Good Citizens by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781937006099
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE FIFTH SET OF CRITERIA: APPEARANCE AND SUBSTANCE

The final set of criteria is appearance and substance. Sometimes it doesn’t look like we’re transgressing an ethical guideline when in fact we are. Suppose you’re in a place where someone is trying to kill someone else and you have the capacity to intervene and prevent the damage but you don’t do it. Although you’re not a killer, you’re violating the precept not to kill. You’re not killing directly, but you allow the killing to take place. This is called “nonintervention.” You don’t intervene, and this is as much an action as acting to cause harm. You are still responsible for your actions. When you see a situation like that, you should intervene. You can’t say, “Well, I am not responsible, it wasn’t me who was doing the killing.” But you were there, and you didn’t intervene. You are responsible.

Sometimes we’re forced to lie in order to save a life. If we don’t lie it’s a transgression. On the level of appearance, not to lie is the right thing. But in terms of substance, not to lie is wrong, because if you don’t lie, the other person will die. This is an important set of criteria. On the level of appearance it looks right, but in terms of its content and context, it’s wrong. Sometimes you have to lie. And sometimes you have to kill. It’s very difficult. Applied ethics is a discipline that studies how a moral outcome can be obtained in specific circumstances. We don’t just speculate whether something is right or wrong. We have to question the norms that have been set up to see if our behavior is truly ethical.

We can use these ethical criteria in daily life. Ultimately, we work to transcend all criteria and norms. Buddhist ethical philosophy can be summed up in the following terms.

Both subject and object of perception manifest from consciousness according to the principle of interbeing. Humans are present in all things, and all things are present in humans. On the phenomenal level, there seems to be birth and death, being and nonbeing. But ontologically, these notions cannot be applied to reality. The dynamic consciousness is called karma energy. Everything evolves according to the principle of interdependence. But there is free will and the possibility to transform. There is probability. The one affects the all. And the all affects the one. Interbeing also means impermanence, nonself, emptiness, karma, and countless world systems. Right View allows Right Action, leading to the reduction of suffering and the increase of happiness. Happiness and suffering inter-are. The ultimate reality transcends notions of good and evil, right and wrong.

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