Since its arrival in Western academia, Buddhism has been criticized for a lack of ethics. The ambiguity of ethical agents(no-self), the ambiguity of moral categories(emptiness), and the worldview of non-conflict(Huayan Four-fold Worldview)are some of major objections Western scholars make in their claim that Buddhism does not have an ethics. Contrary to this evaluation, I propose that not only does Buddhism offer an ethical paradigm, Buddhist approaches to ethics could be more viable in ourtime, given the diversity that contemporary society faces. In this paper, I propose a new approach to ethics based on Huayan Buddhism. Huayan Buddhism is known for its attention to phenomena. Criticizing earlier Buddhism‘s preoccupation with the noumenal level of our existence, Huayan Buddhismbrings attention back to the reality of our existence. The fourfold worldview of Huayan Buddhism is an effort to show how the diversity in the phenomenal world can be understood through the lens of Buddhism. Huayan emphasis on diverse phenomena alsomakes Huayan Buddhism relevant to our time when diversity and inclusion have been important factors in understanding and survival of our societies. Employing the Huayan Buddhism of Dushun（杜順 557-640） and Chengguan （澄觀 738-839）, and also Korean Hwaŏm Budhdism of Ŭisang（義湘, 625-702）, I propose Huayan-Postmodern ethics and highlight the function of imagination in our ethical practice. Ethical imagination is the idea of fundamental ethical training and deliberation being anchored in our understanding of others from their own perspectives. Normative ethics, or ethics based on rules and regulations, is premised on the idea that rational and logical thinking will lead to fair judgment of situations.Ethical imagination proposes that the affective aspects of human existence can play a significant role in our efforts to live with other beings. Huayan Buddhism clarifies how the Buddhist teachings of wisdom（智慧） and compassion（慈悲） let us embody the qualities that are necessary for both self-understanding and understanding of others. In this context, Dushun and Chengguan explain how understanding of the nature of our existence helps us overcome the conflicts that inevitably exist in the phenomenal world, where beings have the concrete reality of bodies. The ethical imagination that we practice with Huayan Buddhism reflects a new dimension of ethics that is needed for the multicultural and global community we live in today. Diverse groups lead their lives from different perspectives and with differing values. An effort to unify their differences will result in disaster, since homogeneity cannot be achieved without suppression and violence. Ethical imagination calls for us to cultivate our capacity for empathy, which is a capacity that Huayan teaching requires of each of us, in order to live in the diversity of the phenomenal world and overcome the conflicts that arise from this reality.
目次
1. Buddhism in the West 391 2. Ethics from the Ground-up 392 2-1. The Digital Age and Its Implications 392 2-2. The Posthuman and Its Implications 393 3. Postmodern Conditions 394 4. Huayan Buddhist Alternative to Ethics 396 5. Huayan Buddhism and Postmodern Ethics 404
