The Five Precepts

Today, we start looking at the last of the main Buddhist ‚Äúlists.‚Äù We’ve talked about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path already. Let’s look at the Five Precepts now. First, I will point out that some groups of Buddhists have eight precepts and some have ten, but these five are universal and apply to all Buddhists of every group. These rules apply not only to monks, but to laypeople like you and me as well. The five precepts are the rules of behavior, much like the Judeo-Christian ‚ÄúTen Commandments.‚Äù These are the things you cannot do.

The five precepts are often written and recited as a vow, repeated regularly by the Buddhist. The recitation goes like this:

1. I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.
2. I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
3. I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
4. I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.
5. I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

These are often shortened to say no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no drinking. But I think this is vastly oversimplifying things.

Over the next few days, we’ll talk about all five of these precepts. These are clear and simple, and I think we can cover them quickly and easily. Many of the ideas we have talked about so far, I have explained that we’ll get back to it later. That’s not the case this time; by the end of the week, you’ll know the ‚Äúrules‚Äù of living a Buddhist life and can begin following the precepts yourself. That’s not to say obeying the precepts is easy; I think you’ll soon see that there is far more to them than not getting drunk or having inappropriate sex.

The First Precept

OK, let’s get started then. The first precept is to refrain from destroying living creatures. Killing causes suffering and we already know the Buddhist perspective on suffering. This is a lot harder than it may appear at first. At first glance, you are probably thinking it matches up with the Biblical ‚ÄúThou Shalt Not Kill.‚Äù Actually the Biblical Commandment more correctly translates to ‚ÄúThou Shalt Not Murder,‚Äù and really only applies to humans. The first precept, however, applies to all living creatures. So much for hamburgers, people. In defense of your steak dinner, you might argue that you never killed a cow in your life. It doesn’t matter, because by purchasing that beef, you are indirectly causing the death of that cow. Don’t misunderstand me, Buddhists don’t have any special love for cows; the same applies to fish, birds, and anything else that falls under the heading of ‚Äúliving creatures.‚Äù If you want to get technical, you shouldn’t kill plants either, but living creatures have to eat something. If you are a farmer or gardener however, you can take care not to waste plants or kill them needlessly. All life is valuable.

One very famous modern-day Buddhist teacher is Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk from Vietnam. He’s written dozens of great books on Buddhism. He has come up with a modern translation of the five precepts. Here is his version of the First Precept:

“Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.”

Take some time and think this one through for yourself. There’s a lot more to this than skipping the steak dinner or not killing your co-workers. This precept covers supporting wars, capital punishment, or even supporting governments that condone those things.

Yes, the bottom line is that Buddhists are often vegetarian and most usually pacifists. In the real world, that’s pretty hard to do, but bear in mind that this is really the ideal if you want to live according to the precepts.

The Eightfold Path Step 8: Right Concentration

Right concentration together with right mindfulness, is concerned broadly with the practice of Buddhist meditation.

According to the Pali canon, one of the classic Buddhist scriptures, right concentration is dependent on the development of all the preceding steps upon the eightfold path:

The Blessed One said: ‘Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors ‚Äî right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness ‚Äî is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions.’

Concentration (in this context) is a state where all mental faculties are directed onto one particular object or point. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions.

Meditation is the primary path to achieving right concentration, and most Buddhists practice meditation extensively. As we shall see, there are many forms of meditation, but most Buddhists practice it in some form. With enough practice meditating, it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.

The Eightfold Path Step 7: Right Mindfulness

Right mindfulness, also translated as “Right Memory,” together with concentration, is concerned broadly with the practice of meditation. Roughly speaking, “mindfulness” refers to the practice of keeping the mind alert to phenomena, both internal and external as they are affecting the body and mind. It concerns seeing yourself and the universe as it really is.

