Throughout the centuries, moral philosophers have considered a permanent and eternal law a necessary requirement for the formulation of a moral principle. In contrast, early Buddhism presented a radical theory of impermanence. Interpreters of this tradition, however, have been persistent in viewing nirvana or freedom as a permanent and eternal state in contrast to the impermanent world of sensory experience and bondage.

David J. Kalupahana's balanced and brilliantly concise account is an attempt to place the early Buddhist descriptions of the world of experience, the state of freedom, and the moral principle leading to such freedom within the framework of impermanence. He begins by outlining the Indian philosophical background and proceeds to analyze the presuppositions of these moral theories. A comprehensive description of the moral teachings of early Buddhism follows. Kalupahana goes on to demonstrate the application of the moral principle in the explanation of society, economics, politics, law and justice, and nature. The conclusion highlights the two most important metaphors used in the early discourse: the stream (of becoming) and the lotus (of freedom).


Ethics in Early Buddhism, David Kalupahana, University of Hawai'i Press, Hardcover, 171 pp., $28.00

David J. Kalupahana, Ph.D., is one of the most famous writers of Buddhism in the English language. Dr. Kalupahana has written nine books, more than thirty articles and contributed thirty-five minor articles and entries in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism.