Buddhism and the Crisis of Ethical values

Dr. Suraksha Bansal Dr. V.K.Maheshwari Dr.Saroj Agarwal

Ph.D Ph.D Ph.D
DIMS, Meerut DIMS, Meerut DIMS, Meerut
INDIA INDIA INDIA

Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find
hurtful. (Udana-Varga 5:18) The Buddhist view is that moral behavior
flows naturally from mastering one's ego and desires and cultivating loving
kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna).

Buddhism originated as an offshoot of Hinduism in India, . The personality

and teachings of Gautam Buddha, the founder of this faith, have illumined the lives
of millions of people in Japan, China and Southeast Asia Though more widespread
in East Asia, Buddhism was kindled to life in India. 

Buddhism evolved in India. There were periods in india's past when

Buddhism was dominant in India. Today less then 1% of India's population is
Buddhist. Buddhism has more followers in countries east of India. 
Buddhism was established in about 500 BC. Buddhism began with a
prince called Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha belonged to an aristocratic
family. As a prince he had lot of wealth. He never left his palace. At some
point Siddharta began to leave his palace and behold for the first time
poverty, sickness and misery. After seeing this Siddharta lost interest in his
spoiled life and left his palace forever and gave his rich personal belongings to
the needy. He joined a group of ascetics who were searching for
enlightenment. In those days people searching for enlightenment believed that
this could be gained only by people who were capable of resisting their basic
needs. These people almost did not eat anything and almost starved
themselves to death. Siddharta also adopted this path of searching
enlightenment. But at some point he came to a conclusion that this was neither
the way towards enlightenment nor the spoiled life he had as a prince was the
right path towards enlightenment. According to him the right path was
somewhere in the middle and he called it the 'middle path'. 
In order to focus on his enlightenment search, Buddha sat under a fig
tree and after fighting many temptations he got his enlightenment. In his
region 'enlightened' people were called Buddha. And so Siddharta was named
Buddha. According to Buddha's theory life is a long suffering. The suffering is
caused because of the passions people desire to accomplish. The more one
desires and the less he accomplishes the more he suffers. People who do not
accomplish their desirable passions in their lives will be born again to this life
circle which is full of suffering and so will distant themselves from the world
of no suffering - Nirvana. 
To get Nirvana, one has to follow the eight-fold path which are to
believe right, desire right, think right, live right, do the right efforts, think the
right thoughts, behave right and to do the right meditation. 
Buddhism emphasis non- violence. Buddha attacked the Brahmanic
custom of animal slaughtering during religious ceremonies. Religiously the
Buddhists are vegetarians. But a strong narrative in India claims that
Buddha, died because he ate a sick animal. Buddhism does not have a God,
nor is it atheistic. Many Buddhists keep images of Buddha. Buddha is not seen
as the first prophet of the religion, but as the fourth prophet of the religion. 
There are two main doctrines in Buddhism, Mahayana and Hinayana.
Mahayana Buddhist believe that the right path of a follower will lead to the
redemption of all human beings. The Hinayana believe that each person is
responsible for his own fate. Along with these doctrines there are other
Buddhist beliefs like 'Zen Buddhism' from Japan and the 'Hindu Tantric
Buddhism' from Tibet. Zen Buddhism is a mixture of Buddhism as it arrived
from India to Japan and original Japanese beliefs. The Hindu Tantric
Buddhism is a mixture of Indian Buddhism and original Tibetian beliefs
which existed among the Tibetians before the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet,
among it magic, ghosts and tantras (meaningless mystical sentences
Siddhartha, who was later known as the Buddha or the Enlightened one After
becoming enlightened, Gautama Buddha could have immediately released himself
from the cycle of rebirths and attained moksha. But he first decided to share his
wisdom with others., the original Buddhist faith, endorses the actual preachings of
the Buddha, emphasising that Buddha was not god but simply a mortal who
attained moksha. Hinayana monastries and stupas do not have an image of the
Lord ; instead the Buddha is represented by symbols like his footprints or an empty
throne.
Mahayana is the more widely accepted faith, an offshoot of the original
Buddhist teachings. Mahayana Buddhists worship the Buddha as god and put great
emphasis on rituals. However, both sects incorporate teaching from Hinduism and
places love and compassion at par with knowledge as the means to moksha.
Most of the Buddha’s teachings rest on the bedrock of Hindu principles and
beliefs like samsara, karma, moksha and yoga.
 The Law of Impermanence: Everything in the phenomenal world is subject
to change, though some things are obviously more enduring than others.
The Law of Causation: Nothing happens by chance or at random. Apart from
natural causes, we are subject to the operation of our karma.
The Four Noble Truths: Buddhism rests upon the foundation of four truths:
suffering is universal; suffering is caused and sustained by trishna (thirst or
craving); suffering can be prevented and overcome; and there is a way leading to
the removal of suffering.
The Eightfold Path: Buddha clearly delineates the path to follow to live a
good life. It has eight basic tenets consisting of right conduct, right motive, right
resolve, right speech, right livelihood, right attention, right effort and right
meditation. By pursuing this path of many-sided restraint and self-perfection, one
can conquer craving. Then one is within sight of nirvana, the transcendental state
of complete emancipation.
Buddha means the ‘enlightened’ or ‘awakened’ one. It is important to note
that Buddhism was the first religion in history of mankind to spread far beyond the
boundaries of the country where it originated. Compassionate attitude towards all
forms of life ha set a standard of ethical conduct for mankind. Everyone desires
that life may be spent in peace and harmony in a higher sphere.
Mythology and religion are the essence of culture. Human beings are
inspired and motivated by noble teaching and practices of religion. Every religion,
professed by man on this planet, consists of three elements or factors, i.e,
Philosophy. Mythology and Rituals. Religion is the relationship between man and
