Human Life, Ethics and Worship in Buddhism
Human Personality: The Five Khandas
Buddhist teaching rejects the idea of a permanent, fixed self (anatta). Instead, what we call a ‘person’ is a temporary combination of five groups of processes called the Five Khandas (also spelled skandhas): form (rupa), sensation (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara) and consciousness (vinnana). The Khandha Sutta teaches that none of these aggregates is permanent, controllable or a self. Together they create the experience of being a person, but there is no unchanging ‘self’ hiding inside them.
Sunyata (emptiness) is the Mahayana development of anatta. All phenomena — not just persons — are empty of inherent, independent existence. Everything arises in dependence on causes and conditions. This extends the Theravada insight about persons to the entire fabric of reality.
Tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature) is a contrasting Mahayana idea: while sunyata emphasises what things are not (not inherently self-existing), tathagatagarbha teaches that all sentient beings have an innate capacity for awakening — a seed of Buddha-nature within them. This does not contradict anatta — Buddha-nature is not a fixed self but a dynamic potential.
Arahant and Bodhisattva Ideals
The two main Buddhist traditions have different ideals for the fully-realised practitioner. Theravada Buddhism honours the Arahant ideal: an individual who has completely eliminated the defilements and will enter nibbana at death. The Arahant follows the Four Noble Truths to individual liberation.
Mahayana Buddhism centres on the Bodhisattva ideal. A Bodhisattva generates the aspiration to achieve Buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings, not just themselves. They develop the Six Perfections (paramitas) — generosity, ethics, patience, effort, meditation and wisdom — over countless lifetimes. The Mahayana also includes belief in celestial Buddhas (such as Amitabha of the Pure Land) who can help beings achieve liberation.
Buddhist Ethics: Kamma, Metta and the Five Precepts
Kamma (karma in Sanskrit) is the teaching that intentional actions — physical, verbal and mental — have consequences. The Dhammapada verses 181–187 and the Khuddakapatha affirm that good actions accumulate merit and lead toward liberation, while harmful actions generate unfavourable consequences. Every deliberate act matters.
Metta (loving kindness) and karuna (compassion) are the two key Buddhist virtues. Metta involves actively cultivating goodwill toward all living beings without exception — even those we dislike. Karuna moves beyond goodwill to the active wish to relieve suffering.
The pancha sila (Five Precepts) are the ethical foundation for all Buddhists: (1) abstain from killing living beings; (2) abstain from taking what is not given; (3) abstain from sexual misconduct; (4) abstain from false speech; (5) abstain from intoxicants. These are undertakings, not commandments — Buddhists choose to observe them as part of their practice.
Meditation
Meditation (samadhi) is one of the three divisions of the Threefold Way and central to Buddhist practice. There are several main types:
Samatha (concentration or calm-abiding) involves focusing the mind on a single object — the breath, a visualisation or a phrase — until the mind becomes still and focused. This creates the stable foundation needed for deeper practice.
Metta bhavana (loving kindness meditation) develops metta by deliberately generating feelings of goodwill, starting with oneself and gradually extending to all beings.
Vipassana (insight) uses the stable mind developed through samatha to investigate the moment-to-moment arising and passing of experience, directly perceiving anicca (impermanence), dukkha and anatta. Mindfulness of breathing is a key vipassana technique. Zazen is the Zen (Mahayana) form of seated meditation — ‘just sitting’ in open awareness.
Chanting, Mantras and Devotion
Chanting is a devotional and meditative practice. The Dhammapada 1–2 affirms that the mind comes first: “Mind precedes all mental states” — chanting trains the mind. The Tiratana chant (‘I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha’) is used in Theravada Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism includes the chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in Nichiren Buddhism, and the recitation of Amitabha Buddha’s name in Pure Land practice.
The three key meditation types are: samatha (concentration — calms and focuses the mind), metta bhavana (loving kindness — develops goodwill toward all beings) and vipassana (insight — directly perceives the Three Marks). These distinctions are examined in 4-mark and 5-mark questions comparing types of meditation.
Students sometimes assume Buddhist mantra recitation and mala bead counting are equivalent to Christian prayer addressed to a personal God. This is not correct. Theravada Buddhism generally regards mantras and devotional articles (like shrines) as supports for mental training — the Namo Buddhaya mantra (‘Homage to the Buddha’) expresses reverence and cultivates recollection of the Buddha’s qualities. In Mahayana traditions (especially Tibetan), mantras are seen as having transformative power as sacred syllables. Mala beads count repetitions. Neither tradition addresses an omnipotent creator deity in these practices.