Abstract
ABSTRACT This essay is to identify two views of Buddhist ethics: egalitarianism and non-egalitarianism. In the time of the Buddha, there was no conflict between the concept of equality and the Buddha’s teaching of śῑla/vinaya. However, as Buddhism develops, the meaning of equality has been expanded, which leads to a neglected inconsistency: “All life is equal” is incoherent with śῑla/vinaya, such as Dharmagupta-vinaya, which indicates that there are degrees of karmic result in taking life. Although it is significant to resolve the incoherence, this is not our concern. We are interested in two relevant things: (1) What “All life is equal” means for Buddhist ethics (an egalitarian view) (2) We evaluate the non-egalitarianism: there are degrees of seriousness in taking life. Finally, we explore a compelling question “Is egalitarianism or non-egalitarianism more suitable for Buddhist ethics?” We also analyze five moral propositions, including these two views, to understand Buddhist ethics better.
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