Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: B y most accounts, Buddhism is geared toward the ethical goal of nirvāṇa, 1 a state allegedly characterized by the full "cessation of suffering" (dukkhanirodha). 2 A common claim made in many Buddhist texts is that for as long as they remain alive and active in this world, those who have attained or are very close to attaining ethical perfection-arhant-s, bodhisattva-s, buddha-s, etc. 3 -manifest boundless compassion for all beings.4 It would 1. "Ethical" and "ethics" in the present context are to be broadly construed as encompassing all types of discourse that deal with leading the "good life" and the attainment of the summum bonum ("highest good").In this connection, I am inclined to agree with Richard Hayes that it is not, strictly speaking, appropriate to speak of Indian Buddhism as being "soteriological," seeing as there is no σωτήρ ("savior") in Indian Buddhism (other than oneself) and thus no "salvation" per se (Diṅnāga on the Interpretation of Signs [London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989], 34-35).I do not take the question as to whether or not Buddhist teachings constitute "religious doctrine" to be particularly relevant in the present context.This is why, all things considered, I prefer to describe nirvāṇa as an "ethical goal" and speak of the Buddhist path as one of "ethical training."2. Vinayapiṭaka, Volume I, ed.Hermann Oldenberg (London: Williams and Norgate, 1879), 10. 3. It should be noted that for the sake of simplicity and clarity, all technical Buddhist terms will appear in their Sanskrit (or Sanskritized) forms unless I am directly quoting a Pāli text (as done above).Anthony K. Warder's systematic sanskritization of Pāli forms in Indian Buddhism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980) represents an important precedent for this practice.It should be noted that all translations from Sanskrit, Pāli, German, and French in this paper are my own.4. In the Pāli Canon, the Buddha is presented as a supremely compassionate agent (Majjhimanikāya, Volumes I-VI, ed.Vilhelm Treckner and Robert Chalmers [London: Pāli Text Society, 1888-1905], I.100; and Saṃyuttanikāya, volume I-V, ed.Léon Féer and Caroline A. F. R. Davids [London: Pāli Text Society, 1884-1904], II.110); nay, as the only agent in the world whose only goal is to act for the welfare of all "out of compassion" (anukampāya) (Aṅgutarranikāya, volume I-VI, ed.Richard Morris [London: Pāli Text Society, 1976-1981], I.22; and Dīghanikāya, volume I-III, ed.Thomas W. Rhys Davids and
Author: Antoine Panaïoti
Institution: Union College
Language: English
Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4386766362