Right mindfulness requires clear perception and it penetrates impressions, both correct and incorrect. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of how our own minds work in such a way that with practice, we can actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness:

1. The contemplation of the body
2. The contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral)
3. The contemplation of the state of mind
4. The contemplation of the phenomena.

The Eightfold Path Step 6: Right Effort

Right effort, also known as “right endeavoring”, concerns the Buddhist practitioner’s continuous effort to keep his or her mind free of thoughts that might impair his or her ability to realize or put into practice the other elements of the Noble Eightfold Path.

I have mentioned in the past, that a Buddhist believes that reality bends to his own perception of it. By an effort of mind, a Buddhist can shape his reality. This can be a double-edged sword, creating both wholesome and unwholesome conditions. Right Effort concerns making the conscious effort to positively shape our minds and our world. The same type of mental energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness.

Right effort consists of four major actions that a Buddhist should attempt at all times:

1. Make an effort to prevent the creation of unwholesome states.
2. Make an effort to abandon pre-existing unwholesome states.
3. Make an effort to encourage wholesome states.
4. Make an effort to maintain pr-existing wholesome states.

By making right effort, a Buddhist practitioner will improve his or her karma.

The Eightfold Path Step 5: Right Livelihood

“Right Livelihood” is the goal of trying to make a living with right thought, speech and actions. You don’t have to give up everything and become a propertyless monk, but no Buddhist practitioner should engage in trades or occupations which, either directly or indirectly, result in harm to other living beings or systems.

Think about your job; is anyone, anywhere harmed, either physically, emotionally or mentally? How about animals? If you analyze your life, you are probably going to see where you live at someone else’s expense. In my opinion, this is one part of the Eightfold Path that was easier to accomplish back in Buddha’s day than it is now. Today, everyone is so interdependant that it’s extremely hard to live without doing some damage.

The Eightfold Path Step 4: Right Speech

This is the Buddhist way of saying “watch your mouth.”

One important Buddhist scripture explains, “…what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, abstaining from idle chatter: This, monks, is called right speech.” This is all very simple to understand, and pretty much follows the old adage “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” It’s better to live your life under a vow of silence (yes, Buddhists have those too) than it is to hurt others or yourself through your words.

It’s one of the harder points of the Eightfold Path to follow. Watch yourself today or tomorrow and see how easy it is to complain, to gossip, or even just to waste time talking “about nothing.”

The Eightfold Path Step 3: Right Action

Right action is also called “right conduct,, and involves how to behave in the physical world from day to day. Some examples of the “rules” are to avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.

These three are obviously serious offences, but for the most part are not an issue for most people in civilized parts of the world.

On the other hand, this subject leads us right into another famous Buddhist “list” called The Five Precepts. We’ll get into these five rules another time, but generally speaking, they fall under the category of “right actions,” but these are more difficult to observe in some cases:

The Five Precepts
1. Refrain from destroying living beings.
2. Refrain from stealing.
3. Refrain from sexual misconduct (adultery, rape, etc.).
4. Refrain from false speech (lying).
5. Refrain from intoxicants, which lead to heedlessness.

The idea behind all this is that improper physical actions leads to an unsound mind, so that in order to have a sound mind and attain Enlightenment, one should act properly with the physical body. In another way of looking at the five precepts, all of these rules involve physical attachments and desires, and as we learned last week with the Noble Truths, desire and attachment is the Buddhists’ “Root of all evil.”

The Eightfold Path Step 2: Right Intention

Right intention is also called “right thought”, “right resolve”, or “right aspiration” or “the exertion of our own will to change”. It involves your commitment and your reasons for following the tenets of Buddhism. Do you really want to give up desire? Are you willing to make sacrifices to attain Enlightenment? Are you willing to give up anger, hatred, and negative feelings while embracing compassion? Are you willing to avoid doing harm to others?

Really, this one is hard to explain. At this stage of your Buddhist development, don’t worry about it too much; you’ll understand what kind of commitments are necessary as time passes. It’s not so bad!