Abstract

The intent of this article is to explore the extent to which we can apply to Buddhist ethics Martha Nussbaum's statement that "[l]iterary form is not separable from philosophical content, but is itself, a part of content - an integral part, then, of the search for and the statement of truth". We explore the transformative impact that narratives can have on moral life, using examples from the story literature of Theravāda Buddhist traditions in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Focusing on what Geoffrey Harpham has called "sub- ethics," the conditions that center moral life, we trace the ways in which narratives prefigure, configure, and refigure these conditions for human flourishing.