his creator. It has been in existence ever since the beginning of humanity and will
stay as long as there is human life. It has taught as brother hoof to lead the life of
true the are purity in thoughts and actions and other moral values like discipline,
attachment, promise keeping, honesty, justice, loyalty and cooperation. But at this
time we are losing basic moral values and thus facing the crises of ethical values
Materialistic out look along with fierce competition symbolizes modernity during
the present century and has taken its tool in terms of deterioration of moral values..
There is no peace and happiness in the life of human beings.
Essentially, according to Buddhist teachings, the ethical and moral
principles are governed by examining whether a certain action, whether connected
to body or speech is likely to be harmful to one's self or to others and thereby
avoiding any actions which are likely to be harmful. In Buddhism, there is much
talk of a skilled mind. A mind that is skilful avoids actions that are likely to cause
suffering or remorse
The world is joyless and full of miseries for all mankind. There is the very
pretend and unavoidable suffering of birth, old age, disease and death. Every those
who seem to be happy are n reality only pelting up a façade of happiness. While
man’s efforts are directed towards avoidance of suffering. He thinks he is happy.
Modern civilization is a patch work of activities meant to cover the perpetual
miseries of material existence.
Supposing by chance he is able to get all what he thinks will make and keep
him happy. He starts to worry about losing what he acquired to be unhappy and is
thus unhappy again. If nothing else. He is unhappy that he will have to leave the
world and all that he acquired for his so called happiness.
In the recent past man has undoubtedly made tremendous material
advancement through development of science and technology. This has given him
more bodily comforts. But this has also brought him to the verge complete
annihilation. Besides this man in materially advanced societies is faced with so
many new problems created as result of this progress that he can not be said to be
any nearer his goal of happiness.
But now days man is running after worldly things like wealth, power, fame,
and so on thinking that these will make him happy. But on acquiring what he was
running after initially, man finds after a while that is not happy again and start
running after some things else. This short lived happiness on getting what he
wanted is equivalent to the happiness of a hungry man on eating a good meal or
that of a man suffering from pain when he get rid of it . there is not last step to get
a happiness and fulfillment of life.
In the mad rush for fame money and prestige the materialistic scientist of
today has not time to pause and think. He must publish or perish. How different
from the ancient rishis in India who spent a life time investigating the truth and
there after added same nameless contribution.
At this time Buddhism is only religion to get peace and harmony world
wide. It is important to note that Buddhism was the first religion in the history of
mankind to spread for beyond the boundaries of the country where it originated.
Kindliness and tolerance, non-violence are also important features of Buddhism. It
is stress on a compassionate attitude to wards all forms of life has set a stand end of
ethical conduct for mankind everyone desired that his life should be spent in peace
and harmony in a higher sphere.
In the olden day every matter used to be weighed by truth only and so such
complications never arose. God is great linguist. He know all languages. He knows
English as well as He knows Hindi, Urdu, and Pali, However he is the master of all
languages and for his prayer all languages can be used equally effectively. There is
one language more which appeals to him most this is the language of heart like that
of an innocent child who cries out in love for his mother or for his father. Such
knowledge mixed with nice of the heart is surely dearer to him that the learned
volumes of the philosophers or the origin chants of the priests.
 Buddhism is not a religion that one can accept blindly once and for all.
Buddha means the enlightened awakened one. It has to be under stood and
constantly questioned. The Buddha said,” Accept my words only after you have
examined them for your seleves, do’not accept them simply because of the
reverence your have for me” 1. Although in the time course of time Buddhism has
some times been affected by tradition, rituals etc.
Through personal experience Buddha discovered the middle path which
gives vision and knowledge, which lead to calm, in sight enlighten Nirvana. This
middle path is generally know as the Noble eight fold path because it consists of
the following eight steps or braches. Right understanding, Right thought Right
Speech, Right action, Right livelihood Right efforts, Right mind fullness and Right
concentration. He explained the eight phases of the path in different ways and
different words to different persons. According to the level of under standing and
development they have reached. All of them have to be developed simultaneously
because they are linked together.
The Noble Eightfold path encompass to treatment of both the body and the
mind. We have to first purify our physical being so that it will be easier to purify
our minds. We purify our minds so that it will be easier to develop right
understanding. The first 2 steps, right understanding and right thought, refer to
application of the mind. Through them, ignorance, attachment and aversion can be
eliminated. However, it is common to see morality being emphasized in the initial
practice as morality is easier to grasp and is also the basis of all positive attributes
The eight fold path is the manual to self enlighten in Buddhism tremendous
us emphasis is laid on practical morality. In the words of the Dhammapada, the
man who talks much of the teaching but does not practice it himself is like a
cowman counting another’s cattle or again, “like beautiful flowers, fall of color.
But without scent, are the well spoken words of the man who does not act
accordingly such them are the factors in the Noble eight fold path.
Buddha offers a possible middle path between those two extremes. It is eight
fold path in mature nad is commonly know as the Noble eight fold path (Arya
Astangika marga) it suggests a combination of perfect character and perfect
knowledge. The Noble Eightfold Path is a comprehensive path leading to the end
of suffering. All the steps are interrelated and dependent on one another. The eight
steps can be classified into 3 streams of practice –

