1. What kind of person should I be? What should I do?
Indian Ethics
What kind of person should I be?
What should I do?

2. Four Central Concepts
Dharma: duty; the laws that maintain cosmic order; the universe’s moral backbone; the right way to live
Mukti: liberation or enlightenment, the distinct and highest value
Bhakti: love or devotion to God
Karma: action or habit

3. Karma Virtue is its own reward
We make our future selves by our current action through the development of good or bad dispositions to act
Good actions increase our tendency (not to mention the tendency of others) to do good
Bad actions do the reverse

4. Karma
The Brhadaranyaka Upanishad: “one becomes good by good action, bad by bad action.”
The Hindu tradition accepts the possibility of reincarnation
The effects of our actions stretch into future lifetimes

5. Karma Psychological thesis:
Any action creates a tendency or habit to repeat it
Thus our karma—our dispositions, formed by our previous acts—determine much of our lives

6. Karma Thesis of moral cosmology:
Virtue is its own reward. Vice is its own punishment
Actions have external consequences that invariably embrace a moral dimension
There is moral payback. What goes around comes around. You get what you deserve, if not in this life then in a future lifetime

7. The Self is a Hierarchy Great Self Intellect Mind Objects of sense
Senses
Srirangam temple main gopuram Tamil Nadu India
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2007 (2007)
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8. To Master Yourself Higher items must control lower items firmly:
Objects of sense —> senses: be objective, see the world as it is. Pay attention!
Mind —> objects of sense: be active, focus!
Intellect —> mind: reason —> thoughts and emotions
Soul —> intellect: Brahman is ultimate reality; follow path of renunciation

9. Path of Desire Pleasure Success: wealth, fame, power
But the self is too small
Success: wealth, fame, power
Exclusive, competitive, precarious
Insatiable
Self is too small
Rewards are ephemeral
Example of Chola Fresco found at the Brihadiswara Temple, Thanjavur.
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10. Path of Renunciation Duty: Service to Community Liberation (moksha)
Transitory
Imperfect
Tragic
Liberation (moksha)
Three alleged saddhus (Hindu holy men) sitting on the Vishnu Temple of Kathmandu's Durbar Square, Nepal, performing the vitarka mudrā. Notice that they may not be saddhus in the strict sense of the word. Own work
Date
24 June 2008 ( )
Author
Markus Koljonen (Dilaudid)
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11. Four Ways Strands: Yoga, discipline Intelligence —> passion
Intelligence —> inertia
Yoga, discipline
Temple hindu al centre-oest de Sri Lanka; foto feta per J. Ollé el juliol del 2006.
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12. Four Kinds of Yoga Jnana yoga: knowledge Bhakti yoga: love (devotion)
Karma yoga: work
Raja yoga: meditation

13. Raja Yoga Ethical restraints Ethical observances Asanas (postures)
Breath control
Withdrawal of the senses
Meditation
Wat Suthat, Bangkok, Thailand - ดัดตน
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Date
11 December 2007
Author
Mattana
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14. Meditation, 1 Concentration: “binding the mind to a single spot”
Sunset at Ganapatipule
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15. Meditation, 2
“Meditation”: “cessation of the fluctuations of mind and (self-)awareness”
It is a Hindu Temple
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16. Meditation, 3
Mystic trance: “illumination only of the object as object, empty, as it were, of what it essentially is”

17. Goals of Meditation
Aloneness (kaivalya): “reversal of the course of the strands, now empty of meaning and value”
Liberation (mukti)
* Birla Mandir
* Source: photo taken by User:Deepak
* Date: 26th December 2006
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18. Ethics in the Gita
Divine command theory: God’s command is what makes right action right.
What God commands is obligatory
What God allows is permissible
“Perform thou action that is (religiously) required.”
Puja for Damodara in ISKCON Vicenza temple
Dedda71
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19. What is Religiously Required?
Liberation: “Be thou free from the three Strands”—intelligence, passion, and inertia
Ignore consequences: “On action alone be thy interest, Never on its fruits.”

20. Sacrifice
By sacrificing our superficial self-interest and natural desires to act according to God’s will, we become part of God’s ongoing creative activity
Our consciousness mystically widens to unite with God’s
Self-sacrifice allows us to participate in God’s action
That promotes our self-interest in a deeper sense

21. The Euthyphro Problem Euthyphro: What is right is what the gods love
Socrates: Is it right because the gods love it, or
Do the gods love it because it is right?
Two-dimensional representation of an ancient sculpture; public domain.

