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Handout #8
The Five Precepts (五戒) and Ten Good Deeds(十善)
The Five Precepts are the teachings of the Buddha to the lay followers. The
Buddha hopes that these virtues will be followed by all. The five precepts in
Buddhism are: (1). No killing (不殺生), (2). No stealing (不偷盜), (3). No sexual
misconduct (不邪淫), (4). No false speech (不妄語), and (5). No drinking of alcohol
(no intoxicants) (不飲酒).
No killing means not destroying the life of a being. We cherish our life;
therefore, we should cherish the lives of others. We don’t like other people to harm
our life; therefore, we should not harm other’s lives. The human race is not the only
one to cherish their lives. All animals cherish their lives, too, and fear death as well.
Therefore, we should also love and protect all animals, and refrain from harming them
intentionally. To abide by this precept, we will maintain loving kindness,
compassion and build up understanding.
No stealing means not taking things not given. Legal procedures and the
paying of a fair price have to be involved, when there is a change in the ownership of
a property. The legal procedures of ownership are to assure that each individual’s
essential necessities for survival are protected. If my greediness makes me use
illegal methods such as stealing, cheating, robbery using violence, or causes me to not
pay a price or any hardship for the ownership of someone else’s property, then my
type of behavior is disgraceful. To abide by this precept, we will control greed,
maintain non-attachment, loving-kindness, and understanding.
All humans have the same desire to continue to live and to be happy. To gain
this, everyone should abide by the precepts of ‘no killing’ and ‘no stealing’. If these
are followed, then everyone will be able to live their lives peacefully and happily.
No sexual misconduct means no sensual exploitation. Husband and wife are
the central components of a family. Buddha taught us that for a husband to treat his
wife properly he should at least follow these points: 1. Treat her with due respect and
do not look down on her or abuse her, 2. Give her all the control of managing the
household, 3. Offer her the housekeeping expenses as well as ornamental items that
she loves, 4. Strictly uphold purity and chastity in his conduct. He should not have
extramarital affairs. Similarly, there are at least four points as to how a wife should
treat her husband: 1. Be hardworking while orderly managing the household, 2.
Cherish resources and be thrifty in domestic expenses, 3. Be understanding, loving,
and caring towards her husband, 4. Strictly uphold purity and chastity in her conduct.
To abide by this precept, we will control sensual lust, and maintain content,
responsibility, safety, integrity of individuals, family and society. Everyone should
abide by the precept of ‘no sexual misconduct’, so that families can live in happiness
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and peace.
No false speech means abstaining from false speech. Societies and countries
are made up of many individuals. All these individuals have to convey their feelings,
thoughts, and exchange their ideas. To do so, they rely on speech. If our speech is
inaccurate and dishonest, or it cannot perform the task of conveying feelings, thoughts,
and exchanging ideas, it would be as if there is no bridge between the two shores.
‘No false speech’ can be categorized into four types: 1. No lying - do not speak with
dishonesty and defraud others, 2. No idle speech - do not say things which will
induce others to have unhealthy thoughts or actions, 3. No double talk - do not
gossip or be a talebearer and arouse ill-will between two parties, which can lead to
conflicts, 4. No harsh words- do not use abusive language to scold others. To
abide by this precept, we should have mutual confidence and trust, mutual
understanding and forgiveness, and cultivate truthfulness and mindful speech.
No drinking of alcohol means not taking addictive intoxicants such as opium,
morphine, liquor, etc. The precept of ‘no drinking of alcohol’- if one is caught in the
bad habit of being addicted to these drugs, it will be harmful to one’s health, and one
will neglect one’s work and career. In addition, as one’s mind is being anesthetized
by these drugs or alcohol, one may commit evil deeds such as killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct and lying. Thus, the Buddha also included this rule into the precept.
To abide by this precept, we should abstain from unwholesome excitement, mindful
consumption, cultivate mindfulness of good health, concern for myself, my family,
and my society.
The Five Precepts can be compared with the Five Virtues of Confucianism:
Being humane ( benevolence,仁) means not killing and harming; being righteous (義)
means not stealing; maintaining propriety (禮) means refraining from sexual
misconduct; being trustworthy (faith,信) means no false speech; and being wise
(intelligence,智) means refraining from drinking intoxicating liquor. Thus, the Five
Precepts of Buddhism are very similar to the doctrine of Confucianism.
If a person keeps the Five Precepts, then that person’s character and morality
will be well grounded. If a family keeps the Five Precepts, the character and
morality of its members will be in good order. If everyone in an organization,
society, or nation keeps the Five Precepts, then that `body’ will certainly enjoy
stability, peace, and prosperity.
Some people may think that as long as they do not undertake the Five Precepts,
they are exempt from the unwholesome karma associated with the violation of these
precepts. This cannot be further from the truth. We only need to visit a prison to
realize that all those, incarcerated for their crimes, have violated the Five Precepts in
one way or another. For instance, those who have committed murder, manslaughter,
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or aggravated assault have violated the precept against killing. Those who are guilty
of corruption, misappropriation, or robbery have violated the precept against stealing.
