A Mirror Is for Reflection

Abstract

This volume offers a snapshot of the present state of academic investigation into the nature of Buddhist ethics. Over the past decade many scholars have come to think that the project of fitting Buddhist ethical thought into Western philosophical categories may be of limited utility, and the focus of investigation has shifted in a number of new directions. Contributions to these recent investigation from many of the leading figures in the academic study of Buddhist philosophy are collected here alongside exciting new work from a number of early-career scholars. Topics include the nature of Buddhist ethics as a whole as well as the role in Buddhist ethics of karma and rebirth, mindfulness, narrative, intention, personhood, agency, free will, politics, anger, and equanimity, among other areas. The volume offers a rich and accessible introduction to contemporary work on Buddhist thought for students and scholars new to this area of philosophy, as well as chapters taking up more technical philosophical and textual topics. The contributors aim to engage Buddhist traditions in a rigorous, critical, and respectful philosophical dialogue, rather than to document these traditions as historical curiosities. The chapters of this volume stand as contributions to the emerging field of cosmopolitan philosophy, demonstrating by example why considering ethical questions such as how we ought to live, act, and train our minds from a plurality of cultural perspectives is itself an ethical imperative today.