Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship of Fayetteville

The Heart of Buddhist Ethics:
The Ten Non-Virtuous Acts and the Three Root Delusions

James S. Ownbey
The University of Arkansas
November 15, 2006

Within its ethical framework, Buddhism recognizes ten "non-virtuous actions", consisting of three physical acts of the body, four actions performed by speech, and three performed by thought. The physical non-virtuous acts are: 1) killing any living being; 2) stealing, or taking anything of value that is not freely given; and 3) sexual misconduct (very generally, any sexual act that results in harm to oneself or to another living being). The non-virtuous speech acts consist of: 1) lying (intentionally giving a wrong impression regarding your beliefs or knowledge); 2) divisive speech (speech designed to create conflict between two or more persons); 3) harsh speech (speech motivated by anger or hostility); and 4) idle speech, or gossip. The non-virtuous thoughts are: 1) craving, similar to the Old Testament concept of covetousness; 2) ill-will, or wishing bad things to happen to people or taking pleasure at others' misfortunes; and 3) wrong view, an incorrect understanding of the nature of reality, which leads to the performance of the previous nine non-virtuous actions.

Despite some superficial similarities, the Buddhist non-virtues differ significantly from the Ten Commandments of the Judeo-Christian tradition in important ways. The Buddhist ethical classification is not a strict prohibition of behavior. In the first place, the Buddha did not claim any authority which would allow him to mandate behavior. In the second place, the Buddha probably recognized that such a mandate would have little real effect. Within Buddhist philosophy, the ten non-virtuous actions are the effects, or symptoms, of underlying causes and conditions. Rather than focusing on the symptoms of the "disease" of non-virtuous action, the Buddha directs our efforts and attention to the underlying causes of unethical behavior. These causes are known as the three root delusions: ignorance (delusion), attachment (attraction, selfish craving, greed), and hatred (anger, aversion.) In Buddhist philosophy, all negative actions are the direct result of one or more of these delusions.

Ignorance refers to an incorrect understanding of the true nature of the self and of the world in which the self exists. The Buddha taught that because we don't understand the true nature of existence, we constantly demonstrate the tendency to place too high a value, too great an emphasis on the I, me, myself, while simultaneously devaluing the other in relation to the self. My happiness then becomes more important than your happiness and their happiness, which justifies behavior on my part that results in harm to others. The Buddha also taught the law of karma, the law of cause and effect that states that positive actions result in positive effects and negative actions produce negative effects. We see evidence of the Western understanding of this concept in the popular cliché, "What goes around comes around."

Both the second and third root delusions stem from the first. Attachment refers to selfish and unhealthy desire, clinging, and grasping - whether directed toward people, objects, mental or emotional states, physical conditions, or whatever. The objects of our desire -- which are, in reality, often trivial or beyond our reach or control - become so important to us, that we are compelled toward non-virtuous behavior, speech or though. Hatred, or aversion, is the obverse of attachment. Here, instead of overvaluing objects of pleasure and desire, we overstate the negative and misjudge the true nature of persons, objects, and conditions that we find unpleasant. Buddhism shows us that judgments of attachment and aversion, pleasure and unpleasantness exist only in our own mental consciousness; those characteristics do not inhere in the phenomena to which we attach those judgments. As a simple example, consider our response to certain foods like brussels sprouts. Some people love them; others hate them. Yet, inherently, brussels sprouts are just brussels sprouts; they do not contain in and of themselves the responses of good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant; those responses occur only in the mind of the observer. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In Buddhist thought, the same condition holds true for all phenomena.

There is another very important aspect of the understanding of the three root delusions. First, recognizing that every negative action is a result of one or more of those delusions, we should also recognize that our response to an individual who commits a harmful act is often misguided. We typically respond with aversion, distaste, anger, or a desire for retaliation and retribution directed toward the person who committed the act. That response is misdirected. Given that the person is controlled by the delusions of ignorance, attachment, and hatred, it's likely that he or she had little choice in the behavior that was chosen. Instead of anger and retaliation, a more appropriate response would be one of compassion. As Geshe Langri Tangpa wrote in his Eight Verses for Training the Mind in the 11th century, "Whenever I meet people of unpleasant character, or those overwhelmed by negativity, pain, or suffering, may I cherish and care for them as if I had found a rare and precious treasure … Whenever someone … harms me or treats me in hurtful ways without reason, may I see that person as my precious teacher."

So, within Buddhist ethics, there is a strong undertone of forgiveness, of understanding, of compassion, and of hope. We are all equally subject to the delusions of ignorance, attachment, and hatred; and so we are all equally subject to the commission of harmful and negative acts. With this understanding, we have the ability to begin the process of dispelling our own delusions, and we have the ability to begin to relate to others in a spirit of tolerance, compassion, and understanding. In that way, our lives will be happier, richer, and free of the pain and conflicts that too often dominate our brief existence.

© 2006 James S. Ownbey

In affiliation with
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville
901 West Cleveland Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701

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