Essays and Aphorisms

by Arthur Schopenhauer

As a consequence of their profounder ethical and metaphysical insight, the Buddhists start not with cardinal virtues but with cardinal vices, as the antitheses or negations of which the cardinal virtues first appear. According to J. J. Schmidt's Geschichte der Ostmongolen the Buddhist cardinal vices are lust, sloth, wrath and avarice, although pride should probably stand in place of sloth, as it does in the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses (edition of 1819), where, however, envy or hatred is added as a fifth. The sufis1 too lay down the same cardinal vices, arranged very strikingly in couples, so that lust is paired with avarice and wrath with pride. We find lust, wrath and avarice already laid down as cardinal vices in the Bhagavad Gita, which is evidence of the extreme antiquity of the doctrine. These three cardinal vices likewise appear in the Prabodha-Chandrodaya, an allegorical philosophical drama very important for the Vedanta, where they are the three commanders in the service of King Passion in his war against King Reason. It would follow that the cardinal virtues antithetical to these cardinal vices are chastity and generosity, together with gentleness and humility. If you now compare with these profound basic concepts of oriental ethics the celebrated and thousand-times reiterated Platonic cardinal virtues, justice, bravery, moderation, and wisdom, you will find the latter do not derive from any clear, guiding basic concept and are therefore superficial and in par...

Buddhism