What are some of the purported benefits of Buddhist morals and ethics?

By Hannah Dwyer

Buddhism was founded in the late 6th century B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama (the “Buddha”). In its essence, Buddhism is a practical philosophy through a set of ethical moral practices that are integrated into the Buddhist way of living. Some of the key Buddhist philosophical concepts includes the idea of Karma (the cause and effect of both positive and negative actions) and Nirvana which is a transcendence to a state of mind of complete peace of enlightenment when the Karma cycle has been broken. Buddhist also aspire to understand the Four Noble Truths (Dukkha, Samudaya, Nirodha and Magga) in their journey to enlightenment. One literary text that explores key Buddhist Philosophical concepts is Hermann Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’. First published in 1922 in German, it wasn’t until 1951 that the book was translated in English and published in the U.S.; where it became very influential in the 1960’s counterculture movement. The story of ‘Siddhartha’ deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of the titled character during the time of the Gautama Buddha, who is referred to as Gotama in this text. Hesse’s novel is an “eastern view of enlightenment”[1] and a demonstration of how “one seeks to distance oneself from the distractions of this world.”[2] In this essay I will explore the purported benefits of Buddhist morals and ethics (morals being a personal idea of self and standards and ethics being the belief of how to treat other people) and how this is seen in Hesse’s text.

The Buddha has been quoted to say that he would ‘teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path’ and nothing more.The Buddha also “argued that suffering does not just happen”[3] and that it “arises as a consequence of actions conditioned by attachment and aversion, each of which in turn is engendered by confusion regarding the nature of reality.”[4] The Four Noble Truths is the essence of what the Buddha teaches. The First Noble Truth is suffering (Dukkha); suffering comes in many forms such as old age, sickness, and death, all which the Buddha experienced on his journey outside of the palace. Suffering can also occur when living in a state of impermanence and dissatisfaction; human beings are subjected to desires and cravings that only give temporary satisfaction. The Second Noble Truth is to understand the origins of suffering (Samudaya). Buddhism teaches that the root of suffering is desire, ignorance, and any aversion to change our suffering. In fact, “Buddhism, as a whole, is driven by the aim of providing a solution to the pervasive suffering of the human condition, and that the origin of suffering is rooted in ignorance.”[5] The Second Noble Truth “allows us to begin to see how very different Buddhist moral thought is from most Western moral thought”[6] in regards to the three roots of suffering. Attachment, aversion and confusion are regarded as “moral defilements”[7] and are not “especially problematic in most Western moral theory.” For example, “confusion, is rarely seen in the West as a moral matter, unless it is because one has a duty to be clear about things.”[8] The Third Noble Truth is cessation of suffering (Nirodha). To free oneself of suffering and extinguish desire that causing suffering we must liberate ourselves from attachment. Lastly, the Fourth Noble Truth is the path to end your suffering (Nirodha) to reach enlightenment and this is done through the eightfold path. To complete the eightfold path you must: have the right understanding (accepting the Buddhist teachings), right intention, right speech (truthfully), right action (peaceful), right livelihood (no harm to others, right effort (positive state of mind), right mindfulness and right concentration. They don’t have to be achieved in order but they are intrinsically connected. Overall, “morality is woven into the fabric of Buddhist teachings”[9] and the “scriptures of Buddhism in every language speak eloquently of virtues such as non-violence and compassion.”[10] Moral actions have both “transitive and intransitive effects.”[11] According to Buddhism, “human beings have free will, and in the exercise of free choice they engage in self-determination.”[12] Hence, individuals create themselves through their moral choices and by repeatedly, and freely, choose certain things or do certain actions they themselves develop their character and their future. So, in order to live a moral life, it is up to us ourselves to determine what is right. A benefit of this moral code is that we are in control of our own moral decisions. Furthermore, our views, from a Buddhist perspective, matter morally. It is an “epistemic fault to think material goods guarantee happiness”[13] or that “women are incapable of rational thought”[14] and would be considered morally problematic.  So, our moral obligations are not just limited to our actions but is extended to our way of thinking which means we must be responsible for our entire self. This is mainly due to the fact that in Buddhist philosophical and religious literature there are “accounts of virtuous and vicious actions, virtuous and vicious states of character and of virtuous and vicious lives.”[15] However, there is “little direct attention to the articulation of sets of principles that determine which actions, states of character or motives are virtuous or vicious, and no articulation of sets of obligations.”[16]

