This episode is called The Five Precepts and it's part of the Buddha Dharma series.
I've been asked on numerous occasions to lay out in an understandable manner the teachings of Buddha.
So over the coming months I'll articulate the Buddha Dharma in an order that I hope you'll find both informative and easy to understand and implement.
I'm going to begin with the five precepts.
Buddha said,
Now there are these five gifts,
Five great gifts,
Original,
Long-standing,
Traditional,
Ancient,
Unadulterated,
Unadulterated from the beginning,
That are not open to superstition,
Will never be open to superstition and are unfolded by knowledgeable contemplatives and Brahmins.
So,
What five gifts was he talking about?
Well,
He was talking about the five precepts.
The precepts are the gateway into the Buddha Dharma.
They're like the training wheels on a kid's bike.
That doesn't mean they're elementary and easy to do,
Because they're not.
They're also not commandments and we're not being told,
Thou shalt not do something.
They're more like guidelines that will help keep us on the straight and narrow.
If we follow these guidelines,
We'll not bring harm to ourselves and others.
These guidelines are undertaken so we can work towards reducing our suffering and the suffering of all beings.
This is a theme that runs all the way through the Buddha Dharma.
If we really want to be a responsible person within society,
We have to ensure we are not harming anyone or anything.
These five precepts will help us achieve that goal.
I've told this story before,
But I believe it's helpful to mention it again here.
When I first decided to become a Buddhist monk,
I was given these five precepts and told to hold them for six months.
After six months,
I had to return to my teacher and discuss how I got on.
Only after that was I allowed to take my full vows.
I found them easy to understand,
But not so easy to keep on a day-to-day basis.
I would recite them before I got out of bed each morning as a kind of mental reminder and to set my intention for the day.
If I strayed during the day,
Which I invariably did,
I would retake the precepts and strengthen my resolve not to break them again.
Having this experience has helped me understand how hugely important these precepts are and what a great springboard into the Buddha Dharma they are.
The precepts are refrain from taking life,
Refrain from false speech,
Refrain from taking what has not been freely given,
Refrain from harming others with the sexual act,
And refrain from intoxicants and illegal drugs.
In the Dharma Pada verses 246 and 247,
Buddha explains the precepts in this way,
One who destroys life,
Who speaks untruth,
Who takes what has not been given,
Who goes to another man's wife or woman's husband,
Who gives himself or herself to drinking intoxicating liquors,
He or she,
Even in this world,
Digs up his or her own root.
So let's go through each precept individually,
But bear in mind these are my interpretations and may differ from a more traditional approach.
I've tried to make the precepts relevant to today's world.
I've also added my own personal perspectives.
As with all Buddha Dharma,
You'll have to decide for yourself what does or doesn't work for you.
Refrain from taking life.
This one seems obvious,
But it means more than not killing other humans.
It includes all sentient beings.
It also covers refraining from getting others to kill on our behalf.
For me this goes much deeper than killing.
I personally believe it covers not eating meat,
Or mindfully killing insects,
Or picking flowers,
Or cutting trees.
It means being mindful of all of mother nature's inhabitants and their contributions to our ecosystem.
I believe we should reflect before we chop a tree,
Pick a flower,
Or squash a bug.
Remember,
All actions have consequences.
Some may be seen,
And others unseen,
But there will be consequences somewhere down the line.
Everything on our planet has an intention for living,
Being peaceful,
Happy,
And not suffering,
And their lives are just as crucial as their own when it comes to maintaining the world.
This precept for me means not causing harm to humans,
Animals,
Plants,
And all other living creatures.
It's talking about intentional killing,
And not unintentional killing.
It's impossible to go through life without unintentionally killing things.
If you go for a pleasant walk across some fields,
You'll be unintentionally killing some insects.
Your intention was to go for a walk,
It wasn't to kill insects,
So the precept is not talking about that.
But having said that,
We must be careful whenever we walk and make sure we don't mindlessly step on insects.
On a personal note,
This precept is talking about not killing or harming other things,
So I find it hard to accept the fact that we are breeding animals,
Keeping them captive,
And then killing them for food.
For me,
Eating meat and adhering to this precept are not compatible.
I understand this precept is a guideline and not a commandment,
But I would ask you to please spare the animal of thought and try to work towards vegetarian and veganism.
Refrain from false speech.
Words hold power,
And using them carelessly can cause destruction.
Do not say anything until you mentally confirm it to be true,
Helpful and kind.
Don't gossip,
Exaggerate or lie.
Instead,
Practice responsible honesty with only good intentions.
