Five Precepts

(1)    Not to kill

o         3 aspects:   -   One should not kill.

-   One should not cause another to kill.

-   One should not give consent for another to kill.

o         5 conditions for breaking the precept:

-   a living being

-       knowledge that it is a living being

-       intention to kill

-      effort made to kill

-      the being dies 

☺ Food for thought: When one takes up this precepts and do not kill, he/she will enjoy long life, good health and be spared from being killed as they have given life to other beings through not killing. On the flip side of a coin, one should practise saving lives besides not taking it. Often, a common misconception is that we must become a vegetarian to “qualify” for this precept as ‘where there’s a demand, there’s always a supply.’ There are 3 types of meat which we can take. (1)    We do not see the animal being killed (2)    We do not hear the animal being killed (3)    We do not have the knowledge it is being killed for us The meat from the supermarkets we buy is butchered for the consumers and not specially killed for us, therefore, there is nothing wrong in taking it.

 (2)    Not to Steal

o    3 aspects:   -    One should not take what is not given.

-          One should not cause another to take what is not given.

-          One should not approve another of taking what is not given.

o    Different types of Stealing: -- includes corruption, not paying tax, taking into possession what one has found, not paying exact bus fares etc.

☺ Food for thought: Some might ask, can we donate the money which we have found? The answer is, yes, we can. But we donate it on behalf of the owner, because, at the end of the day, what is not ours eventually is still not ours. On the other hand, one should practise the virtue of giving besides not stealing. Giving not necessarily mean that it must be in monetary forms. We can give things such as greetings, smiles and seats on public transport, etc. Stealing paves the route to poverty, and giving generates wealth.

(3) No sexual misconduct

o        A very important factor in maintaining the harmony of the       family

☺ Food for thought: No sexual misconduct means not to commit adultery. Although there is no law to say that it is wrong, we should not do it. Even if the act is agreeable between both parties, it is still a cause of unhappiness. When we practise the virtue of no sexual misconduct, we will be free from worries, insecurities, and fear. In our next lives, we will meet faithful spouses.

 (4)    Not to Lie

o               4 aspects:  - No false speech

-  No slander (tale bearing)

-  No harsh speech

-  No idle chatter (gossip etc)

o             Criteria of speech:  - truthful, beneficial, and at the right time.

☺ Food for thought: The benefit of this precept is that our speech will carry more weight. Often, even in our daily lives, we see some parent’s words are powerful that the children listened, while others, their words carried no weight.

(5)    No intoxication of Drinks (include other things that will cause addiction – drugs, cigarettes, etc)

o    Drinking will: morality  - weaken our moral strength

                                      - cause us to violate other precepts

                        wisdom  -  hinder the development of wisdom

☺ Food for thought: Let me share with all of you a story I heard from Venerable Chun Hui in her Dharma class. There was once a man who observed the 5 precepts and practised them well. One day, he mistook a bottle of wine as water and drank it up. He got drunk and it happened that his neighbour’s chicken escaped into his garden and he wanted to eat chicken. So he slaughtered the poor animal and cooked it. Meanwhile, his neighbour sent his wife over to his house to look for the chicken. When the lady asked him about the chicken, he lied that he did not see it. And in his drunken stupor, he got tempted by the woman’s beauty and raped her. Therefore, in this story, we can see how intoxicants can cause us to lose our senses, weaken our moral strength and cause us to violate other precepts. In this case, this man, because of drinking, he has violated all his precepts.

v       Benefits of Taking 5 Precepts

§          Respected by society

§          Liked by both human and heavenly beings

§          Evil spirits cannot harm (we are protected by our own virtues)

§          Causes of happiness

§          Causes of human rebirth

§          Foundation to concentration and wisdom

The above article which I shared with all of you is on courtesy of Venerable Chun Hui. If there are any errors made due to my negligence, it is solely due to my carelessness and lack of mindfulness, and I wish to seek forgiveness. May all who read this article gain in wisdom, and be well and happy.

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