Eight steps-

Morality Mental development Wisdom

a. Right Speech a. Right Effort a.RightUnderstanding

b. Right Action b. Right Mindfulness b. Right Thought

c. Right Livelihood c. Right Concentration

Morality therein is indicated by right speech, right bodily action, and right
livelihood. Mental training is indicated by right effort, right mindfulness, and right
concentration of mind. And wisdom is indicated by right understanding and right
thought.

Right Views:- Right Understanding – The first stage of the Eightfold Path is,
as already stated, right understanding, i.e. understanding the true nature of
existence, and the moral laws governing the same. In other words, it is the right
understanding of the Dhamma Means seeing things as they really are. The means
of acquiring right understanding are through (a) observation and study, (b)
examination of observations and (c) meditation on the examinations One must
have right views of one’s existence as well as of the external world. He must
understand clearly the four noble truths and that the world is transitory and full of
suffering. Such an understanding alone can take his mind away from the things of
this world. Right knowledge can quench one’s thirst or desire and is there fore the
fore most requisite for one who wishes to take the path to liberation.

Right Thought:- - Means avoiding attachments and aversion. Thought has an

immense influence in our behavior. The Buddha said that if we act and speak with
a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow. The second stage of the Eightfold
Path is right thought, i.e. a pure state of mind, free from sensual lust, from ill-will,
and from cruelty; in other words, thoughts of self-renunciation, of goodness, and of
mercy.Right thought has been described as thought which is free from lust, ill will,
cruelty and thus does not contain any amount of evil in it one must not be
misguided by ignorance, prejudices or superstitions, since it is not always true that
a person who is considered to be bad or evil is incapable of goodness, especially in
the context of the fact that a robber was converted by Buddha into a saint and
absorbed in Buddhist community. One’s thinking has been polluted. So the
perception of his thinking is lighting in his actins.

