The Metaphysical basis of Śāntideva's ethics
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Published version
Date
2015-07
DOI
Authors
Lele, Amod Jayant
Version
OA Version
Citation
“The Metaphysical Basis of Śāntideva’s Ethics.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 22 (2015): 249-83.
Abstract
Western Buddhists often believe and proclaim that
metaphysical speculation is irrelevant to Buddhist ethics
or practice. This view is problematic even with respect to
early Buddhism, and cannot be sustained regarding later
Indian Buddhists. In Śāntideva’s famous Bodhicaryāvatāra,
multiple claims about the nature of reality are premises
for conclusions about how human beings should act; that
is, metaphysics logically entails ethics for Śāntideva, as it
does for many Western philosophers. This article explores
four key arguments that Śāntideva makes from
metaphysics to ethics: actions are determined by their
causes, and therefore we should not get angry; the body is
reducible to its component parts, and therefore we should
neither protect it nor lust after other bodies; the self is an
illusion, and therefore we should be altruistic; all
phenomena are empty, and therefore we should not be
attached to them. The exploration of these arguments
together shows us why metaphysical claims can matter a
great deal for Buddhist ethics, practice and liberation.
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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States
Digital copies of this work may be made and distributed provided no change is made and no alteration is made to the content. Reproduction in any other format, with the exception of a single copy for private study, requires the written permission of the author. All enquiries to: cozort@dickinson.edu.
Digital copies of this work may be made and distributed provided no change is made and no alteration is made to the content. Reproduction in any other format, with the exception of a single copy for private study, requires the written permission of the author. All enquiries to: cozort@dickinson.edu.