Wrongdoing without a wrongdoer: ‘Empty ethics’ in Buddhism
One of the biggest challenges of the study and practice of ethics is that of the moral dilemma, e.g. how should a compassionate person deal with injustice? This paper attempts to resolve this thorny issue from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy. I firstly introduce the 14th Dalai Lama’s distinct...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax
2024
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| In: |
Asian philosophy
Year: 2024, Volume: 34, Issue: 3, Pages: 277–290 |
| Further subjects: | B
middle way
B Non-self B the 14th Dalai Lama B Emptiness B The act-actor distinction |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | One of the biggest challenges of the study and practice of ethics is that of the moral dilemma, e.g. how should a compassionate person deal with injustice? This paper attempts to resolve this thorny issue from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy. I firstly introduce the 14th Dalai Lama’s distinction between act and actor and suggest a way to denounce wrongful acts without harboring hatred towards the perpetrator. Secondly, I argue that the philosophical grounds of this distinction can be traced back to ancient Buddhist texts on Non-Self and Emptiness, which take all things as being in a constant state of change. Thirdly, I point out that a unique feature of the ‘empty ethics’ of Buddhism is that it inspires a middle way approach which allows for congruity between justice and compassion, between the realistic and the idealistic, and between rationality and sentimentality. Based on this, I suggest that it has much to contribute to contemporary ethics. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-2961 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Asian philosophy
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2024.2342425 |