Text and Tradition in the Study of Buddhist Ethics

The article begins by noting the relative neglect of Buddhist ethics in modern scholarship, mentioning major earlier works by S. Tachibana, Winston King, H. Saddhatissa, G. S. P. Misra, and Damien Keown. Prebish then analyzes the frequent scholarly confusion between Vinaya and śīla. He argues that Vinaya is primarily connected with the discipline and organization of the monastic community, whereas śīla is the more precise category for understanding Buddhist ethical life. The article next discusses the place of śīla within the Buddhist path, especially its relationship to samādhi and prajñā. Prebish rejects the idea that morality is merely a mundane or preliminary concern and shows that ethics remains integral to liberation. The discussion then surveys important textual sources for Buddhist ethics, including the Dīgha Nikāya, the Sīlakkhandhavagga, the Brahmajāla-sutta, the Sāmaññaphala-sutta, Abhidharma materials, and Mahāyāna ethical texts such as the Śikṣāsamuccaya, Bodhicaryāvatāra, Bodhisattvabhūmi, and Upāliparipṛcchā-sūtra. The article concludes by pointing toward the relevance of Buddhist ethics for contemporary socially engaged Buddhism.