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BUDDHIST ETHICS INTERNATIONAL AND RELATIONS J. M. Kitagawa This article was written R. H. L. Slater of Harvard for International Relations. Church Peace Union Dr. Shoson University critique, Conference Professor would ant place made at the Dr. Slater The present last minute, rightly context, with in and writer, because that to a whole, Slater's Ethics conference of the philosophy agreed make rich, sense, asked a few Buddhist discussion varied years includes must context of the for our understanding the expense Buddhism-(1) of oversimplification, of the historical of the present-day Buddhism, Dr. Miyamoto's remarks. be seen in its total of religious history behind historical aspect which he excluded from his paper. I am inclined essential the on this import- to take sketchy ethics to the of Hawaii. on Mahayana to the was at the write of his commitment authority hundred that a very brief reexamination to West held at the University who can only states originally contribution twenty-five Dr. of Buddhist had by Professor of Buddhist at the professor a recognized a valuable paper 25, 1959. who East the September the task being It belongs and practice, total not undertake on Implications he presented visiting 1958-59, on Philosophy question. context: which Miyamoto, Miyamoto, have The at Princeton, of Chicago, could as a commentary entitled thought it. The context, the to f eel, however, context of Buddhism is ethos of Buddhism. At I wish to depict three historic stages of Early Buddhism, (2) Buddhism under King Asoka, and (3) Modern Buddhism. (1) Early Buddhism: Some of the contemporary Buddhist philosophers accept the view that Buddhism is a way of life following from the acceptance of a certain set of propositions the facts of existence pertaining which to the -777- life are considered and destiny to represent of man in the BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL universe. body But, as E. J. Thomas of doctrine but with reminds the RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) us, formation Buddhism of a began society (2) not with bound by a certain (1) rules. The groups of ascetics Buddhist dharma principles practices. Early realized and time to Brahman supported the against but more could the The Enlightenment, alone Affirmation orthodoxy, From the beginning, of of the Brahman the the cosmic Dharma and that Dharma was was and on the importance fessor Bahm rightly observes that to the goal, and of meditation Pachow ably argues the experience the middle but is, in a fundamental Professor inquiry. explanation and insight (Panna) abhinna), and both in turn are prerequisites (vimutti, tanha-kkhya) 1 of was Go- of moral discipline. According to early Buddhism, right conduct (sila) is the prerequisite ing liberation reHence the Samgha the universe but the salvation of finite beings. Equally important tama's insistence fully integrally path of deliverance. Gotama was not a metaphysical was religious Buddhism was conducive to philosophical However, what concerned ritua- metaphysico. external the Dharma, and message that Buddha, eternal Buddhists Gotama's by observing the of the the cosmic, against burden and other character social order. hollowness provided in the community unique fundamentally believed which the empirical not be apprehended Buddhists by Gotama's the Buddhist to obliterate Brahmanism. to the Samgha, the Threefold tend not only of Dharma between According revolted the lated in India samgha. of Buddha's social that similarities sanctioned Buddhism lism external sense, that the all the (samadhi) for attain- of Nirvana. Pro- way is not merely a way (2) goal itself. cardinal moral principles of (3) early Buddhism dhist ethics example, were taken from was the context early Buddhism had in Brahmanism. which moral no political What was discipline or social novel was philosophy. in placed. We BudFor learn (1) Thomas, Edward J., The History of Buddhist Thought, New York: Barnes & Noble, (Second Edition), 1951, p. 14. (2) Bahm, A. J., Philosophy of the Buddha, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958, p. 78. (3) Paschow, W., A Comparative Study of the Pratimoksa, Santiniketan: The Sino-Indian Cultural Society, 1955. -776- (3) BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL from the Pall legitimate ghtful existence protection, Arahats and Mahaparinibbana among that Sutta of a secular defence, them, and so that may ma did not advocate a new Buddhist concerned munity and them the from with the political shall be fully relationship granted provided for between he defined the rithe the realm, It is evident theory; the as the may enter socio-political and for so long from a distance that Gota- he was pri- the Buddhist relationship Com- between of the samgha. (2) Buddhism under King Asoka: and the socio-poltical took live at peace proper