This section looks at Buddhism as a social phenomenon, rather than a set of ideas about life, an individual spiritual path, an ethical way of life, or a number of diverse literary and artistic traditions. Right from the start, Buddhists have had to interact with wider society and culture, both influencing and influenced by the world in which they find themselves. The historical Buddha himself was born into a particular time and place, and his teaching had some things in common with, and used the concepts and vocabulary of, the surrounding culture, as well as challenging other received ideas, assumptions, customs and practices.

The historical Buddha lived in a time when many different religious and non-religious teachers and teachings were around, both the more official practices of the Brahmin priests and the many new ideas of the shramanas, and is portrayed as debating with them. In Buddhist history in India and elsewhere, Buddhist teachers and scholars have done the same, including with other interpretations of Buddhism.  Elements of non-Buddhist traditions have been incorporated into or practised alongside Buddhism where found helpful or harmless. However, encounters with non-Buddhists in the course of history have sometimes been negative and even violent, especially where religion was tied up with nationality, and in times of war. Many contemporary Buddhists in the UK are open to interfaith dialogue, although there are some groups and individuals who consider that one should concentrate on the one (correct) path, and Buddhists will criticise aspects of other traditions if these are seen as harmful or not conducive to progress on the journey to enlightenment.

This essay has only been able to outline some features and aspects of what might be labelled Buddhism. When seeking to learn more, it is important to use a variety of sources – academic texts, texts by practising Buddhists, and actually meeting Buddhist adherents. Academic texts may arise from different disciplines – some may focus on ancient scriptural texts, or historical periods, and others on sociological and ethnographic study of contemporary people. It is important to ask – particularly of random internet sources, but the same applies to books and this essay – who wrote this and why, and whether they are likely to be reliable (and in what way: may be reliable about one Buddhist group but unrepresentative of others). You will gradually build up your own provisional picture of Buddhism.
In teaching Buddhism, it is also important to be clear about why you are doing it and what you wish to achieve. There are now many resources to help, appropriate to different ages of pupils, but the same questions need to be asked about the reliability and representative nature of resources for children as are asked about resources for adults. For example, what impression is given if all the pictures are of men in orange robes?

Some of the many ‘insider’ sources

https://www.sakyadhita.org/

https://www.nbo.org.uk

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/

http://www.buddhanet.net/

https://www.lionsroar.com/

https://tricycle.org/

https://stupa.org.au/

https://windowsintobuddhism.com/

Wikipedia – among many other useful articles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_sexual_orientation
Other

http://www.arcworld.org

One volume introductions to Buddhism – beginners
Harris, E. (ed.) 2020. Buddhism in 5 Minutes. Sheffield: Equinox (forthcoming).
(including Cush, D. ‘Is Buddhism a Religion?’)
Cush, D. 1990. Buddhists in Britain Today. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
One volume introductions to Buddhism – A level, undergraduate and adult general reader
Cush, D. 1994. Buddhism. London: London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Dossett, W. 2016. Buddhism for AS students. Cardiff: Cardiff Met Press.
Erricker, C. 1995/2001. Teach Yourself Buddhism. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Gethin, R. 1998. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks.
Gombrich, R.F. 2006. Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. 2^nd edition (first 1988). London: Routledge.
Gombrich, R.F.& Bechert, H., 1991. The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture. London: Thames and Hudson.
Gray, R. 2017. Buddhism for A level Year 1. Cheltenham: Illuminate.
Heap, N., Gray, R., and Webber, P. 2019. Buddhism for A level Year 2. Cheltenham: Illuminate.
Harvey, P. 2012. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. 2^nd Edition (first 1990). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keown, D. 2013. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction. 2^nd Edition (first 1996). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Prebish, C. and Keown, D. 2009. Introducing Buddhism. 2^nd Edition (first 2006). London: Routledge.
Williams, P., 2008. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. London: Routledge.
Arguments for teaching Buddhism in schools
Backus, J. and Cush, D. 2008. ‘Buddhism within the English state school system’. In Dharma to the UK: A Centennial Celebration of Buddhist Legacy, ed. M. Deegalle, 231–246. London: World Buddhist Foundation.
Cush, D. 2018. Teaching about Buddhism: some points to bear in mind. Professional Reflection/REtoday, 35:3, pp. 60-64.
Cush, D. 2020. ‘Should Buddhism be taught in Schools?’ In E. Harris (ed.) Buddhism in 5 Minutes. Sheffield: Equinox (forthcoming).
Morgan, P. 1986. The place of Buddhism in the religious education curriculum. British Journal of Religious Education 9.1, p.17-21.
Other sources mentioned in this essay
Claxton, G. 1989. Buddhist Lives (London: Oliver & Boyd).
Gombrich, R. 1971. Precept and Practice. Oxford: OUP.
Gombrich, R. 1996. How Buddhism Began. London: Athlone.
Harvey, P. 1994. ‘Buddhism’ in J. Holm and J. Bowker (eds.) Human Nature and Destiny. London: Pinter.
Morgan, P. 1986. Buddhism in Primary Schools. Resource, 8(2): 1-2.
CoRE (Commission on Religious Education). 2018. Final Report: Religion and Worldviews, the Way Forward: A national plan for RE. London: RE Council. Available at: https://www.commissiononre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Report-of-the-Commission-on-RE.pdf
Wintersgill, B. (ed.) 2017. Big Ideas for Religious Education. Exeter: University of Exeter. Also available from: http://tinyurl.com/bigideasforre 
Wintersgill, B., with Cush, D. and Francis, D. 2019. Putting Big Ideas into Practice in Religious Education. Available from: http://www.reonline.org.uk/knowing/big-ideas-into-practice/

