Rights

1. The relationship between religious belief and practice and human rightsFormal attempts to guarantee, for all human beings, decent treatment and protection from discrimination and abuses of power. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is based on belief in the 'dignity and worth of the human person'. The universality of human rights appeals very much to humanists., social justice and citizenship.

2. Means by which contemporary, historical and founder figures have created paradigms of action for people of faith.

3. Responsibilities and commitments in being a person of faith.

Buddhist ethics include guidelines for good social relationships, although the practicalities of adopting these vary according to the different cultures in which Buddhism is based. The Sigalovada Sutta(Pali) Buddhist word for canonical teachings of the Buddha, literally thread in the Pali CanonThe standard collection of scriptures of Theravadin Buddhism preserved in the Pali language is an important text in this regard, and offers what has been described as the social vinayaThe framework for the sangha to live and operate. Part of the Vinaya Pitaka, one of the three baskets particularly emphasising discipline for the laity. It offers advice on proper action towards six types of people so as to produce harmonious relationships. One should 'minister' to one's parents, teachers, wife or husband, friends, servants, employees, monks and BrahminsThe priestly caste of Hinduism in a variety of ways; for example, supporting one's parents, respecting and paying due attention to one's teachers, respecting one's wife or husband and treating one's employees fairly. This illustrates Buddhists' strong social ethic and belief in human rights.

One of the great paradigms for Buddhists is the historical BuddhaAn Enlightened being who discovers and teachers the Dhamma; the historical person, Siddhartha Gotama who discovered and taught the Dhmrma in the 5th Century BCE, Gotama(Pali) family name of the historical Buddha. His teaching and the way he led his life is very inspirational to Buddhists. However, it is stories of his previous lives that people use as a guide for social behaviour. The JatakaFolklore-like literature concerning the previous births of the Buddha, often illustrating particularly moral values of Buddhism. The word also specifically refers to a text division of the Pali Canon in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka and associated comentary stories, in the Pali Canon, comprise 542 poems in roughly ascending length. They show the Buddha as a bodhisattvaSomeone on the path to becoming a Buddha in a number of previous lives, in both animal and human forms. Each story has a moral message with the bodhisattva acting wisely and compassionately, sometimes even giving up his life for others. These stories are very important for Buddhists as they show how small acts of kindness, that we are all capable of, can eventually lead to salvation.

Aside from the Buddha, one of the most important historical people who has become a paradigm for good Buddhist behaviour is King Asoka (AshokaA Buddhist king who promoted the Dharma, equality, human rights, vegetarianism, built hospitals, universities, irrigation systems etc. The paradigm of Buddhist leadership - Sanskrit). Asoka (c. 304-232BCE) ruled most of present-day India after a number of bloody military conquests. However, he later dedicated himself to the propagation of Buddhism and, rather than military excursions, went on Dhamma conquests. The social ethics propagated by Asoka can be found in Buddhist scriptures and verified by inscriptions of his edicts. He advocated non-violence, not just to humans, but to animals as well (he had no meat at the palace and gave up hunting). Enormous rest houses were built where travellers and pilgrims could stay at free of charge. Asoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them outside one day each year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. In the Mauyan empire citizens of all religious and ethnic groups were treated equally and all had the rights of freedom, tolerance and equality. Thus Asoka is particularly important as a model of the perfect Buddhist leader. Many subsequent rulers have attempted to follow this model and advocate the values, rights and responsibilities that he advocated

The rights and responsibilities involved in being a Buddhist are best thought of in terms of the positive implications of the Five PreceptsThe Five moral rules Buddhists undertake: I undertake the precept to refrain from taking the life (killing) of living beings I undertake the precept to refrain from stealing. I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct I undertake the precept to refrain from false speech I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicants which lead to heedlessness : one should live with kindness and compassion to all; one should practice generosity to all; one should aim for contentment with few wishes; one should always be truthful; one should be mindful and aware. These values determine how Buddhists privately live their lives, but also how they interact socially - treating people with compassion and generosity. Therefore these values determine Buddhists' views of human rights and their responsibilities in a global context.

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics_in_religion#Buddhist_ethics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jataka

http://ignca.nic.in/jatak.htm

http://www.buddhanet.net/budtales.htm

http://www.buddhanet.net/monkey1.htm

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/jataka.html

Bibliography

Cush, D. 1994. Buddhism (Student’s Approach to World Religions). London: Hodder.

Gethin, R. 1998.The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS). Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks.

Gombrich, R.F.& Bechert, H., 1991. The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture (The Great Civilizations). London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.