Pornography, polygamy, rape, abduction, and prostitution are all examples of
violating the precept against sexual misconduct. To engage in fraud, intimidation,
and defaulting on loans is to violate the precept against lying. In addition to
proscribing alcohol, the precept against intoxicants also includes heroin, cocaine, and
other illegal drugs, all of which damage the mind’s cognitive abilities and lead one to
do unconscionable acts. If everyone upholds the Five Precepts, prisons will be
empty.
The Eight Precepts comprise the Five Precepts plus three more: (1) abstaining
from perfume and cosmetics, (2) from singing and dancing, and (3) from sleeping in
high, comfortable beds. The purpose of these three additional precepts is to practice
simplicity and letting go. The Buddha introduced the Eight Precept as a skillful
means to let householders have a taste of the monastic life, planting the seed of
renunciation in the process. It is customary to practice the Eight Precepts on the six
days of fasting1 and abstinence. The six days are the eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth,
twenty-second, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth day of each month. There is no hard and
fast rule which day to choose. You can choose any, all, or a combination of these
days. You can also choose other days besides these six. In addition to observing
the Eight Precepts, it is customary to abstain from food after noontime as a form of
purification of the body.
The Ten Good Deeds
Among the topics of moral conduct preached by the Buddha to the lay followers
are the Ten Good Deeds. This practice is more advanced than the Five Precepts.
The contents of the Ten Good Deeds can be divided into three categories:
Bodily action
a) No killing
Speech
a) No lying (不誑言)
Mind
a) No greed (不貪)
b) No stealing
b) No idle talk (不綺語)
b) No hatred (不瞋)
c) No sexual misconduct c) No slandering (不兩舌) c) No improper views (不癡)
d) No harsh speech (不惡口)
The seven types of conduct mentioned above, which arises from our bodily
actions and speech, are wholesome expressions that can be seen externally. These
external expressions of speech and actions are initiated by the mind; thus, in order to
attain ultimate wholesomeness, our minds must understand the basic moral values.
This is the reason why, when comparing the Five precepts with the Ten Good Deeds,
there are three extra items, which are related to mind.
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The mental aspect of human beings is composed of three aspects: (1) the will
(wish or determination 意志), (2) emotions (sentiment, feeling 感情), and (3)
rationality(理智).
The will of normal human beings is always boundless. One always hopes to
make everything their possession. This is called greed or desire.
In the aspect of emotion, people are always dissatisfied with other people, They
do not forgive. They hold grudges, and they have anger towards other people.
These are collectively termed as ‘hatred’.
In terms of rationality, people are unable to differentiate what is right and what
is wrong, what is good and what is evil. They do not understand the Law of Cause
and Effect, Karma and Retribution. They are confused. This is called ignorance
(improper views).
The greed, hatred and ignorance in our minds are the roots of all evils.
Buddha taught us methods to overcome them.
In terms of the will, we need to subdue our greed and desires. In the aspect of
emotion, we must learn to be kind and to forgive. With regards to rationality, one
should learn to distinguish between good and evil, understand the Law of Cause and
Effect, and understand the truth of all phenomena.
In short, no greed, no hatred and no ignorance (improper views) are the
foundation of all moral values.
With a wholesome mind, one’s speech and actions are also wholesome.
Through wholesome speech and actions, one strengthens the wholesomeness of one’s
mind.
The highest achievement in cultivating our human personality is to attain unity
between our mind and external expressions of behavior, that is, the unity of
understanding and actions. In this way, we attain the final goal in practicing the
Buddha path, which is the attainment of Buddhahood.
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The six monthly fast days (六齋日): They are the days on which the Four Maharajas
(四天王) take note of human conduct and when evil demons are busy, so that great
care is required and consequently nothing should be eaten after noon.
Shurangama Sutra:
阿難。修菩提者永斷五辛。是則名為第一增進修行漸次。
“Ananda, Those who cultivate for bodhi should never eat the five pungent
plants. This is the first of the gradual stages of cultivation.”
Commentary:
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In cultivation, one must get rid of the causes which aid in the creation of bad
karma. The five pungents, (onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and shallots), are
especially potent in increasing sexual desire, to the point that it is unbearable and one
goes crazy with lust.
Sutra:
云何正性。阿難。如是眾生入三摩地要先嚴持清淨戒律。
“What is the essence of karmic offenses? Ananda, beings who want to enter
samadhi must first firmly uphold the pure precepts.”
Commentary:
The second gradual stage concerns the essence of karmic offenses (the workings
of the karmic consciousness). The karmic consciousness must be transformed, and
that is done by holding the precepts. One relies on the precepts in cultivation.
