing

• Cryonics

• Transhumanism

• Neurodharma

• Concerns

Glossary

References

Further reading

Index (less)

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Xinefan Phy

Nov 16, 2021Xinefan Phy rated it really liked it

The author's understanding of Buddhism is at times incomplete and his access to sources seems deficient. For example, there are many instances in ancient texts about the Buddha's past lives where he sacrificed his life for the sake of other beings (even animal beings), which the author should've taken as reference for arguments in the "Suicide" or "Animal" chapters.

There're also many stories in which Buddhist followers and even the Buddha himself used their compassionate power to tame and calm ...more

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John Eliade

Aug 22, 2015John Eliade rated it liked it

Shelves: buddhism

Read most of Damien Keown's second VSI Buddhist book while I was in Bhutan researching "Buddhist Social Theory" at the Royal Thimphu College. Keown's work is very interesting and enlightening. Like the VSI series as a whole, it presents great launching points to begin to seek out answers for other parts of an incredibly complicated subject. This book loses two stars primarily because Keown, though he does an awesome job presenting eastern textual sources, still tries to fit an eastern peg into a western hole, which is an incredibly hard thing to do (and it should at least be commended that he did so in a balanced, interesting, and fair way).

It's mostly his discussion on metaethics that can get confusing, hence the problem. Metaethics is a purely western subject which can confuse eastern-based readers. In Buddhist Social Theory, this chapter was extremely difficult for my Bhutanese classmates to wrap their heads around, and even for me it was difficult to truly understand the point of a discussion on metaethics and how it applies to Buddhism which has little to no distinction or history of a difference between "morality" and "ethics." (Indeed, here in Korea they teach a class that students have interpreted as both "Morals" and "Ethics" when I consult the dictionary. I gather this is a similar thing across Asia, and Keown makes this known in his short book). My suggestion would have been for Keown to put that chapter at the end and discuss the difficulty of applying western conceptions of ethics onto a complex philosophical network of systems like Buddhism. That said, good read. Make sure you read his first VSI on Buddhism, or perhaps Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught" first. (less)

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Nick

Dec 27, 2013Nick rated it it was ok

Shelves: india, philosophy, 2000s, language, china, buddhism, korea

Its a weirdly specific book to have a very short introduction. Ethics in the western conception didn't really exist in premodern Buddhism. A lot of this book is the product of Buddhists taking influence from Western ethics, or of Westerners interpreting Buddhism through the lens of enlightenment values, and Christian/humanist altruism. The whole notion that altruism, compassion, detachment, etc. are good because they lead to enlightenment is absent from much of this. Also tantra is mentioned, but not examined. Since classical Buddhism doesn't comment on very many specific moral issues, abstract and somewhat empty signifiers like "compassion" have to be interpreted, and then applied to moral problems.

Anyway, here is a funny quote from the chapter on cloning:

"...The belief in karma introduces many conundrums and complexities of this kind, since both karma and DNA may be thought to account for how people come to be born with specific physical and mental characteristics. Which is correct: Buddhism or science? Other puzzling questions also arise, such as ‘Is it possible to clone a Buddha?’, and ‘Is there a Buddha gene?’. For the remainder of the chapter, I will explore some of these intriguing questions.

When considering the possibility of cloning a Buddha, the starting point of our speculations must be whether or not the Buddha had a normal physical human body or whether in some way he transcended the conventional laws of nature, including those of genetics..." (less)

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Bojan Tunguz

Apr 07, 2011Bojan Tunguz rated it it was amazing

This is a very useful introductory book for anyone who is interested in Buddhist ethics, its principles and sources, and the answers it gives to some of the most pressing ethical questions of today. The first couple of chapters are dedicated to the historical origins and basic principles of Buddhist ethics. The bulk of the book, however, is aimed at someone who is already familiar with Western ethical traditions, and tries to show how the Buddhist teachings relate to those. In particular, the questions of animal and environmental rights, sexuality, war and terrorism, suicide and euthanasia, and cloning each get a separate chapter. In these chapters the naive impression of Buddhism as a very laid-back and permissive ethical tradition is challenged, and the author shows that the basic answers to those ethical dilemmas in Buddhism are not that far away from similar answers given in theJudeo-Christian ethics.