realm, the perspective Gotama community: support Arahats therein marily that political the Arahats RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) The relationship order underwent reign of Asoka. He recognized between the Samgha a radical transformation under the the universal message in the Dharma, but the Dharma he advocated was a kind of applied Buddhist ethics, applicable to all men, Buddhist as well as non-Buddhist. maharata time the (Ministers in its history, seekers of the had and believers Under Asoka's leadership His appointment Dharma) implied that Buddhism, for the first to shoulder the responsibility but a complex society, the Buddhist community, of guiding nation at least, into a world-wide community, nations outside India. Likewise, the Buddha an unknown Indian ascetic; and here in its broad sense, became in effect the total nation potentially of the Dharma- not only civilization. using and the could embracing was no longer term develop, peoples and portrayed he came to be viewed as a deified as spiritual monarch (atideva, devadeva or devatideva), who was represented on this earth by a Cakravartin example, (an ideal universal monarch). Later Buddhist rulers, for King Tissa in Ceylon, the Sui Emperor Wen Ti in China, and Prince Shotoku in Japan, were greatly influenced by Asoka's vision of what Buddhism ought to be. It is our contention cannot be understood that the Buddhist political ethics without taking into account this Asokan turn. Buddhism from the period of Asoka was no longer a narrow liberation; it became the bearer of a civilization, an admixture of Buddhism and Hindu dhist missionary work a peaceful civilization. conquest -775- through which path of was in essence Asoka called the BudDharma. We read in BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL the Rock Edict (XIII): And such a conquest Beloved of the Gods (Asoka) in the territories bordering Two factors has been achieved not only here in his own his domain planted, it was accompanied and the Brahrnanic RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) Wherever (4) by the domain but also Buddhism was trans- by the art of writing, technology, commerce, concept of the divine king. influenced the development of Buddhist socio-political ethics in Southeast Asia and the Far East. The first was the cultural pattern of juxtaposition and insularity, of plural belongingness. For example, side from time immemorial, sionary work both Indian insularity and the second was the religious pattern and without India and China existed side by but with the exception and Chinese cultures mutual intercourse China had any clear principle of the Buddhist developed mis- with relative between them. Neither India nor in dealing with foreign powers, except in trade, although each had elaborate procedures in dealing with its own satellite nations and peoples. In other words, international relations in the mo- dern sense of the word was not a real issue in Asia until the modern period. The ing's religious phrase, pattern developed Buddhism, existed Buddhism co-existed with Nat worship. systems, igious side instance, ethical in plural in all by side with Corollary to communal domain of Shinto, individual terms, and spiritual understandable to this which matters that of to use Professor Asia. For Confucianism in Tibet with for and and the delegated China in Japan Taoism, of the multivalue had to bear whole national Rock- in the Bon Cult, and in Burma society cults were and social ethics were were example, was the development no one religion responsibilities Japan belongingness, parts with Shinto, according and of solely and ethical not fully applied to all the political and international culture. regarded defined to Buddhism. in such a context Buddhist the relFor as the in Confucian It is readily principles were problems. (3) Modern Buddhism: Few words are needed to emphasize the importance of the impact of the West on Asian religions and cultures. A far-reaching effect of of the West-was modernity -the driving force behind the advance felt in the field of education, -774- which divided Asians (5) BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL into two categories, education called the the modern elite lectuals who of their and they the ethos religions became not Buddhist ancestral way of less sensitive were nations, life, what their 1920's and 1930's many they had to their return continued to produce hitherto leaving to the recognized, in the and spurned. Recognizing peoples, some tenacity Asian religions. religions, intelIn so they instilled religions. nations gained Thet: was political repeated Painfully existence-was something Asian intel- strength the traditional in Burma of U Kyaw the to traditional Asian happened suddenly own to into traditional War II, many In the words had Westernized who education converts simply modernity World In the