Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Traditional Buddhism's perspectives on the role of the precepts are two-fold. On one-hand, the precepts are regarded as the least minimum basic requirement that a person performs to be considered a moral being. On the other hand, precepts are perceived as a temporary method (much like a raft used to cross the river) used to attain nirvana or liberation, the ultimate goal of Buddhism. This dual-nature of the precepts is fundamentally irreconcilable. The dual-natureof the precepts had been used by the early Buddhists to differentiate the moral practices and goals of the lay practitioner from the ordained. The goal of the lay practitioners in performing moral actions and cultivation was to ensure perfection of character within the secular and for practical religious benefits, e.g. the assurance of a good birth in the next life through good karmic deeds, and in this regard transmigration became the prime reason for the lay practitioner's moral actions. For the ordained though, any moral actions, regardless of its inherent goodness, cannot be in and of itself be the goal, rather the precepts are just one of the tools to reach what can be termed, "nonexistence of a being".The present research aims to systematically analyze the precepts, its relationship to the wider Buddhist practices of cultivation, and its intrinsic connections to core Buddhist doctrines such as selflessness, emptiness, and especially nirvana and liberation. Furthermore, by examining how these connections are viewed and criticized outside of Buddhism, the present research seeks to investigate the requirements necessary to establish a Buddhist ethics that holds value for modern society.