In Theravada tradition, Buddhist morality is summed up in the Five Precepts. It is important to note that these are not commands to obey, but disciplines undertaken, an individual choice:

to refrain from harming living beings;
to refrain from taking what is not given;
to refrain from misconduct concerning sense-pleasures/sexual misconduct;
to refrain from false speech;
to refrain from unmindful states due to alcoholic drinks or drugs.

Mahayana Buddhists sometimes refer to a list of ten precepts, which subdivide ‘false speech’ into false, harsh, malicious and idle speech (underlining how much evil can result from words as well as actions), and add covetousness, ill-will and wrong views. Sometimes the rule about intoxicants appears and sometimes not. There are also many lists of positive behaviour, and generosity or ‘giving’ features highly in Theravada lay life and is the first of the perfections to complete in the bodhisattva path.

It is important to note that Buddhist moral guidelines are not inflexible rules, but have to be adapted to circumstances in order to do the right thing. This is particularly stressed in Mahayana Buddhism, where the concept of ‘skilful methods or means’ requires working out what exactly is the best thing to do – for example one might have to lie to save someone’s life. One famous example in Tibet involved a monk who assassinated an evil king during a dance performance. However, ‘skilful means’ is one of the perfections of the more advanced bodhisattva, so generally the normal rules should be followed. Another important feature of Buddhist morality is the stress on the mind – our behaviour springs from our mental attitudes, and it is important to work on our thoughts and minimise greed, hatred and delusion, so meditation helps morality. Intentions are important in Buddhist morality, so that doing what looks good for the wrong reasons is a problem, whereas doing what looks bad with good intentions is less blameworthy.

The historical Buddha taught both those willing to completely renounce ordinary life and join his community of monks and nuns (the sangha) and also those from all walks of life who were not able or ready to do this. It is important to remember that the latter are by far the majority of all who identify as Buddhists, who do not spend all their time in deep meditation or studying Buddhist texts. Advice given to lay people includes looking after your family, respecting and obeying parents and looking after them when elderly, bringing up children to be loving and responsible, being faithful to your partner and sharing work fairly, choosing the right friends and being loyal and helpful. Good relationships should be formed between teachers and pupils and employers and employees, with respect on both sides. Careers should be chosen wisely and money used responsibly and generously. Advice given to one particular young man, Sigala, sounds remarkably up to date 2,500 years later. Avoid drinking, roaming the streets late at night, spending all your time at fairs, festivals and entertainment, gambling, mixing with addicts, cheats and criminals, and being idle. You will regret it.

The most important thing about Buddhist morality is that it should spring from love. Buddhist tradition identifies four aspects of love: metta or friendliness, wishing well for all; karuna or compassion, sympathising with the suffering of others; mudita or sympathetic joy, being pleased at the happiness of others; and upekkha or even-mindedness, spreading love equally and not becoming too emotionally attached. These four states, known as the brahma viharas should be developed as a form of meditation, but also apply to how we treat others in practice.

Guidance for those who choose to renounce the world and dedicate their lives fulltime to Buddhist practice are far more stringent, requiring more self-discipline and asceticism. In Theravada, novice monks, or those joining the community for a short period, undertake five extra precepts:

To abstain from food after midday
To abstain from a luxurious bed, sleeping on a mat
To abstain from amusements like music, dancing and shows
To abstain from personal adornments like jewellery and clothes, wearing a simple robe
To abstain from having anything to do with money

And for monastics, the precept about no sensual/sexual misconduct means no sex at all.

Once monks (and nuns, where they exist) are ordained, they must follow the whole vinaya (monastic discipline). The Theravada version contains 227 rules, laid down in the Pali Canon. These range from four serious issues which lead to expulsion: murder, sexual intercourse, serious theft and falsely claiming supernormal powers, to not wearing noisy clogs around the monastery. There is no Mahayana vinaya as such, but monastics follow vinaya passed down from non-Mahayana traditions other than Theravada (different ones in the case of China and Tibet) with slightly differing number of rules, and occasionally different customs. For example, Tibetan monks may play instruments and dance, in a religious context, and may cook their own food. In certain circumstances, monastics from all traditions would adapt the rules.

