Ethical Emotional Education, Part 1: Ethics

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche opens the first of three talks on ethical and emotional education, in English, saying he chose the theme after the Dalai Lama launched his programme of social, emotional and ethical learning. He describes ethics as a way of living without making problems for oneself or others, and walks through three levels of Buddhist training: the Vinaya, which concerns body and speech; the bodhisattva path, which adds intention; and Vajrayana, where thoughts matter more still.

He argues that ethical guidance is not a command from an authority but a matter of seeing the effects of actions, and says that valuing people who live ethically is how a society changes.