Right Speech:- Speech is a powerful mechanism that has often been under
estimated. talks The third stage is right speech. It consists of words which are
not false, not harsh, not scandalous, not frivolous, i.e. truthful words, mild words,
pacifying words, and wise words Right speech means the control and use of
speech in beneficial ways through the respect for truth and respect for the well-
being of others. Right speech also means avoiding lying, slandering, harsh speech
and idle One must abstain from telling a lie, must not be engaged in unnecessary
talks or meaningless arguments. One must be carful as not to use harsh words. He
shuld be gentle loving and kind to his fellow beings. He should unite those who are
divided and encourage those who are united this speech should be like treasure
uttered of the appropriate moment, and accompanied by arguments which are
moderate and sensible. Swami Vivekananda has won the hear of whole world by
his right speech and kabir also has given us the message of right speech. Always be
in control of yourself in speaking you may have to refuse peoples unreasonable
requests you may be annoyed with others for various reasons. But you must
express your feeling in a nice dignified manner which is likely to be more effective
than speaking in a harsh language. Once yo become violent in your speech you
may go beyond the limits you may have set you yourself and you may later regret
this violence in speech when you have unpleasant things to say. Say these firmly
clearly but do not make things worse by speaking in anger.

Right action:- The fourth stage is right bodily action, i.e. abstaining from
intentional killing or harming of any living creature, abstaining from dishonest
taking of others' property, abstaining from adultery Means the respect for lives,
properties and respect for personal relationships. These include the avoidance of
killing, stealing, robbing and sexual misconducts. Buddhism gives us a message of
right action but man is not dong his work honestly and without selfishness. But it
refers to the total avoidance of valence and passion at all levels of existence. Right
action is also any action that proceeds from an unobstructed mind when as morality
in the usual sense of the word can be practiced by one who is blind to the motives
behind this behavior. Right action is impossible without clean and deep
understanding.

Right Livelihood:- The fifth stage is right livelihood, i.e. such a livelihood as does
not bring harm and suffering to other beings Means earning a living in a manner
that does not violate basic moral values and caused harm to others. 5 kinds of
livelihood are discouraged for Buddhists; these include trading in (a) animals for
slaughter (b) slaves, (c) arms, (d) poisons and (e) intoxicants Right livelihood is
that by which the disciple of the noble one supports himself to the wrong modes of
livelihood. One must choose for oneself the right way earning a living and must
avoid all dishonest means of doing so we might say that this fifth factor of the path
requesting our work hours. It requires us to take time which will be conducing to
our own growth and development and which while if possible be beneficial to
others. If a job help us in our search for an understanding path of ourselves and of
the world around us then it is for us.

Right Efforts: The sixth stage is right effort. It is the fourfold effort which we
make in overcoming old and avoiding fresh bad actions by body, speech and mind;
and the effort which we make in developing fresh actions of righteousness, inner
peace and wisdom, and in cultivating them to perfection.

Cultivating an appropriate level of motivation in our pursuit of the Dharma.-

Right efforts requires the development of insight intuition and will power. We need
to develop insight in order to perceive which of the states of mind habitually
present are to be prefer and which are to be weeded out we need to develop
intuition so that we can gauge when we are sailing close to a hit her to unknown
state of mid and whether we should go ahead or with draw from it. It also stop bad
and wrong qualities which have not yet arisen from ever arising to renounce those
which have already arisen to faster good qualities which have not yet arisen and
finally to establish clarify multiply, enlarge, develop and perfect those good
qualities which are these already.

Right Mind fullness:- The seventh stage is right mindfulness, or alertness of mind.
It is the ever-ready mental clarity whatever we are doing, speaking, or thinking and
in keeping before our mind the realities of existence, i.e. the impermanence,
unsatisfactoriness and phenomenality (anicca, dukkha, anatta) of all forms of
existence Watching the body and mind and be aware of what one is doing.

Right mind fullness is contemplation on the four fund mental :

contemplation on the body feeling mind and mental objects one must be conscious
of all his acts, both physical and mental it serves too as control over the other
factors, preventing the excessive development of one at the expense of the others.

Mindfulness of the body, this consists in becoming gradually more aware of

the body. We can being this practice by trying to watch the various changes in the
postures of the body lying sitting standing walking.

