The Benefits Of Utilitarianism

Buddhism started with the Buddha who was born as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years ago. The word ‘Buddha’ means ‘who is awake’ and in the sense of having ‘woken up to reality’. He did not say his is a god or a prophet. He was a human being who became Enlightened, try to understanding life in the deepest way possible.

Siddhartha is the prince of a small kingdom on the Indian-Nepalese border. After seven days of his birth, his mother died. His mother’s younger sister, Maha Pajapati take the responsibility as a mother of Siddhartha. Siddhartha start learning when he was 8 years old and grew up in the palace with a comfortable life. 29 years old, was a turning point in his life and his son was born in that year. Siddhartha left his

(Manuel G. Velasquez, 2014). Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) are generally considered the founders of utilitarianism. This principles make choice according to the most benefits will get based on that choice. Human natural seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize the pain. The action is right due to the consequences are good. The action is wrong due to the consequences are bad. For example, by doing right thing, the income or benefits we get will increase. In Buddhism, that has a word called ‘Karma’ . Karma is the law of moral causation. Buddhist believe that what we do now will bring the effect in the future. That is the similarities of the Utilitarianism and Karma. The differences between Western and Buddhism is western principle place on moral authority in the utility of an action but Buddhism ethics find it that are the responsibility to do so and they will not care about the return.

In western principles, rights is concerned with respecting and protecting individual liberties and privileges. There have two type of rights, legal rights and moral or human right. Legal right are involve in legal system and moral right can be violated when ‘no one is hurt’. The difference between the western principles and Buddhism ethics Kant said that people have the right to choose what they like and what they want to do, no matter is good or bad as long as no one is hurt But, Buddhism ethics is encourage us to perform our duties rather than struggling with our