Mayka,
Below, I juxtapose what I know, believe, or perceive with your knowledge, belief and perceptions. (Neither of us is 'right' or 'wrong'.) I use the following definition of 'precept': Definitions of precept on the Web: precept: principle: rule of personal conduct wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn <http://www.google.com/url?q=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn%\ 3Fs%3Dprecept&sa=X&ei=kSuTTYa-J5HmsQOTgcmxCw&ved=0CA0QpAMoAA&usg=AFQjCNF\ GPJgxHsQgwnpJInAJNzhgvPlP0A> This was exactly what one of my Buddhist teachers, Joseph Goldstein, taught us, namely that in Buddhism there are no 'commandments', just voluntary rules of personal conduct. The Buddha said: If your life is not working for you, try living by the precepts, and judge for yourself what happens. --ED --- In [email protected], Maria Lopez <flordeloto@...> wrote: > > [M] The whole point of changing the name "Precepts" as "Mindfulness Trainings" was with the intention of pointing out that they have to be practiced in mindfulness. [ED]: My understand is that the precepts are precepts, and mindfulness is mindfulness - or awareness. At first, living by the precepts is a conscious process, and after living by them diligently on an ongoing basis, they can become second nature. > [M] That they were a training to the mind. [ED] Yes, a moral training of the mind. > [M] Without the practice of mindfulness applied over the "Precepts" they would lack of the awareness and insight the energy that mindfulness brings with it. [ED] Mindfulness is mindfulness and precepts are precepts. Mindfulnes of one's precept-keeping or precept violation is quite OK. > [M] Without mindfulness one would stay only over the surface writing making difficult to unfold the depths on each of them. They're very cleverly wisely created. Mindfulness and "Precepts" are not separated. They are the same. One can also see the precepts as an insight coming from mindfulness. Mayka [ED] I respect your and TNH's new perspective, even though I think it does not seem to be the interpretations to be found in Theravada Buddhist literature. --ED > Steve, > > I don't disagree with the quote from Thich Nhat Hanh below. I do think, however, that the way he's phrased this in English could lead to a misunderstanding of the relationship between precepts and mindfulness. This is partially linguistic and partically because of the tendancy to look at things like this from a dualistic (and in our case, Western) perspective. > > Following precepts does not lead to mindfulness. Practicing mindfulness, however, does lead to a life that is compatible with the precepts - at least the first 5. > > Or to say it another way: you can faithfully follow all the precepts and still not be practicing mindfulness; but if you are practicing mindfulness you will be following all the precepts - at least the first 5. > > ...Bill! > > "If we don't practice the precepts, we aren't practicing mindfulness. I know some Zen students who think that they can practice meditation without practicing precepts, but that is not correct. The heart of Buddhist meditation is the practice of the precepts. You cannot meditate without practicing the precepts." > > -from The Heart of The Buddha's Teaching, page 82 > > Any comments? > > Steve
