A Google user
This is a very useful introductory book for anyone who is interested in Buddhist ethics, its principles and sources, and the answers it gives to some of the most pressing ethical questions of today. The first couple of chapters are dedicated to the historical origins and basic principles of Buddhist ethics. The bulk of the book, however, is aimed at someone who is already familiar with Western ethical traditions, and tries to show how the Buddhist teachings relate to those. In particular, the questions of animal and environmental rights, sexuality, war and terrorism, suicide and euthanasia, and cloning each get a separate chapter. In these chapters the naive impression of Buddhism as a very laid-back and permissive ethical tradition is challenged, and the author shows that the basic answers to those ethical dilemmas in Buddhism are not that far away from similar answers given in theJudeo-Christian ethics.
Overall, this is a very enlightening and informative reading. I highly recommend it.