What is the fourth moral precept of Buddhism?

What is the fourth moral precept of Buddhism?

From Bright On Buddhism by Nicholas Bright Haight

May 15, 2026 · 14 min · Episode 136

About this episode

This episode explores the fourth moral precept of Buddhism, its significance, and how interpretations have evolved over time.

Bright on Buddhism - Episode 139 - What is the fourth moral precept of Buddhism? What is its significance? How have interpretations of it changed over time? Resources: Keown, Damien (2013b), "Buddhist Ethics", in LaFollette, Hugh (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 636–47, doi:10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee163, ISBN 978-1-4051-8641-4 Keown, Damien (2016b), Buddhism and Bioethics, Springer Nature, ISBN 978-1-349-23981-8 De Silva, Padmasiri (2016), Environmental Philosophy and Ethics in Buddhism, Springer Nature, ISBN 978-1-349-26772-9 Edelglass, William (2013), "Buddhist Ethics and Western Moral Philosophy" (PDF), in Emmanuel, Steven M. (ed.), A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy (1st ed.), Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 476–90, ISBN 978-0-470-65877-2, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2015 Funayama, Tōru (2004), "The Acceptance of Buddhist Precepts by the Chinese in the Fifth Century", Journal of Asian History, 38 (2): 97–120, JSTOR 41933379 Seeger, M. (2010), "Theravāda Buddhism and Human Rights. Perspectives from Thai Buddhism" (PDF), in Meinert, Carmen; Zöllner, Hans-Bernd (eds.), Buddhist Approaches to…

People in this episode

Host: Nicholas Bright Haight

Topics covered

  • Buddhism
  • moral precepts
  • ethics
  • interpretation
  • human rights

Keywords

  • Buddhism
  • moral precept
  • ethics
  • interpretation
  • human rights
  • Damien Keown
  • Buddhist philosophy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Blackwell Publishing, Springer Nature, Wiley-Blackwell, Transcript Verlag, Routledge

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