Expert: Joe McSorley - 2/17/2004

Question
Hello,

I am working on a debate and presentation for a University of Phoenix course.  The topic is "The use of clandestine monitoring in the workplace".  What I am interested in is the ethical standpoint.  I am very curious as to what Buddhism says regarding issues such as trust (of others) and privacy.

Your assistance would be very helpful.  Thank you!
Brad

Answer
Hi Brad,
 Buddhism is not going to help you in this regard.  It is not an ethically based system and does not have dogma or mores in its fundamental teachings.  Buddhism is about realizing who you are, here and now, in the eternal present and not about following or obeying some liturgy handed down to us from some authority.  In Buddhism we can all become as the historical Buddha did.  I'll put a little history of Buddhism at the bottom here if you want to read it but you won't find a code of ethics here.  Tibetan Buddhism might have something like that but you'd have to ask one of their own for an answer on it.
  Take care,
           Joe


Technically speaking Buddhism is not a religion; it is not theistic and does not have an external means of salvation.  In Buddhism one's awakening and redemption is all through self-effort alone.  Historically speaking Buddhism came about because of the life of the Prince Siddhartha, who when coming upon suffering, sickness and death, wanted to find an answer to the cause of suffering for humans.  He tried to lose himself in the pleasures of the world but found no solace.  He then became an ascetic and this too yielded no answers.  After many years of searching and frustration he finally sat under a tree and declared that he would not move until he understood the solution.  According to legend, several days later as he glanced up at the morning star his mind became clear and he was enlightened.  From this he postulated the Four Noble truths of Buddhism:
Life (human) is dukkha . (Suffering, with no apparent cause), There is a cause for the suffering. ( avidya or ignorance.), the cause can be abated, and there is a path ( Margo yoga).  What the crux of this is that our minds do not see reality clearly, we do not know who we are, both to ourselves and in relation to the universe.  The cause for this is ignorance of ourselves as egos that blinds us to seeing beyond ourselves.  This can be remedied.  And there are many ways to do this, such as yoga, contemplation, self-examination, etc.  When one realizes the true nature of reality, often called ‘seeing things as they are', one has an identical experience to the historical Buddha so there is no hierarchy.  The word ‘buddha' means ‘awakened one' so anyone can become a buddha.  As Buddhism evolved through the centuries there have been many different sects arising.  Therevada is not unlike western religions as they revere the historical buddha as godlike and pray to him.  They have many rituals and prayers, gods, saints and icons.  Mahayana and Zen Buddhism do not ascribe to these practices and strive for a direct awakening.