22. Ethics and Religion If the gods love it because it is right,
There is an independent standard of right and wrong
We can describe it independently of religion
A divine command is just a guide
It does not define what is right

23. Divine Command Theory If it is right because the gods love it,
There is no independent standard
Ethics cannot be separated from religion
We cannot morally evaluate the divine

24. Five Ethical Restraints
Noninjury (ahimsa): Do not harm
Property: Do not steal
Chastity: Do not fornicate
Truthfulness: Do not lie
Lack of avarice: Do not covet
Ranganatha Temple, Srirangapatna, Mysore
Photo taken by Rohith Ajjampur, from Kannada wikipedia
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25. Five Observances Cleanliness Contentment Self-control Studiousness
Contemplation of the divine
Sri Mariamman Temple. Taken by User:Sengkang of ENglish.Wikipedia in Dec 2005.
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26. Stages of Life Student Householder Retirement Renunciation
Habits, skills, information
Self-improvement
Householder
Pleasure, success, duty to other
Retirement
Understanding, philosophy
Self-improvement, teaching
Renunciation
Preparation for death
Artwork on Lingaraj temple Bhubanaswar
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Subject to disclaimers.

27. The Bhakti Movement Bhakti: love or devotion to God
Classical Hinduism: The world harmonizes with our deepest desires
Huston Smith: “You can get what you want.”

28. Medieval India
But medieval India found it hard to maintain that optimism
Muslim invasions caused widespread destruction and suffering—as many as 100 million dead—and destroyed the great university at Nalanda in 1193
“Bloodiest Holocaust in world history”: attack cities, pillage, rape, execute all men, execute or enslave women and children

29. Bhakti Leaders Akka Mahadevi (1100s) Janabai (1270?–1350?)
Lalla (1320?–1390?)
Mirabai (1498?–1550s?)
Mirabai. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

30. Bhakti Movement
These women insist on the insignificance of distinctions
Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist, male or female, Brahmin or Shudra, rich or poor—none of this matters
True spirituality knows no boundaries. It is universal, available to anyone
It is internal rather than external. It thus depends on nothing outside the self

31. “What are you?” “I am awake.”
Buddhism
“What are you?”
“I am awake.”

32. Buddha (563 - 483 BCE) * Sunset in Ayutthaya historical park
* Capture date: Jan 2002
* Photographer: Oliver Spalt
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33. Four Passing Sights Old age Disease Death Monk
Standing Buddha, "Thinking deeply", Rattanakosin style, cloister of Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
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May 2002
Author
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org)
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34. Quest for Fulfillment Self-indulgence (path of desire)
Asceticism (path of renunciation)
Nicholas Roerich "Buddha Tester”
Nicholas Roerich
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35. Four Noble Truths 1. Life is suffering
2. Desire, craving, or clinging is the cause of suffering
3. Nirvana extinguishes craving and hence suffering
4. The path to Nirvana is the Eightfold Noble Path

36. Four Noble Truths: 1 Life is painful (dukkha)
“Now this, O monks, is the noble truth of pain: birth is painful, old age is painful, sickness is painful, death is painful, sorrow, lamentation, dejection, and despair are painful. Contact with unpleasant things is painful, not getting what one wishes is painful. In short the five khandhas of grasping are painful.”

37. Four Noble Truths: 2 Desire (tanha) causes pain
“Now this, O monks, is the noble truth of the cause of pain: that craving which leads to rebirth, combined with pleasure and lust, finding pleasure here and there, namely, the craving for passion, the craving for existence, the craving for non-existence.”

38. Four Noble Truths: 3 Eliminating desire can eliminate pain
“Now this, O monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of pain: the cessation without a remainder of that craving, abandonment, forsaking, release, nonattachment.”