Mindfulness of the feelings requires us to take up a similarly quit and

detached attitude to wards our feeling as towards our bodies. By feeling is meant
here the emotional reaction that follows and stimulus: pleasure pain or in
difference.
Right Concentration :- The eighth stage is right concentration of mind. Such a
kind of mental concentration is meant, as is directed towards a morally wholesome
object, and always bound up with right thought, right effort and right mindfulness
The focus of the mind single-pointedly on an object.Right concentration or
meditation is the last factor of the path leading to the cessation of suffering
Meditation and its outer part in daily life. It is concentration on a single object
which is associated with whole some consciousness. The four fundamentals of
mindfulness are the objects of concentration and the four great efforts are the
prerequisites. For concentration mindfulness from together the essence of the
Buddha’s teaching.

It has been said of mind that it is like a pool. Too after that pool is agitated
and muddy reflecting nothing but its own turbidity Buddhist meditation is designed
to quite the mind until it becomes perfectly still. Then the deep recesses of the pool
can be seen clearly and it will reflect a true picture of what ever is presented to it.

So these must be practiced simultaneously although their perfection will be

acquired only in a gradually as sending scale. No step can be left out for
knowledge must be acquired and used with right motives and applied to speech,
action and the means of livelihood. Yet these are of no avail unless directed and
controlled intelligently. After which the basis of true mind control will have been
laid to culminate in time in self enlighten.

Really, Buddha’s ethical path is a training for different aspects of a

personality, a process of purification through the ……… of a highly moral
conduct. It aims at he steadiness and integrity of the mind brought about through
concentration on a single object until that object slowly disappears and the
concentrating mind is gradually reduced to a state of & nonattachment and
extinctions, which is the sate of Nirvana, of the above mentioned eight angus or
‘Limbs’ in the eightfold path right speech right speech, right action and right
livelihood constitute the aspect of conduct (Sila) right effort, right mindfulness and
concentration constitute the ultimate disciplining of the mind (Samadhi) and
finally, right vireos, and thought or resolution constitute the aspect of wisdom or
knowledge (Prajna) so, we have to follow the basic tenets of Buddhism to save the
crisis of ethical values prevailing in the world today.

Moral conduct for Buddhists differs according to whether it applies to the

laity or to the Sangha or clergy. A lay Buddhist should cultivate good conduct by
training in what are known as the "Five Precepts". These are not like, say, the ten
commandments, which, if broken, entail punishment by God. The five precepts are
training rules, which, if one were to break any of them, one should be aware of the
breech and examine how such a breech may be avoided in the future. The resultant
of an action (often referred to as Karma) depends on the intention more than the
action itself.

Generally ,whenever talks and discussions are held on world-peace and

remedies of universal crisis, every one payes attention towards self benefit or
interest. The benefits and interests of other people are overruled. The problems will
never be solved until the understanding of equality regarding importance of self
and others is recognized and developed.

I am not implying that the Buddha and his philosophy are perfect for fair
human contact or contactism. In fact, in my novel, Discovering Brides, released
recently from the U.S.A., I have shown the Buddha not so fair his young wife and
infant son as he left them unwarned in the middle of the night. For my support I
have quoted in my novel the lines from the famous Hindi epic, Yashodhara, by
Maithili Sharan Gupta. But then I have presented the Buddha, not as a religious
leader, but as a champion of contactism, who had the courage to cast away what
was unfair in his ancestral religious background. He thought of greater good in his
mid-night flight, a flight to and for the world out there.

As the world economy is now more globalized than ever before in the
history of humankind, we have begun to believe that there is very little chance for
another world war. But how about international terrorism? We still need to practice
ahimsa, non-injury, to the members of our own human species. Anthropologists
and other scientists have shown that humans evolved as one race and spread
around the globe eventually. Many races are political fictions; one race is a
scientific fact. The world to our human race came as one globe, not as many
nations. Buddhism spread internationally because it ignored racial and
geographical prejudices.

REFERENCES-

1. Anoop Chandola, "Contractics Daily Drama of Human Contact" Lenham MD:

Un iversity Press of America.
2. H. Saddhatissa, "The Buddha's Way" George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London.

3. Christmas Humphreys, "Buddhism" Penguin Books.

4. S.RadhaKrishnan, "Indian Philosophy".India.

5. Bansal & Maheshwari, "Darshnik Pranaliya" R.Lall Publishers, Meerut, India.