Western ethics can be split into three different categories: descriptive ethics (objective account of the moral prescription, norms and values of a community), normative ethics (general rules and principles we should follow, and metaethics (examining the logic of ethical legitimations and validation). The foundation of Buddhist ethics is Dharma. “Dharma has many meanings, but the underlying notion is of a universal law which governs both the physical and moral order of the universe.”[17] It’s a “natural law”[18] that is the principle of order and regularity. Buddhist ethics focus on principles and practices that help one to act in ways that help rather than harm. The core ethical code of Buddhism is known as the five precept; they are not rules or commandments that a Buddhist must follow but more of a principle to follow to help them on their path. These five precepts are: not killing or causing harm to other living beings, taking what is not given, avoiding sexual misconduct, avoiding false speech, and abstaining from alcohol and drug. What is different about Dharma is that it is “neither caused by nor under the control of a supreme being, and the gods themselves are subjected to its law, as was the Buddha.”[19] Dharma is manifested in the “law of karma”[20], which “governs the way moral deeds affect individuals in present and future lives.”[21] Karma “plays a central role in any Buddhist discussion”[22] as it “is concerned with the ethical implications of Dharma.”[23] As “karma is not a system of rewards and punishments meted out by God but kind of a natural law akin to the law of gravity.”[24]  So, karmic actions are moral actions, whether they be good or bad, and through the natural law of karma are actions will ripple back to us.  The benefits of karma from an ethical point of view is that it makes us aware of actions as we know what ever we out into the universe it will come back to us in the end.

Herman Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’ is a story of a man leaving a “world of simple-minded virtue that embodies in his family, especially in his father’s narrow Brahmanism with it’s ceremonial washing, ritual prayer, and formalized goodness,”[25]as well as the “craving for wealth or fame, possessions, home comforts”[26] in order to be “more attuned to the mysteries of existence.”[27] Hesse uses Siddhartha as tool to explain Buddhist philosophies to western cultures that are fixed in religious beliefs, mainly Christianity, that are filled with rituals for a deity/s, which in his opinion don’t bring peace to the self. He does this by setting up the chapters in ‘Siddhartha’ correspond to the Buddha’s doctrine. The first four chapters in part one reflects the Four Noble Truths, which as I discussed previously, are the Buddha’s basic teachings. Part two of the novel evokes the Eightfold Path that details how to end suffering, which is exhibited in part one, and how to reach enlightenment.  Like the Buddha, Siddhartha deprives himself of food and exposes his body to the rigorous weather to “empty himself completely of all physical desires”[28] so that he can find peace. “Siddhartha had one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dream, pleasure and sorrow- to let the Self die”[29] and to experience “pure thought.”[30]He “fasted [for] twenty-eight days. The flesh disappeared from his legs and cheeks.”[31] When he walked through the town he witnessed “businessmen trading, princes going to the hunt, mourners weeping over their dead, prostitutes offering themselves, doctors attending the sick, priest deciding the day for sowing, lovers making love, mothers soothing their children.”[32] To Siddhartha, “all were not worth a passing glance, everything lied, stank of lies; they were all illusions of sense, happiness and beauty”[33] and “all were doomed to decay.”[34] In its essence “life was pain”[35] and suffering. Here, Siddhartha has realised the root of suffering in the world and has finally understood the Second Noble Truth. Also, he has realised that he will never reach “Nirvana” if he continues to follow the Samanas’ teaching, that seek escapism from the physical world, as true enlightenment cannot be taught and must be realised within.“He must not seek to escape life but face it, live it.”[36] Siddhartha comes to this conclusion when talking to Gotama (representing the Buddha) that because he “learned nothing through teachings”[37] then “then nobody finds salvation through teachings.”[38] Siddhartha has to learn how to break from the suffering of the world by himself, it is his own moral responsibility to find peace.

