Ethical Revaluation in the Thought of Śāntideva

Dissertation

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Abstract

This dissertation examines the idea of ethical revaluation — taking things we normally see as good for our flourishing and seeing them as neutral or bad, and vice versa — in the Mahayana Buddhist thinker Śāntideva. It shows how Śāntideva's thought on the matter is more coherent than it might otherwise appear, first by examining the consistency of Śāntideva's own claims and then by applying them to contemporary ethical thought. In so doing, it makes four significant contributions.
      Śāntideva claims that property and relationships are bad for us because they promote attachment, and that others’ wrongdoing is good for us because it allows us to generate patient endurance. Yet he also urges his readers to give property to others, and to prevent their wrongdoing. Is he caught in contradiction? The dissertation argues that he is not, because giving to others is not intended to benefit them materially, but rather to produce beneficial mental states in them, and preventing wrongdoing is intended to benefit the wrongdoer and not the victim. In both cases, Śāntideva emphasizes individual action in a way that makes social or political action more difficult to justify.
      The dissertation's first contribution is to show how this interpretation of Śāntideva contrasts notably with standard presentations of Mahāyāna ethics. Its second contribution is to refute claims that Buddhists have no normative ethics.
      Śāntideva's resolutions of these apparent contradictions also have relevance for contemporary ethical thought. Martha Nussbaum argues against an ethical revaluation similar to Śāntideva's, on the grounds that such a revaluation makes it contradictory to argue for providing goods to others, preventing others' wrongdoing or engaging in political action. Śāntideva's views show that ethical revaluation is a more sustainable position than these criticisms of Nussbaum's would imply; if it is to be rejected, it must be rejected on other grounds. To show this point is the dissertation's third contribution. The fourth contribution is methodological; by finding similarities of concern and differences of opinion between Śāntideva and a contemporary thinker, it helps bridge the gap between normative and comparative religious ethics.

Citation

Lele, Amod Jayant. "Ethical Revaluation in the Thought of Śāntideva." PhD diss., Harvard University, 2007. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/159489216.pdf.

Scholarship on

Bodhicaryāvatāra

An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.

Text

Acknowledgementsix
I. Introduction1
- Flow of the argument3
- Approaching Śāntideva's works9
  - Śāntideva's works and influence9
  - Data on authorship14
  - Textual methods20
- The bodhisattva32
  - Becoming a bodhisattva33
  - Rubrics for the bodhisattva's actions and virtues39
II. Śāntideva's rational ethics48
- A thin concept of rationality52
- Śāntideva's arguments61
  - Pleasant and unpleasant mental states62
  - Metaphysical insight67
  - Good and bad karma77
III. Ethical revaluation as a consequence of nonattachment and patient endurance91
- Nonattachment93
  - Concepts of attachment and nonattachment93
  - The case for nonattachment98
  - Practising nonattachment101
- Patient endurance104
  - Patient endurance in South Asian Buddhism104
  - The varieties and commonalities of patient endurance109
  - Happiness from enduring suffering113
  - The case against anger115
- The idea of ethical revaluation121
  - Ethical revaluation of possessions124
  - Ethical revaluation of others' wrongdoing128
IV. Giving revalued possessions136
- Why give revalued goods?137
- Alternate reasons for giving140
- Non-material benefit149
- Objections and alternative interpretations161
- Individual and not institutional giving165
- Conclusion174
V. Preventing revalued wrongdoing176
- Why prevent revalued wrongdoing?177
- For the wrongdoer's sake179
- Harming bodhisattvas and harming ordinary people182
- Excellence in means190
- Avoiding what one should long for195
- Individual and not social wrongdoers200
- Conclusion203
VI. Methods of application206
- The contemporary audience207
- A contemporary foil: Martha Nussbaum211
- Classes of argument217
- Normative and comparative222
- Constructive work beyond "formalism"231
VII. Revaluing external goods244
- Nussbaum on valuing external goods247
- Śāntideva on revaluing external goods250
- Compassion254
  - Narcissism261
- Contradictions in revaluation?263
  - Providing external goods to others263
  - Preventing wrongdoing270
  - Political institutions275
- The serious problems with revaluation282
  - Material and institutional conditions for virtue282
  - Transcending humanity288
  - Prevalent ordinary beliefs292
- Conclusion299
VIII. Conclusions and future prospects301
Bibliography308