A Foundation in Ethics
Q: Why are ethics and morality stressed so strongly in Theravada Buddhism?
A: The Buddha himself taught that ethics and morality are the first step. Without these as the foundation, concentration and wisdom—the insight and realization we are seeking—cannot arise. As long as there are activities of body, speech, or mind that cause agitation and disharmony, there will be too much confusion and too many negative emotions for the mind to be clear. The spin of all this confusion is just too disabling for true awareness to be reached.
Living morally is very simple for some people and very, very difficult for others. It all depends on the assets of goodness and kindness stored within a person’s karma.
Morality and ethics are just the beginning. Nonetheless, some of us need to spend most of our lifetime just putting down strong moral roots. Once these are established and strong, we begin to see the mind as it is.
How beneficial it would be if there were a bold revival in the sphere of education, emphasizing polite behavior and holding graceful etiquette as worthy as skills in sports. If children had a value for respectful behavior, they would understand that many people in their lives are worthy of respect: their parents, who look after them; their teachers, who work everyday to give them the opportunity to learn about the world they have been born into. They would come to understand that virtue itself is worthy of respect and that goodness is universally recognized as an attribute of a fine human being.
I remember seeing important generals come to visit venerated monks. They would come to the foyer of the monk’s dwelling and take off their super-shiny shoes, and unfasten their gun belts and lay them next to their shoes. Their bodyguards would follow them, putting down all their paraphernalia of combat and taking off their boots. They would all enter the receiving area together and bow gracefully to the monk and the statue of the Buddha. Some of them bowed as gracefully as ballet dancers.
After their talk with the monk, they would take their leave, bowing reverently once again before finally leaving the room. Outside the hut they would put back on their small arsenal of arms and ammunition and go about their business, refreshed and humbled. Bowing and graceful behavior played an important part in that transformation.
Q: In Buddhism are the standards of morality the same for everyone? For example, is a Buddhist soldier asked to refrain from killing, drinking alcohol, and visiting brothels?
A: Here in Thailand, we teach commercial fishermen not to kill other human beings. If we taught them that they should not kill anything, the teaching would have no value for them. It would set a standard they could not live up to. These people have this sort of unfortunate karma to bear. They are not at a level of karma where they are able to make more refined moral choices. Since childhood they have fished, drunk alcohol, smoked cigarettes, and squabbled among themselves over petty concerns. They have a hard time not killing one another.
This is an example of the relativity of things. Situations and karma vary dramatically from person to person.
Sexuality is another example that is quite relevant these days. A person with a sexual addiction most likely has a difficult time being discriminative regarding partners. While the best practice is sexual monogamy, this standard would be out of reach for a person with a sexual addiction problem. So instead, the best spiritual advice would be to refrain from exploitative sex, such as sex with minors or with people already committed to another relationship. And, just as important, to try not to exploit one’s own body. We all have to begin where we are. Spiritual guidance is flexible and must be adjusted to each person’s personal dilemmas. Here wisdom supercedes inflexible moral precepts.
Q: A lot of teaching in Theravada Buddhism is centered on morality, whereas the Buddha, if I understand rightly, said that in regards to morality one could cut right through everything extraneous and just rely upon wisdom in all our conduct. This sounds like the core of this aspect of the teaching.
A: I can appreciate the hope and desire behind your question. This is an important point that does need to be understood properly.
The basic teaching regarding morality and ethics is not meant to be a straitjacket as much as it is intended to be a leash—something to keep us from going too far astray and getting into mischief. Morality is essential as the foundation for the development of concentration. When concentration arises, wisdom naturally follows.
Clever people can be quite cunning in their attempts to completely bypass precepts and guidelines. For instance, one can say that in deciding to follow the precepts there must already be some underlying wisdom present in the heart. Otherwise, what would prompt us to want to restrain and refine our behavior? What, apart from wisdom, prompts us to stop running in circles and chasing our tail? So, arguably, wisdom is already functioning right from the start.
We need to be clear that this wisdom isn’t the Buddha’s wisdom, the ultimate truth. Rather, we can call this preliminary level of wisdom a kind of clear faith. It is a wisdom that still involves thinking—a clever, calculated kind of wisdom.
The Buddha’s wisdom is the wisdom of Emptiness. It arises by stages and has its foundation in morality. It is outside the domain of thought. You can’t think it out. It You need to study your mind through meditation in order to know anything about Emptiness.
How can you know or appreciate the profundity of Emptiness until you have walked a part of the path? When a glimmer of Emptiness arises in the mind of someone who has yet to do this work, it is disregarded as strange and of no consequence.
I know from my own experience the desire to seek and take shortcuts. But if you do, you’re likely to flounder from lack of confidence as soon as the going gets choppy. Better to follow the footsteps of the enlightened ones.
Q: What is selfishness?
A: Selfishness is the response that puts ME first. Selfishness bulls its way ahead of events. It is concerned not with what the situation calls for, but with putting ME first. The more you observe selfishness, the more you see that it is always off track and out of tune. If we want to get it right, we need to attune ourselves to act in a “me last” mode. All life is a test to see if we have learned to maintain this “me last” in all situations.
It is also true that people do good deeds in order to get something for themselves. These acts, good as they are, are diminished in their worth because they are tainted by the stench of self. Still, doing them is better than not doing them. The highest motive for doing good is simply to do good for its own sake. For in not seeking anything in return, one opens oneself to the greatest merits and deepest joys that come with selfless deeds.
Freedom is the absence of selfishness; it is selflessness.
Q: Suppose someone who has lived a dissolute and foolish life suddenly has an insight into the value of morality, and then turns herself completely around and ends up embracing the five Buddhist precepts. Is this person morally better and stronger than someone who has always kept the five precepts faithfully? Is there more merit in making such a radical transformation?
A: In Buddhist circles, everyone who keeps the precepts is considered equal, as they have all risen to the level of a true human being. However, someone who has undergone a spiritual transformation such as you are talking about would have considerable momentum and confidence going for her. She should parlay this energy by developing samadhi, or concentration. This will come easily for someone who has settled into an ethical and moral lifestyle. Worry and anxiety won’t disturb her mind. Once sufficient concentration is developed, the meditator can make her escape.
Q: In Buddhism, what do you mean by compassion?
A: That is a great question. It opens the way for insight into the essence of the Buddha’s teaching.
Compassion is the gut feeling that all other creatures are essentially the same as we are. All sentient beings are one because all of us share the same fate—old age, illness, and death. This is an inescapable, painful cycle, and the compassionate heart feels empathy.
In meditation practice we deepen and enlarge this understanding until we become the compassionate heart. This becomes our mood and our attitude in all our interpersonal relationships.
If you contemplate this, you will see that compassion is the warmth that displaces anger, ill-will, jealousy, hatred, greed, lust, and fear of other beings. It is very different from sympathy, which involves a sense of superiority and the presence of a dominating I-Ego.