The second part of the Hesse’s novel exhibits living a life of excess, and indulgence will not satisfy you. After his conversation with the Gotama, Siddhartha “rejects the spiritual world and enters the material world”[39] as we watch him try to impress “a beautiful, wealthy courtesan”[40] Kamala. She gets him a job so that he can “afford the beautiful things that will impress her”[41] and eventually Siddhartha “finds himself caught up in trading, dinking, and gambling of a merchant life.”[42]  However, over time “slowly the soul sickness of the rich crept over him”[43] as “relentlessly pursuing carnal desire does not lead”[44] Siddhartha to wisdom either. Everything “grows old with time”[45] and by seeking out pleasure in material things we will always be left unsatisfied. Siddhartha learns that “worldly things, the acquiring of money, have gradually taken possession of his life”[46] and has become “enslaved”[47] by objects and now his “thoughts dwell less and less on the eternal things.”[48] Hesse is expressing that indulging in desires and believing that the material world hold any importance does nothing for the self. Like Siddhartha learns, by seeking pleasure we are always left unfulfilled because it only brings temporary happiness. Therefore, we are then causing our own suffering. Furthermore, by being a merchant and selling good, Siddhartha also contributed to this cycle of sufferable consumerism. To live a moral life, we cannot cling to possession and believe they give us great importance. Overall, “Siddhartha’s worldly and spiritual duality represents the human’s conflict in general, especially the confusedness about something people really want to do.”[49] What Hesse presents is that Buddhist morals and ethics help people escape this internal turmoil that causes us spiritual suffering. 

Throughout Hesse’s novel there is a battle of opposites competing; “such as time/timelessness and attachment/detachment.”[50] Siddhartha shows that “embracing on and rejecting the other does not lead to enlightenment.”[51] To achieve transcendence we must accept all that is “false and true at the same time;”[52] and that “all is living and dead at the same moment.”[53]In Hesse’s novel the river is a  symbol of two opposites uniting together. Siddhartha “saw that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new.”[54] Through its perpetual cycle, the river provides Siddhartha without words and by studying its movements Siddhartha is rewarded with the understanding of its divine essence. So, if the river is the path to enlightenment, then Vasudeva (the Ferryman) is the guide. The first time Siddhartha met Vasudeva, he only wanted to cross the river so that is all Vasudeva did. However, when they meet again Siddhartha wants to be rid of his rich clothes, that are now a “nuisance”[55] to him, and instead be in search to understand the river; this time Vasudeva guides him how to listen to the river. Vasudeva is an “external guide”[56] and “he never attempts to tell Siddhartha the meaning of life.”[57] Instead, he tells Siddhartha that the “river knows everything; one can learn everything from it” and he must learn how to listen to it himself. The river teaches Siddhartha how to “listen with a still heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgement, without opinion.”[58]  Once Siddhartha has reach enlightenment, he too becomes a ferryman taking people across the river and guiding them to enlightenment. It’s his moral responsibility to guide those who wish to understand the river but not to teach them. Hesse shows that a person must follow their own path and build their own understanding of suffering and what is right and wrong.  Siddhartha followed his own path and broke away from his family and the Samanas’ religious beliefs; he learnt physical and spiritual suffering and formed his own thoughts beliefs. In Buddhism there are principles one can follow to live a moral and ethical life but no set rules because in its essence only you can find the self in you. You cannot be taught how to reach enlightenment. You must find it yourself just like Siddhartha did in Hesse’s novel; this is what separated Buddhism from other religious faiths. Thus, the  moral and  ethical benefits of Buddhism as presented in Hesse’s novel is that we are in control of our lives and our suffering; we can choose to change and escape from things that are harmful to us and follow a better path.

In conclusion, the Buddhist moral theory that “there is no overarching concern for a unified form of moral assessment;”[59] its “reflection on ethics is the solution of a fundamental, pervasive problem, the problem of suffering.”[60] What is morally and ethically right is to understand suffering and display any “virtues that undermine these vices”[61] of “seeing impermanent phenomena as permanent, seeing the self as real, and seeing the distinction between self and others as significant”[62] is “morally desirable.”[63] As Hesse rights in his novel, “everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone.”[64] What is beneficial about Buddhist moral and ethics is that we are in control of our own suffering; there is no omnipotent and omniscient deity/s that we must please to reach an everlasting bliss. Therefore, are moral or ethical actions are not then in accordance with a spiritual being, we do it for ourselves to end our own suffering. Like Siddhartha, “every person has his own right to do something they want to do and what they want to experience.”[65] Thus, they “should be capable to accept to face all the obstacles to make them move forward to a higher level”[66] in their journey.