independence, which themselves leaders pride-even Burmese in the for political situation, countries. short, a Westernized did its with is what Coomaraswamy culture. to those struggle of After In this from Buddhism story for relating lectuals from had had ancestral the need literacy intellectuals it. This civilization. a long of the onal and young without was uprooted of modern To make of of people of culture challenge doing, mass separation indigenous midst a minority and the RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) tangible and independence. in many aware other that their nati- manifestly debatable, the traditional to justify their (4) future The as a separate new Welfare ethos state; entity. They of Buddhism the driving found is clearly force behind what they seen in the in begetting a secular science and in Buddhism. ideal of a Buddhist the resurgence combined force of Buddhism and modernity. -us is whether or not Buddhism and modernity dernity, needed of Buddhism is a The crucial question before are compatible, for mo. secular arts, has also inciden- (5) tally promoted a secular interpretation of state and law. Today, Buddhism faces a tension between and practical parochialism in Southeast Asia and (or nationalism). the Far (4) U Kyaw Thet, Continuity 1958, p. 118. its theoretical universalism The so-called Buddhist nations East confront seemingly insurmountable in Burma, The Atlantic, Vol. 201, No. 3 February, (5) Hocking. William Ernest, The Coning World Civilization, & Brothers, 1956, p. 4. -773- New York: Harper BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL series of problems. Among per adaptation, of their integration of the and orders other vention of various for and the dhist principles physical, the sake of and First, cultural of the preservation, heritage art economic, of or of democracy practices of cultural Fourth, borrowing cultural Third, an emergence based upon a careful Fifth, pro- the continued social, living (6) through Second, political, the authoritarianism development consequences are: priceless a resurgence munism, and them RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) the pre- of com- indigenous study Bud- of the processs the recognition that life values rather than economic motives or military expediency should guide the practice of obtaining collective security through collective responsibility. Sixth, the emancipation of both customary and statutory law from the life of the people, in which social relationships are governed by the tra(6) ditional principle a convinced of conciliation. Buddhist, tial and worthless, backward who bring Understandably, knows that to the hard and war-ravaged country things many of this and tedious the energy task and people orld ask: Can are insubstan- of developing a still perseverance the job (7) will require? What political actually independence, at the time before share frustrates when the the however, war. which and is divided in Asia i s the struggled so hard were no longer politically, Buddhist destines internally Doctrinally, new nations they nation-states Therefore, interests of f iliatons. the of the can make to achieve, as important nations so-called by different Buddhists fact that religious, a good was won as they are Bandung their were compelled Front, cultural which, and case for their to ethnic views on (8) world peace trinal and There and universal ethical principles is no question brotherhood. in practice that modern But, how is a serious Buddhism to implement these doc- problem. is keenly aware of the (6) Gard, Richard A., Ideological Problems in Southeast Asia, Philosophy East and West, Vol. II, No. 4, January 1953, pp. 306-307. (7) U Kyaw Thet, op. cit., pp. 119-120. (8) Cf. Miyamoto, Shoson, Freedom, Independence and Peace in Buddhism, Philosophy East and West, Vol. I, No. 4. January 1952, pp. 30-40, and Ibid., Vol. II, No. 3, October 1952, pp. 208-225. -772- (7) BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL need to reconstruct RELATIONS and restate the philosophical Buddhism so that they become meaningful trated by Professor Embracing Slater's references Love, and Dependent dhists, Professor metanoetics. and ethical principles of to our time, as eloquently illus- to the Buddha Origination. Among Ha jime Tan abe has recently He is attempting J. M. Kitagawa) character, World- the Japanese advocated a Bud- philosophy of to develop a philosohical system, taking into account the Eastern and Western philosophical insights, but is securely gro- unded in the Buddhist tradition. According cend noetics is to go through experience Therefore, It is the of Hegel neither/nor: for the a metanoia in the death and resurrection of conversion: synthesis of one's to him, the only way to trans- radical sake true dialectic nor the is neither either/or a thoroughgoing sin) by of Love the as well ethical negativity mercy and Mercy. the