BUDDHISM VS UTILITARIANISM This article basically aims to compare two of the concepts I learned in the class.

I chose this topic because firstly Buddhism has always been a religion I was interested in because of its relevance to the contemporary world whereas utilitarianism is a concept which I studied for the first time in my life and found that both of these have a relationship which is very fascinating.

Buddhism
Introduction It is a religion that particularly emphasizes on ones own personal development and attainment of real knowledge about the nature of life. It has approximately 376 million followers worldwide. The Buddhists believe in reaching the state of Nirvana, following the footsteps of Buddha. They believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that Change is the spice of life. The only way to attain morality is through morality, meditation and wisdom. They also believe in the three signs of existence which are impermanence, suffering and uncertainty which they call the tilakhana. Also existence is never ending because individuals are reincarnated. Life of Buddha Buddhas original name was Gautama Siddhartha. He was born in a royal family in present day Nepal about 2500 years ago. He lived his entire in a luxurious and lavish manner, until one day when he came across a poor man, a sick man and a corpse. After this, he decided to spend his life as a Monk, a life without luxury. It is believed by the Buddhists, that one day while sitting under a Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening), Siddhartha after extreme meditation attained Enlightenment. Thus, from pain, suffering and rebirth he achieved the ultimate enlightenment. Sects of Buddhism There are two major sects or schools of thoughts in Buddhism. Thervada Buddhist Mahayana Buddhist

Thervada Buddhism is popular in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar where as Mahayana Buddhism is popular in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia and Japan. Teachings According to Buddhism, existence is suffering (dukkha). Gautama Buddha emphasized on only one question that was Why do pain and suffering exist?

Four Noble Truths The essence of Buddhism is based in these in four noble truths. Buddha came to understand them during his meditation under the tree. 1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha) 2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudya) 3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha) 4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga) The Noble Eight-Fold Path

1. Right Views. 2. Right Intent. 3. Right Speech. 4. Right Conduct. 5. Right livelihood. 6. Right Effort. 7. Right Mindfulness. 8. Right Concentration.
There is then the concept of Nirvana whose literal meaning is blowing out of existence. Nirvana is the place where the law of karma and cycle of re-birth comes to an end. It is the state where suffering comes to an end, a state where desires end and peace is attained. Utilitarianism Introduction Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as They tend to produce the reverse of happiness John Stuart Mill This is the basic idea of utilitarianism that Happiness is pleasure and absence of pain and Unhappiness is pain and absence of pleasure.

Background The idea was introduced John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). The utilitarians are pure social reformers Negative utilitarians believe in minimizing the pain of life where as positive utilitarians believe in maximization of pleasure. The Real Debate- Buddhism Vs Utilitarianism How closely do the basic values of Buddhists and Utilitarians coincide? If we go for the difference in the basic definition then, according to the point of view in Buddhism, Happiness is the sole or real purpose of life. It is an effort that every individual makes to give his/her own self reflection Where as in utilitarianism, the main objective of happiness is measurement. Whether an action is right or wrong based upon its effect on the whole humanity. This means its a debate between individual happiness and group happiness i.e. subjective vs objective Buddhism strongly depicts the view that suffering does not depend upon existence and thus it does not end even if dies. The only way one can curtail suffering is to reach the stage of Enlightenment. Utilitarianism on the other hand considers suffering as a human condition having no ontological background at all. The next important point to consider is that in Buddhism, it is the motivation that comes before an action is determined to be right or wrong. Whereas in Utilitarianism motive has no significant importance, as acts are judged on the basis of utility they produce or minimization of disutility they cause. In utilitarianism, happiness means pleasure. Where ever a person finds pleasure that would make him/her happy. Similarly, where ever a person is happy, he/she will be able to attain pleasure there. Thus for a utilitarian being happy is to experience pleasure and avoid suffering and pain. He/she would not only limit his/her own suffering but would also try to minimize others sufferings. The Buddhists on the other hand considers suffering as a important component of human existence. We can therefore, never escape suffering. Happiness should thus be accepted as a reality and is something which although is very painful, cannot be changed a bit. The goal of a pure utilitarian is nothing but to create happiness, pleasure and utility. This goal can be considered as an external goal. However, Buddhists, aim to achieve internal goal i.e. the goal of enlightenment, to be aware of ones inner self. To be happy for them has nothing to do with pain or pleasure but it is a pure matter of understanding and awareness. However, for a utilitarian it has absolutely nothing to do with understanding or awareness, it is a pure matter of attaining pleasure by doing everything that makes one happy. Conclusively, if we say that happiness for a Buddhist is purely something which exists in mind and is something mental or spiritual and happiness for a utilitarian is purely something which is attained through materialistic means, then we are absolutely wrong. A utilitarian loves to make changes in the

world and life of people around him/her. Where as a Buddhist first tries to form his/her own perception about the material as well as the spiritual world and then modifies it depending upon the circumstances around him/her.