It is well-known that Buddhism is the most ethical of "religions". An important
part of the Noble Eightfold Path relates to the development of ethical conduct;
for many a layperson Buddhist practice consists mainly in the "keeping of the
precepts"; many Bhikkhus see in the Vinaya rules the essence of the religious
life; and even many of the pâramitâs expected of those aspiring to Buddhahood
are ethical in nature The experience of suffering is the starting point of
Buddhist teaching and of any attempt to define a distinctively Buddhist social
action. There is, of course, much gross, objective suffering in the world and
much of this arises