of the of Our of our the of (9) of the who sin speculative of Kierkegaard. immediacy Absolute, repentence as earnestness (the repentance also negates means the Himself forgiveness and negation of it by the grace of the Absolute. Following Tanabe's philosophy, Professor Buddhist concept of duhkha-samudaya With penitent problem heart Takeuchi (the cause and origin he who is suffering of his propensity concentrates negativity thinking of Buddha. of suffering): So, contrary is chiefly concerned on the rejoicing to the human he understands (Non-Self), which is now in his inner- most self, turns out to be affirmative compassion and the historic his mind to evil, which is also common mind in general. And then with gratitude how this thoroughgoing interprets (Non-Self) by means of the grace and to philosophical thinking, with the relation of negativity religious and Absolute (10) Negativity. Important dhist live ethics Pratitya-samutpada though are, these in the modern the theory philosophical efforts world. leads alone in this way and religious are At the occasion not to nirvana. ref ormulation sufficient' of the Buddha for of Bud- Buddhists Jayanti, held to in (9) Takeucki, Yoshinori, Buddhism and Existentialism, Religion and Culture -Essays in Honor of Paul Tillich, Ed. by Walter Leibrecht, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959, p. 301. (10) Ibid., pp. 306-307. -771- BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL Tokyo in 1959, Professor RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) Gen jun Sasaki forcefully (8) stated: Universalism formulates a strong point for Buddhist expansion on the theoretical side, as well as a weak point on the practical side. The theoretical side of Universalism has been in the midst of the great stream of the social development. It did not fall down from heaven to the earth as a superworldly system, but was born in a long historical process. We cannot draw an artificial, line between a worldly life and a superworldly one. Although Buddhism has theoretically dealt with the practical subject of human beings, nevertheless, practically it has taken little notice of the knowledge to approach the (11) social life and to reveal itself in the history of human beings. Apologists of Buddhism, of course, can defend to numerous social philanthropic and educational the Buddhists historically and in the Buddhists whether ask, however, which might contribute of the universe States, supreme supplies were the by Some of the Buddhist insights problems as the moral order albeit be pointed out that from an important one, is not a unique reminds in extent they of the that out Buddhist regard state. Welfare even though these nations (In all fairness, religious of will: goals. demand Buddhism in Buddhism, the as in norms itself, to carry often problem us of the Buddhist Buddhism incentive and universal West without being fully even in the, so-called citizens, Hocking from the not derived religio-ethical from department, definition world. uniquely Many of the platforms nation-states, loyalty Professor are to such fundamental terms. for example, Also, modern contemporary there have been borrowed in Buddhist Buddhism activities undertaken or social justice. All, too often, the notions of liberty, jus- tice, and welfare digested its case by pointing as a it must however.) community it speaks is by not primarily (12) to the man-within-the-nation standpoint, cannot be exaggerated. siastically but to the a far-reaching supported significance That by the these rulers man-wihin-the-world. of various movements have and governments From pan-Buddhist been thus this movements far of the Buddhist enthunations (11) Sasaki, Genjun, The Role of Buddhism in Modern Civilization-Foundation of Social Activities, Tokyo: The Association of the Buddha Jayanti, 1959. (12) Hocking, op. cit., p. 47. -770- (9) BUDDHIST ETHICS AND INTERNATIONAL reflects the religious mood and political RELATIONS (J. M. Kitagawa) situation this trend continue, however, these Buddhist become paralyzed nation-states vements various develop as genuine religious movenents psychological fraternity they which are essential interests for of the pan-Buddhist of a world-wide will foster Shouldd movements may with the If, on the other hand, we all hope and pray they may, national ecumenical by their close entanglements themselves. of Asia today. a moral just and mo- scale, as unity and a peaceful inter- relations. Dukkham lokassa nasetum Samatthata sukham katum tatha mama sada hotu samsare sarato sato. Pancavassasahassani dippatu jinasasanam Palayantu dhamena sakalam mahipala pajam. To destroy the world's ills and to bestow Happiness on it, May I always possess ability as long as I journey in Samsara. May the message of the Buddha flourish for five thousand years, May the world's rulers govern all peoples righteously. (By D. C. Vijyavardhana) -769-