What is your take on Buddhist "morality"?

[Gintoki]

I'm looking for your personal input or sutta on what morality is in Buddhism. I'm currently weeding out all the fluff in my perspective of buddhism by finding better definition of the words commonly used.

I'd imagine in one sense, morality can be the stress and concern one feels for the wellbeing of another or mindful and reactive desire for the wellbeing of others and things.

And in another sense I can see morality in it's pertainence to Buddhism being simply acting and thinking with intentions that are conductive to the way of nature, for instance the way in which a soap bubble is spherical instead of square, or jagged; efficient. Or simply having intention that is not cultivating of delusion, aversion, or greed. (Now that I think about it, wouldn't the simplest and purest definition of right view be awareness of things without judgment?)

What do you think? Thanks for your patience.

[waterchan]

Here's a good set of suttas to begin with:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

The Visuddhimagga has a whole section devoted to the description of morality (sīlakkhandha).

(i) What is virtue?
(ii) In what sense is it virtue?
(iii) What are its characteristic, function, manifestation, and proximate cause?
(iv) What are the benefits of virtue?
(v) How many kinds of virtue are there?
(vi) What is the defiling of it?
(viii) What is the cleansing of it?

It is written primarily with monks in mind, but the principles can also be applied to virtue for lay people.

[Gintoki]

Wow, this made me really happy waterchan. I loved the explanation of what sila leads to, it made me feel at home. I looked up "translation of sila buddhism" and got a much clearer idea of what sila implies. Thank you. My question is answered.

Thanks for the resource Bhikkhu Pesala, I will also be using this to deepen my understanding.

[waterchan]

It is written primarily with monks in mind, but the principles can also be applied to virtue for lay people.

I think a layperson just beginning to discover Buddhism might find the vsm to be a rather heavy read.

But anyway, here's Bhikkhu Nanamoli's translation of the Visuddhimagga if the OP is interested.

[dhammarelax]

I'm looking for your personal input or sutta on what morality is in Buddhism. I'm currently weeding out all the fluff in my perspective of buddhism by finding better definition of the words commonly used.

I'd imagine in one sense, morality can be the stress and concern one feels for the wellbeing of another or mindful and reactive desire for the wellbeing of others and things.

And in another sense I can see morality in it's pertainence to Buddhism being simply acting and thinking with intentions that are conductive to the way of nature, for instance the way in which a soap bubble is spherical instead of square, or jagged; efficient. Or simply having intention that is not cultivating of delusion, aversion, or greed. (Now that I think about it, wouldn't the simplest and purest definition of right view be awareness of things without judgment?)

What do you think? Thanks for your patience.

To the point: take the five precepts every morning, repeat them in loud voice while paying strong attention, over time they will become part of you.
Morality is very important to develop jhana because immoral behavior (mental and bodily) generates craving and craving feeds the hindrances.
Without morality trying to get jhana is like building with the right hand and destroying with the left, you go nowhere.

smile all the time
dhammarelax

[Vanda]

What is your take on Buddhist "morality"?
I'm looking for your personal input or sutta on what morality is in Buddhism.

Vinaya Pitaka

[Mr Man]

As is chanted after taking the precepts:

virtue is the source of happiness,
virtue is the source of true wealth,
virtue is the source of peacefulness.
Therefore let virtue be purified.

[ryanM]

don't forget about the sutta pitaka and the abhidhamma!

[gben]

There is no free will, so there is no morality. Buddhas by nature can have no morality. Only the deluded make choices.

It is funny to those who are a slave to thought that a Buddha does not have any choices to make. The Buddha is like an orange, it does not have to decide to be an orange, it simply has to be one.

To be like an orange, the living only have to live, it is thinking that will decide against it.

[Cormac Brown]

There is no free will, so there is no morality. Buddhas by nature can have no morality. Only the deluded make choices.

It is funny to those who are a slave to thought that a Buddha does not have any choices to make. The Buddha is like an orange, it does not have to decide to be an orange, it simply has to be one.

To be like an orange, the living only have to live, it is thinking that will decide against it.

gben, I hope you're joking.

The viewpoint that there is no free will, in my understanding, is an evil viewpoint that will likely lead you to justify the doing of unwholesome actions, and lead you to hell. Please relinquish it, for the good of yourself and others.

If you're trolling, likewise, give it up.

[gben]

The viewpoint that there is no free will, in my understanding, is an evil viewpoint that will likely lead you to justify the doing of unwholesome actions, and lead you to hell. Please relinquish it, for the good of yourself and others.If you're trolling, likewise, give it up.

A tree has no free will, are trees evil? Saying that something has to be evil just because it has no free will is a very closed-minded statement isn't it?

There is no difference between your body and a tree, they both move towards what they need to live and away from harm. Same with the ego, it moves towards what it needs to live and away from harm. You are nothing more than an ego attached to a living body, that you have free will is something you tell yourself because you are afraid to be nothing.

The ego will harm others if it is uneducated because it believes it's actions are constructive when they are actually destructive. Since a Buddha is educated it is impossible for it to harm others.