Bibliography

Primary Text

·       Hesse, Herman (2008) ‘Siddhartha’ New Ed Penguin Classics, Penguin Publishers, London, UK

Secondary Text

·       Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al (2015) ‘Ego, Egoism and the Impact of Religion on Ethical Experience: What a Paradoxical Consequence of Buddhist Culture Tells Us About Moral Psychology’ The journey of Ethics, Vol.19 No.3/4

·       Jackson, Michael (2019) ‘Reading Siddhartha to Freya at Forest Lake’ Berkeley, University of California Press, U.S.A

·       Keown, Damien (2005) ‘Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction’ Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K

·       Locke, Jessica (2018) ‘Training the Mind and Transforming Your World: Moral Phenomenology in the Tibetan Buddhist Lojong Tradition’ Comparative and Continental Philosophy Vol.10 No.3

·       Malthaner, Johannes (1952) ‘Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha’ The German Quarterly, Wiley-Blackwell, on behalf of the American Association of Teachers of Germany, U.S.A

·       Praseeda, M.K. (2014) ‘The Need of Spiritual Endeavours for an Intellectual Existence: A Re-reading of Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Kongunady Research Journal 1

·       Rai, I.S. ‘Meeting Me at Horizon: In Search of Life Through Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Studies (ISSN 2455-2526),3

·       Shofiyani, Y. and Yulianto, H.J (2019) ‘Revealing the Meaning of Pilgrim’s journey for searching Salvation in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Rainbow Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies 8(2)

[1] Jackson, Michael (2019) ‘Reading Siddhartha to Freya at Forest Lake’ Berkeley, University of California Press, U.S.A P.118

[2] Ibid, Jackson, Michael P.118

[3] Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al (2015) ‘Ego, Egoism and the Impact of Religion on Ethical Experience: What a Paradoxical Consequence of Buddhist Culture Tells Us About Moral Psychology’ The journey of Ethics, Vol.19 No.3/4 P.295,

[4] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.295

[5] Locke, Jessica (2018) ‘Training the Mind and Transforming Your World: Moral Phenomenology in the Tibetan Buddhist Lojong Tradition’ Comparative and Continental Philosophy Vol.10 No.3 P.252

[6]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.296

[7]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.296

[8]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.296

[9] Keown, Damien (2005) ‘Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction’ Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K P.23

[10] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.23

[11] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.26

[12] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.26

[13] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.297

[14] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.297

[15] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.294

[16] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.294

[17] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.23

[18] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.23

[19] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.23

[20] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.24

[21] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.24

[22] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.297

[23] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.25

[24] Ibid, Keown, Damien P.25

[25] Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, eine indische Dichtung, as a Western Archetype Robert C. Conard P.360

[26] Ibid, Jackson, Michael P.118

[27] Ibid, Jackson, Michael P.118

[28]Malthaner, Johannes (1952) ‘Hermann Hesse. Siddhartha’ The German Quarterly, Wiley-Blackwell, on behalf of the American Association of Teachers of Germany, U.S.A P.104,

[29] Hesse, Herman (2008) ‘Siddhartha’ New Ed Penguin Classics, Penguin Publishers, London, UK P.11

[30] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[31] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[32] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[33] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[34] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[35] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.11

[36] Ibid, Malthaner, Johannes P.106

[37] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.28

[38] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.28

[39]Praseeda, M.K. (2014) ‘The Need of Spiritual Endeavours for an Intellectual Existence: A Re-reading of Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Kongunady Research Journal 1 P.1,

[40] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.1

[41] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[42] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[43] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.61

[44] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[45] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.61

[46] Ibid, Malthaner, Johannes P.107

[47] Ibid, Malthaner, Johannes P.107

[48] Ibid, Malthaner, Johannes P.107

[49] Shofiyani, Y. and Yulianto, H.J (2019) ‘Revealing the Meaning of Pilgrim’s journey for searching Salvation in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Rainbow Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies 8(2)P.58)

[50] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[51] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[52] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[53] Ibid, Praseeda, M.K. P.2

[54] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.79

[55] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.80

[56]Rai, I.S. ‘Meeting Me at Horizon: In Search of Life Through Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha’ Studies (ISSN 2455-2526),3 P.306

[57] Ibid, Rai, I,S P.306

[58] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.83

[59]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.298

[60] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.299

[61]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.299

[62] Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.299

[63]Ibid, Garfield, Jay L., Nichols, Shaun, Rai, Arun K., et al P.299

[64] Ibid, Hesse, Herman P.102

[65]Ibid, Shofiyani, Y. and Yulianto, H.J P.56

[66] Ibid, Shofiyani, Y. and Yulianto, H.J P.56