Editorial – November 2025

Ethics is the philosophical study of moral conduct. The terms morality and ethics are also connected with custom and convention. Buddha taught a highly flexible approach to religious observance and a rational understanding of ritual. He promoted a path that, through a purified life and clear thinking, guides one to the highest good and to liberation. Likewise, Buddhist ethics never demand blind faith or unquestioning devotion from its followers. Its principles are expressed practically through the training rules (sikkhāpada). Disregarding geopolitical inequalities, ethics is a framework of action that secures the welfare and safety of all human beings. Yet in today’s world shaped by advances in science and the rapid expansion of technology the rise of materialist worldviews invites us to ask how secure the human person truly is.

The standards that are rationally upheld for the outcomes of modern science and the materialist outlook tied to them exert a powerful influence on the prospect of a peaceful human life. In brief, scientific rationality has driven immense material progress; yet it offers no assurance that people now lead more fulfilling lives, feel more secure, or are safe from unjust harm at the hands of their fellow human beings.

Armed conflicts, acts of terrorism, violations of human rights, and violence driven by nationalism, racism, and sectarianism against innocent people constitute moral crimes. The poverty and deprivation that arise in their wake are, sadly, no anomaly.

According to the Buddha’s ethical teaching, moral perfection is approached by uprooting the unwholesome roots of mind: greed (lobha), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha). Buddhism affirms our human capacity to discern what is morally right and wrong, good and bad. To live ethically is to refrain from causing suffering to oneself and others, and to actively lighten the suffering of others. On Buddhist grounds, valid moral decision making does not rest on some metaphysical reality; it should be grounded in human experience. Viewed through the lens of the Dhamma, a core driver of today’s social crises is the separation of science and technology from ethical wisdom. Beneath virtually every social interaction lies threads of greed, hatred, or delusion, which in turn generate violence, human-rights abuses, and poverty.

The training precepts taught in the Dhamma are a common guide, indicating the direction one should follow on the path to liberation. Though phrased in negative form, they do not merely ask us to refrain from wrongdoing; they also include a complementary call to cultivate the good. This timeless guidance shows that the Buddha’s thought and teachings remain a vital necessity for our age.

Translated by
Dr Shermila Milroy

© Satipatthāna magazine