39. Four Noble Truths: 4
The Eightfold Noble Path (the Middle Way) eliminates desire: Right
Thought
Intention
Speech
Conduct
Livelihood
Effort
Concentration
Meditation
Wat Si Chum in Sukhothai historical park, Sukhothai province, Thailand. The Buddha statue was originally in a roofed building, however after the roof was gone it became covered with green-black lichen and algae.
Photo taken by User:Ahoerstemeier on October
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40. Right Thought, Intention
Dhammapada: “Everything you are is the result of what you have thought.”
You must know the Four Noble Truths
You must avoid harmful thoughts
Right Intention:
You must try to eliminate selfish desire
Meditating Buddha, "Protected by Mucalinda", Sukhothai style, Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo, Si Satchanalai, Thailand
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Own work
Date
August 2004
Author
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org)
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41. Right Speech, Conduct Right Speech Right Conduct
Avoid saying harmful things
Right Conduct
Avoid harming others
Obey the five restraints
Buddha figure overgrown by fig in Wat Mahatat in Ayutthaya historic park, Thailand. According to a local tour guide, the tree is about 50 years old.
5 December 2002 ( )
Author
User:Ahoerstemeier
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(Reusing this image)
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42. Ethical restraints Do not kill Do not steal Do not lie
Do not be unchaste
Do not ingest intoxicants
Phra Puttha Jinnarat, main buddha image of Wat Benchamabophit, Bangkok, Thailand
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Own work
Date
June 2003
Author
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org)
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43. Right Livelihood, Effort
You must enter the right career
Avoid what requires you, or even tempts you, to harm others
Right Effort
You must work constantly to avoid selfish desire
at Wat Trimitr in Bangkok, Thailand. The statue was made of 5 t of gold.
* Photographer: Gerold Kogler (User:GNosis, gNosis at de.wikipedia.org)
* Date: January 2005
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44. Right Concentration, Meditation
You must develop mental powers to avoid desire
“Binding mind to a single spot”, as in Hindu meditation
Right Meditation
Like Hindu meditation
Cessation of fluctuations
Illumination of object as object, empty of what it is
Standing Buddha, "Holding the almsbowl", Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand
Source
Own work
Date
June 2003
Author
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org)
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45. Two kinds of Buddhism Theravada Buddhism
Southern Canon, early writings
Southeast Asia
Ideal: arhat
Buddhastatue aus Thailand.
Photographer: Soare
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46. Mahayana Buddhism Northern Canon, later writings China, Korea, Japan
Ideal: bodhisattva
Buddha, Wei, China. Shakyamuni - Eastern Wei (China, ). Musee Guimet, Paris.
Source: en:User:PHG
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
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47. Two Ideals
Arhat: saint who attains enlightenment, experiences nirvana. Chief virtue: wisdom
Sitting Buddha, Subduing Mara, Ayutthaya style, Wat Na Phra Men, Ayutthaya, Thailand Sitting Buddha, Subduing Mara, Ayutthaya style, Wat Na Phra Men, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Source
Own work
Date
June 2005
Author
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm (User:Hdamm, Hdamm at de.wikipedia.org)
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48. Mahayana Ideal
Bodhisattva: one who postpones his/her own enlightenment to promote the enlightenment of others. Chief virtue: compassion
Semi-seated Maitreya or Boddhisattva from Silla, gilt bronze. At the National Museum of Korea.
Source
Date
2001-November-30
Author
pravin8 (a flickr user)
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49. Six Perfections of the Bodhisattva
Charity
Good moral character (concern for others)
Patience
Energy
Deep concentration
Wisdom
The Boddhisattva of Universal Compassion at the Ke Lok Si Temple in Penang, Malaysia.
Source
own photo
Date
21 February 2005
Author
Flying Pharmacist
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50. Arguments for the Arhat Ideal
The goal is to eliminate suffering; the means, enlightenment
If bodhisattvas help others to enlightenment, they help them become arhats
If it is good to help others to enlightenment, it is because enlightenment is the goal

51. Arguments for the Bodhisattva Ideal
If your ideal is the arhat, you seek your own enlightenment
That is a selfish desire; it leads to suffering
Concern for self presupposes that you have a separate self
Only bodhisattva ideal leads you beyond yourself

52. Jainism Mahavira (599-527 BCE): founder of Jainism
Central doctrine: ahimsa (noninjury)
Harm no sentient creature
Mahavira - Spiritual leader (Jain) of the Jainism
Source
own photo in Brussels
Date
dated 1470
Author
unknown Indian sculptor
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53. Ahimsa Acaranga Sutra:
“One should not injure, subjugate, enslave, torture or kill any animal, living being, organism or sentient being.”
Shri 1008 Mahavir Swami
Source
Own work by uploader
Date
05/06/2001
Author
Dayodaya
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54. Desire Desire inclines us toward injury
“He should be dispassionate towards sensual objects.
He should refrain from worldly desires.”
Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sutra, c gouache on paper. Indian.
Source
University of Illinois , Chicago - Birth of Mahavira
Date
Author
Anonymous
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(Reusing this image)
Public domain This image is in the public domain in India because its term of copyright has expired.

55. Pain
“O philosophers! Is suffering pleasing to you or painful? just as suffering is painful to you, in the same way it is painful, disquieting and terrifying to all animals, living beings, organisms and sentient beings.
. . . [Causing violence to the mobile-beings], in fact, is the knot of bondage, it, in fact, is the delusion, it, in fact, is the death, it in fact, is the hell ”

56. Pain
“Man (experiences pain) when forced into unconsciousness or when he is deprived of life. (So do the mobile-beings.)
Having discerned this, a sage should neither use any weapon causing violence to the mobile-being, nor cause others to use it nor approve of others using it.”
Painting of Mahavira (small painting, Rajasthan Dated 1900)from personal collection of Photos of Jules Jain
Source
Photograph of Art taken by Jules Jain
Date
Author
Jules Jain
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(Reusing this image)
Authorising the upload of the image on commons and releasing it in Public Domain sent to
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57. Differences from Utilitarianism
Jainism considers pain as a negative source of value
It sees pleasure not as a positive source, but a temptation to injury
There are no tradeoffs: injury is forbidden, absolutely

58. Charvaka Lokayata, “those attached to the way of the world”
Materialism: only matter exists
Empiricism: all knowledge comes from experience
Skepticism: reject inference
Narasimha_Avatar_Halebid Karnataka India
Source
Own work
Date
30/04/2007
Author
Ilya Mauter
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59. Mind, Soul = Body
Brhadaranyaka Upanishad: “Springing forth from these elements, itself solid knowledge, it is destroyed when they are destroyed,— after death no intelligence remains.”
No life after death: We are purely physical

60. Good = Pleasure Soul = body
So, the good of the soul = the good of the body = pleasure
“The only end of man is enjoyment produced by sensual pleasures Hence it follows that there is no other hell than mundane pain produced by purely mundane causes ”
Photograph of ancient art; public domain.