Dedicate yourself to loyalty and share only useful and credible news and information.
Once we have lied to someone,
We invariably have to tell another lie to cover the first one,
And then another one,
And then another one,
Until we have created a web of lies.
Before we know it,
We have unwittingly become a liar,
And that is a label that is so difficult to shake off.
I know that people say they lied so as not to hurt the other person's feelings,
But do they consider how that person will feel when they find out that they have been lied to?
Maybe the truth is painful or difficult to say,
But it is possible to say it in a kind and sympathetic way.
We can support them once we have told them the truth.
I believe it is always kinder in the long run to tell someone the truth.
Again,
On a personal note,
I get upset when I have been lied to,
As most people do,
And so I keep this fact in mind when I am talking to others.
Refrain from taking what has not been given freely.
Do not take what has not been given to you,
Whether it is materialistic,
Opportunistic or emotional.
There are a number of activities that are considered stealing,
Including participating in underhand deals,
Fraudulent activities,
Cheating or committing forgery.
Borrowing another person's belongings without their permission is also considered a form of stealing.
If we take something that has not been given or belongs to someone else,
This is stealing.
It may be a pen from work,
A magazine from the doctor's waiting room or fruit from someone's orchard.
No matter how big or small,
It is still stealing.
We seem to have accepted certain forms of stealing and do not see them as a problem.
I am talking about things we take from the workplace,
Such as stationary items from an office,
Bread or milk from a catering establishment and nuts and bolts from a factory.
We shouldn't fool ourselves here.
These things have not been given to us,
So it is stealing.
Again,
On a personal note,
I believe taking eggs from chickens and milk from cows constitutes taking what has not been freely given.
The animal has had no choice in this process and so I feel it is a form of stealing.
As I have said before,
These precepts are not hard and fast rules,
So you have to see how far you are willing to go to adhere to them.
I am just giving you my personal viewpoint here and you are free to take it or leave it.
Refrain from harming others with a sexual act.
Generally speaking,
This precept refers to committing sexual indiscretions such as adultery,
Rape,
Incest and sex with a minor.
If we physically,
Emotionally or mentally force someone into sex,
This is causing him or her harm.
There are so many people today still carrying the scars of sexual misconduct,
So this precept should not be taken lightly.
I personally believe that Buddha taught the precept on sexual misconduct to help us refrain from harming someone through the sexual act.
He didn't teach it to be moralistic or make people feel guilty for their sexual orientation.
If the sexual act is not going to cause harm,
It should be consensual,
Affectionate,
Loving and not break any marriage vow or commitment.
It doesn't have anything to do with the sexual orientation.
We can't choose our sexual orientation as we can't choose our race or gender,
So it's cruel to penalise someone for something out of his or her control.
I think another aspect of this precept that we should be looking at whilst considering sexual misconduct is people trafficking,
That is,
Taking people and forcing them to enter the sex industry.
It's been estimated that around 1.
2 million children are forced into prostitution or pornography and their average age is between 12 and 14 years old.
The human suffering in the trafficking industry is staggering.
Refrain from intoxicants and illegal drugs.
The last of the precepts is to avoid abusive use of alcohol and avoid illegal drugs altogether,
As well as other substances that will impact our mindfulness and fuel irresponsibility.
I've deliberately put abusive use of alcohol because I believe drinking in moderation is not a problem.
Nobody's saying you can't have a glass of wine with dinner or a pint after work.
What is being said is that when we're completely inebriated,
We lose control of our body,
Speech and mind.
This precept is quite often the cause of the previous four precepts,
So it's very important to adhere to it.
You may be driving home under the influence of drink or illegal drugs and have an accident and kill somebody.
Or you may steal money to cover your drink and drug addiction.
Or come out with a pack of lies because you have no control over your mouth.
Or have unsafe sex with someone you met in a bar,
Not even considering that you or they may be married,
Underage,
Or haven't consented.
Alcohol and illegal drugs are very addictive and can destroy your life and the life of those around you.
So it's important to ensure we don't lose control of our thought processes because we're under the influence of drink and drugs.
These are the guidelines Buddha's advised us to follow and I believe they're a great help to us in life and on our path to follow the Buddha Dharma.
It goes without saying that we'll fall short sometimes,
But that's all part and parcel of the learning process.
If you fall,
Get up and try again.
Don't give up.
The more we try to adhere to these precepts,
The more they'll become a habit and those habits will eventually become our behaviour,
Who we are.
We all need boundaries in life and I think these five are a wonderful starting point.