Overall, this is a very enlightening and informative reading. I highly recommend it. (less)

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Frank Spencer

Aug 09, 2011Frank Spencer rated it really liked it

Shelves: ethics, very-short-introductions

Worth reading, as all very short introductions are. Tells as much about general ethics as it does about Buddhist ethics. chapters about animals/environment, cloning, sexuality, war/terrorism, suicide/euthanasia, and abortion

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Michael

May 03, 2018Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, life-lessons, buddhism

I enjoy the A Very Short Introduction series. I've read a bunch of them. I got this one for free somehow on line and read it today. I admit that I skimmed a little bit in parts that didn't interest me.

Buddhism is both simple and profound. You can learn the basics in 15 minutes, then spend the rest of your life trying to apply them to your life. I would not characterize Buddhism as being a religion per se, although there are certainly Buddhists who do worship Buddha as a god. Pretty much, Buddhism is about your mind. Learn to live with your mind, understand your mind, train your mind, and everything else will be better. It's hard to argue with. No gods, no supernatural. Just you and...you.

In the overwhelming majority of examples, Buddhism is a belief system, or a philosophy, that teaches compassion, self-discipline, non-violence, and generosity. There are four Noble truths, eight paths toward reaching a higher state of being, and three ways to do it. So that's like 15 things to know. Maybe 19. You can write it on an index card, then use the next 40 years of your life trying to make it all work.

So, Buddhist ethics? Care. Pay attention. Help. Control yourself. Go do that tomorrow for 24 hours then report back to me how you did. (less)

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Scott Goddard

Apr 14, 2020Scott Goddard rated it liked it

Okay, that's done. Buddhist ethics - not something I previously knew too much about, I will concede. At first, the author gives an overview of Buddhist philosophy, focusing on the main, fundamental values and beliefs.

Next, it was time to get into the nitty gritty - the more dense subject of ethics per se, which was presented in a typology of three types.

Now, with a knowledge of Buddhist values and the basics of ethics ascertained, the author proceeds to contextualise both aspects in relation to contemporary issues. Suicide; cloning; the environment; war and terrorism - to give a few examples.

Maybe it was just from my perception, but I couldn't help but feel a particular bias from the author, against Buddhism. Overall, it a semi-decent read, and one that has enabled me to learn a new thing or two! (less)

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Duncan Reed

Jul 08, 2019Duncan Reed rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, spirituality

A good over view of the Buddhist perspective on different ethical considerations. The topics included are: animals and the environment; sexuality; war and terrorism; abortion; suicide and euthanasia; cloning. The author compares Theravada and Mahayana perspectives, and also compares Buddhist perspectives to Western Judeo-Christian perspectives.

I read this book after the books in the series on 'Buddha', 'Buddhism' and 'Tibetan Buddhism', in that order. The 4 books gave a very good broad summary of Buddhism. I think this series of books is generally very well written, and now has hundreds of titles, covering all sorts of subjects, in 100-130 pages. (less)

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MOL

Aug 03, 2019MOL rated it really liked it

Concise and to the point. The book was perfect for its aim - to present Buddist ethics in under 150 pages. Beforehand I had only passing knowledge of Buddha’s teachings and the book presented interestinng thought experiment on how his teachings reconcile present day issues such as homosexuality, cloning and euthanasia. I was surprised to learn that while christianity and buddism approaches such issues from completely different sides, more often than not the conclusion reached is glaringly similar. (less)

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Ariyajyoti  Bhikkhu

Apr 02, 2020Ariyajyoti Bhikkhu rated it it was amazing

Buddhist Ethics: A Short Introduction has written concisely and precisely for those who wants to know Buddhism in particular and ethics in general. The Author encapsulated the Buddhist literature from various angles in relation to philosophy of Ethical theory. The writing is very provocative. I do recommend for those who wants to read for interest or even for research purpose.

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Bethany

Jan 28, 2020Bethany rated it it was ok

A good overview and gives you almost a ‘sneak peak’ into what Buddhism is really about. Slow at times, but then sometimes non-fiction is. Nevertheless, a very factual, educational and intriguing book for anyone studying Buddhism or Eastern Philosophy/ Ethics!

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Stephanie

Dec 11, 2020Stephanie rated it liked it

(Audiobook) this was an enjoyable listen! Short introduction (as the title states) to multiple topics (animal cruelty, karma, abortion, suicide, to name a few). It helps to have a basic understanding of Buddhism but not necessary. Little nuggets of information.

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Barrett Evans

Feb 27, 2021Barrett Evans rated it really liked it

An interesting primer on Buddhist ethical perspectives pertaining to such matters as animals, sexuality, abortion, war, suicide, and cloning. I found the presentation of the conservative nature of traditional Buddhist ethics particularly striking.

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Camie

Dec 29, 2018Camie rated it really liked it

This is a very good introduction.

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