On Right Action

"Codes of ethics are most often associated with prohibitions: Don't do this, don't do that. All the spiritual traditions I know, have more or less the same lists of don'ts. This makes sense, since all the don'ts elaborate on the awareness that if we are not alert, our naturally arising impulses of greed and anger might lead us to do something exploitive or abusive. The fundamental rule is, 'Don't cause pain.'

Traditional Buddhist texts, when they talk about Right Action, use the terms hiri and ottappa, usually translated as 'moral shame' and 'moral dread.' Shame and dread have ominous overtones in English, but I rather like these terms. I appreciate the sense of awesome responsibility they are meant to convey. Collectively, what they mean is that every single act we do has the potential of causing pain, and every single thing we do has consequences that echo way beyond what we can imagine. It doesn't mean we shouldn't act. It means we should act carefully. Everything matters."

(from It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by Sylvia Boorstein, page 41. Published by Harper San Francisco)