Editing Shantideva (section)

===Ethical views===

In line with his views on personal identity and the nature of the self, Śāntideva wrote that one ought to "stop all the present and future pain and suffering of all sentient beings, and to bring about all present and future pleasure and happiness", in what may have been "the very earliest clearly articulated statement of that view, preceding [[Jeremy Bentham]] by approximately a thousand years".<ref name=":0" />

His basis for preferring [[Altruism (ethics)|altruism]] over [[Egoism (ethical)|egoism]] is that "the continuum of consciousness, like a queue, and the combination of constituents, like an army, are not real. The person who experiences suffering does not exist." Similarly, he asks, "when happiness is dear to me and others equally, what is so special about me that I strive after happiness only for myself?"<ref name=":0" />