The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Ethics

Many forms of Buddhism, divergent in philosophy and style, emerged as Buddhism filtered out of India into other parts of Asia. Nonetheless, all of them embodied an ethical core that is remarkably consistent. Articulated by the historical Buddha in his first sermon, this moral core is founded on the concept of karma--that intentions and actions have future consequences for an individual--and is summarized as Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, three of the elements of the Eightfold Path. Although they were later elaborated and interpreted in a multitude of ways, none of these core principles were ever abandoned. The Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Ethics provides a comprehensive overview of the field of Buddhist ethics in the twenty-first century.

The Handbook discusses the foundations of Buddhist ethics focusing on karma and the precepts looking at abstinence from harming others, stealing, and intoxication. It considers ethics in the different Buddhist traditions and the similarities they share, and compares Buddhist ethics to Western ethics and the psychology of moral judgments. The volume also investigates Buddhism and society analysing economics, environmental ethics, and Just War ethics. The final section focuses on contemporary issues surrounding Buddhist ethics, including gender, sexuality, animal rights, and euthanasia. This groundbreaking collection offers an indispensable reference work for students and scholars of Buddhist ethics and comparative moral philosophy.

Daniel Cozort is Professor of Religion at Dickinson College. He is the author of Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School (Snow Lion Publications, 2013) and Highest Yoga Tantra (Snow Lion Publications, 2005).

James Mark Shields is Associate Professor of Comparative Humanities and Asian Thought at Bucknell University. His publications include Against Harmony: Progressive and Radical Buddhism in Modern Japan (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Critical Buddhism: Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought (Ashgate, 2011).

Introduction, Daniel Cozort and James Mark Shields
Part I: Foundations
1. Karma, Peter Harvey
2. The Bodhisattva Precepts, Paul Groner
3. Ethics, Meditation, and Wisdom, Justin Whitaker and Douglass Smith
Part II: Ethics and Buddhist Traditions
4. Moral Development in Early Buddhist Literature, Martin T. Adams
5. The Vinaya, Charles S. Prebish
6. Bhiksuni Ordination, Bhikkhu Analayo
7. The Changing Way of the Bodhisattva, Barbra Clayton
8. Madhyamaka Ethics, Bronwyn Finnegan
9. Ethics in Pure Land Schools, Michael Conway
10. A Perspective on Ethics in the Lotus Sutra, Gene Reeves
11. Ethics in Zen, Christopher Ives
12. Tantric Ethics, Gareth Sparham
13. Buddhist Ethics in South and Southeast Asia, Juliana Essen
14. East Asian Buddhist Ethics, Richard Madsen
15. Buddhist Ethics in Contemporary Tibet, Holly Gayley
Part III: Comparative Perspectives
16. Buddhist Ethics Compared to Western Ethics, Sīlavādin Meynard Vasen
17. Buddhism and the Psychology of Moral Judgments, Emily McRae
18. Buddhist Reductionism and the Logical Space of Reasons, Dan Arnold
Part IV: Buddhism and Society
19. The Buddhist Just Society, Peter Harvey
20. Buddhist Economics, James Mark Shields
21. Buddhist Environmental Ethics, Stephanie Kaza
22. Buddhism, War, and Violence, Michael Jerryson
23. The Ethics of Engaged Buddhism in Asia, Sallie B. King
24. The Ethics of Engaged Buddhism in the West, Christopher Queen
Part V: Contemporary Issues
25. The Buddhist Basis for a Doctrine of Human Rights, Damien Keown
26. Buddhism and Women, Alice Collett
27. Buddhism and Sexuality, Amy Paris Langenberg
28. Buddhist Perspectives on Abortion and Reproduction, Michael Barnhart
29. Buddhism and Euthanasia, Damien Keown
30. Suicide in Buddhist Ethics, Martin Kovan
31. Buddhism and Animal Rights, Paul Waldau