Sutra:
永斷淫心。不食酒肉。以火淨食。無噉生氣。阿難。是修行人若不斷淫及
與殺生出三界者。無有是處。
“They must sever thoughts of lust, not partake of wine or meat, and eat cooked
rather than raw foods. Ananda, if cultivators do not sever lust and killings, it will be
impossible for them to transcend the triple realm.”
Commentary:
`Lust’ refers to deviant, improper sexual desire. One should eat pure
vegetarian food. Wine and alcohol in general derange one’s nature. Once you
drink alcohol, you lose your concentration and then you are likely to do just about
anything. All foods should be cooked, even vegetables, because almost all raw foods
will increase one’s anger.
Sutra:
當觀淫欲猶如毒蛇。如見怨賊。先持聲聞四棄八棄。執身不動。後行菩薩
清淨律儀。執心不起。
“You should look upon lustful desire as upon a poisonous snake or a resentful
bandit. First hold to the sound-hearer’s four or eight parajikas in order to control
your physical activity; then cultivate the Bodhisattva’s pure regulations in order to
control your mental activity.”
Commentary:
If one regarded lust as being as poisonous as that, one would not be able to take
delight in it. You must keep the Shravaka precepts against killing, stealing, lust, and
lying - these apply to both Bhikshus and Bhikshunis.
Sutra:
禁戒成就。則於世間永無相生相殺之業。偷劫不行。無相負累。亦於世間
不還宿債。
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“When the prohibitive precepts are successfully upheld, one will not create
karma that leads to trading places in rebirth and to killing one another in this world.
If one does not steal, one will not be indebted, and one will not have to pay back past
debts in this world.”
Commentary:
`Prohibitive’ implies the practice of restraint. `Precepts’ are defined as
`stopping evil and counteracting wrongdoing.’ The precepts are divided into four
aspects: (1). Maintenance (持), (2). Restraint (遮), (3). Exceptions (開), and (4).
Violations (犯). `Maintenance’ means upholding the precepts and cultivating in
accord with them. `Restraints’ refer to prohibitions. They are honored because to
violate them would contribute to further violations; as in refraining from taking
intoxicants one avoids breaking other precepts as well. `Violation’ refers to breaking
a precept. Sometimes exceptions are made, so that you are not considered to have
violated the precept, even if you have acted against it.
The following event will illustrate the aspect of exceptions. Once, when the
Buddha was in the world, there were two Bhikshus cultivating in the mountains.
One day, one of the Bhikshus went down the mountain to get food and left the other
one sleeping. In India at that time, the Bhikshus simply wore their sashes wrapped
around them; they did not wear clothing underneath. This Bhikshus had shed his
robe and was sleeping nude. At that time a woman happened along, and seeing the
Bhikshu, she was aroused and took advantage of him. Just as she was running away
from the scene, the other Bhikshu returned from town and saw her in flight. Upon
investigation he found out that the woman had taken advantage of the sleeping
Bhikshu, and he decided to pursue her. He took out after her, and the woman
became so reckless that she slipped off the road and tumbled down the mountain to
her death. So one Bhikshu had violated the precept against sexual activity and the
other had broken the precept against killing. Although the Bhikshu hadn’t actually
pushed her down the mountain, she wouldn’t have fallen if he hadn’t been pursuing
her.
“What a mess!” concluded the two Bhikshus. Messy as it was, they had to go
before the Buddha and describe their offenses. The Buddha referred them to the
Venerable Upali (優婆離). But when Venerable Upali heard the details, his verdict
was that, indeed, one had violated the precept against sexual activity and the other
against killing, offenses which cannot be absolved. Hearing this, the two Bhikshu
wept, and they went about everywhere trying to find someone who could help them.
Eventually, they found the great Upasaka Vimalakirti (維摩詰), who asked why they
were crying. When they had related their tale, he pronounced his judgment that they
had not violated the precepts. “If you can be repentant, he said, “then I can certify
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that you didn’t break the precepts.” “How can that be?” they asked. “The nature of
offenses is basically empty.” Replied the Upasaka. “You did not violate the precepts
intentionally, and so it doesn’t count. It is an exception.” Hearing this explanation
by the great teacher Vimalakirti, the two Bhikshus were enlightened on the spot and
were certified as attaining the fruition. So there are many explanations within the
prohibitive precepts. But if people always look to the exceptions, they will simply
not hold the precepts. So the Buddha did not speak much about this aspect.
If one upholds the precepts, “one will not create karma that leads to trading
places in rebirth and to killing one another in this world.” One is born and then
kills, and the victim is reborn and kills the one who killed him. But now karmic
offenses created in the cycle of mutual rebirth and mutual killing cease.
The
offenses of stealing will also cease when one stops stealing. I won’t take your things,
and you won’t take mine. I won’t eat your flesh, and you won’t eat mine. I won’t
become indebted to you, and you won’t become indebted to me. In that way we
won’t have to pay each other back.