Many of the rules (such as not preaching to a woman alone) seem formulated with men in mind. The historical Buddha did eventually allow women to be ordained in their own separate female community, but they are required to keep eight extra precepts which all establish the superior authority of the male bhikku (monk). In many Buddhist countries, the lineage of fully ordained nuns has been allowed to die out, or was never even established, but there have been recent revivals, and there are also communities of women who keep the ten precepts and live nun-like lives, but do not have the same official status as monks.

There is no one ‘Buddhist’ view on any moral issue, anymore than one ‘Christian’ or ‘Pagan’ view. There is only space here to indicate some Buddhist perspectives on some controversial moral issues.

Killing and harming is ruled out by the first precept, but there are areas of disagreement.

Death penalty – still used in modern Thailand, a country whose population of over 90% Buddhist, with a Buddhist monarchy and a powerful Buddhist establishment, but banned by the 13^th Dalai Lama in pre-communist Tibet.

Assassination – usually wrong, but see above the case of the Tibetan monk who assassinated the evil king.

War – Buddhists are generally committed to non-violence. The historical Buddha taught that you should not feel hatred even if someone were to carve you in pieces. Many Buddhists, including monastics, have been involved in anti-war protests, and are active in peace movements and peace negotiations. However, Buddhist-majority countries have armies, and have been involved in international and civil wars. Examples include the Sri Lankan war against Indian invaders in the 1^st century BCE, the civil war between mainly Buddhist Sinhalese and mainly Hindu Tamils in Sri Lanka that started in the 1980s, Buddhist support for Japanese aggression in World War II, and the treatment of the Rohingya minority by the army in Myanmar in the present. In most such cases there are other Buddhist voices speaking out in protest. It is possible for Buddhists to feel more sympathy with the oppressed using violence rather than the powerful, which has happened for example in Tibet.

Suicide – generally seen as a selfish act springing from desire for annihilation, but monks in Vietnam and Tibet have used self-immolation by fire to draw attention to situations of great suffering, and the historical Buddha allowed one monk in great pain to kill himself.

Abortion – many Buddhists see abortion as wrong because killing a living being/potential human, but there may be circumstances where it is the most compassionate action. In Japan abortion is legal and widely practised and there are post-abortion Buddhist religious rituals, seen by some as a helpful way of addressing the associated emotions, and by others as exploitation of vulnerable people.

Euthanasia – generally considered wrong as end-of-life suffering may be a necessary burning out of past bad karma, and should be endured with patience, but there may be circumstances where it is the most compassionate action (see suicide above).

Nuclear weapons – many Buddhists are at the forefront of campaigns against, and Japanese Buddhists remember the horrors of Hiroshima. A Buddhist could support having nuclear weapons if she believed in the deterrence argument that they prevent more war and suffering.

Killing and harming animals – should be minimised. Animals are sentient beings, one of the forms of possible rebirth and potentially may eventually, like humans, achieve nirvana or Buddhahood. Many Buddhists are vegetarian and vegetarianism is considered superior, but many others eat meat and/or fish. This usually depends on circumstances. Tibetan Buddhists traditionally ate meat because of the climate and dependence on animal food sources, some Sri Lankan Buddhists are dependent on fishing. The Buddha taught that it was OK for his monks/nuns to accept meat if it hadn’t been killed especially for them, and so in some Buddhist cultures butchers tend to be from other religions, allowing Buddhists to eat meat while not involved in the killing themselves. Buddhists would generally support animal welfare such as free-range conditions, would want experiments on animals to take place only when completely necessary, and would not kill insects unless they were, for example, spreading diseases such as malaria.

Monastics renounce sexual activity as it involves one of the strongest desires keeping beings in samsara, but also because it is associated with the distraction of family life, paid work and responsibilities. Self-control in sexual matters is also expected of lay people, so traditionally faithful male/female marriages are the ideal. Marriage is viewed as a secular custom and these differ so faithful non-married couples are also acceptable (and in some Buddhist societies there have been examples of polygyny and – in Tibet – polyandry). Modern forms of contraception were not commented on by the Buddha so tend to be accepted. Divorce should not be necessary if both partners live Buddhist lives, but allowed if the marriage breaks down. The Buddha himself and several of his followers left partners to join the sangha (monastic community) usually (but not always) with the partner’s consent.

LGBTQI+ issues of sexual conduct There is not much to find on this topic in the earliest texts as advice on sexual conduct tends to be addressed to the heterosexual male, and celibacy, abstinence from any sort of sexual behaviour, is the ideal. Many Buddhists have argued that therefore sexual orientation is irrelevant, and what matters is responsibility and compassion, and examples of acceptance of diversity can be found in Buddhist history. Views differ, both historically and today, in texts and in practice, with many contemporary Buddhists both Western and Eastern tending to liberal views. However, some classical Buddhist sources in both Theravada and Mahayana, have considered same-sex relationships as sexual misconduct, along with several heterosexual practices. The Dalai Lama was criticised a decade ago for seeming negative about gay and lesbian relationships when asked about what the traditional texts taught, but more recently has emphasised that there can be different interpretations, that everyone has equal rights, and that gay marriage ‘can be OK’. A good summary of a complex history can be found in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_sexual_orientation