What is the source of this? Ian
>The Five Precepts (1) > >Whoever destroys living beings, speaks false words, who in the world takes >that which is not given to him, or goes too with another's wife, or takes >distilled, fermented drinks -- >whatever man indulges thus extirpates the roots of himself even here in >this very world. > ~ Dhammapada. 246-7~ > >So these actions are to be avoided if one wishes to be not only human in >body but also to have a human mind. And birth as a human being depends to >a great extent upon the practice of the Five Precepts, which are also >called "the Dhamma for human beings," (manussa-dhamma). The practice of >these precepts makes this human world bearable, but when such practice >declines then it becomes a place of suffering. > >THE 1ST PRECEPT: > >"I undertake to observe the precept to refrain from destroying living >creatures." > >The precept is broken whether one directly or indirectly (instructing >another to) performed the act of killing. The following 5 conditions must >be present for the killing to be grave enough to give rise to the >possibility that the breaker of the precept may be led to the woeful >States after death: > >1. A living being (not including bacteria and other micro- >organisms or plants); > >2. Knowledge that it is a living being; > >3. A mind that thinks of killing; > >4. The effort made to kill (including asking another to do it); and > >5. The being dies through the effort. > >a) Marketing > >As far as possible living beings (cockles, crabs, live fish or >prawns, etc) should not be brought home to be slaughtered before or during >the process of cooking. This including live poultry (chicken and ducks) >that are slaughtered on one's personal instruction. Fresh eggs too should >not be used for cooking (since life has already been conceived in an >fertilized egg). > >There is no restriction for one to purchase prepared meat that do not have >live (mutton, beef, pork, salted eggs, etc). > >b) Cooking and Meals > >As mentioned in the above section, cooking should be done such that in the >process, no living beings are intentionally killed, e.g. live cockles >should not be immersed into boiling water and fresh eggs should not be >cooked in any way. > >If the family is eating out, one should refrain from making orders which >would cause living beings to be specifically killed for one's sake e.g. >ordering fresh alive crabs, cockles or fish to be prepared into dishes. > >*eggs - This refers only to eggs, which have been fertilised. However eggs >sold in big towns and cities are invariably mass-produced by artificial >means and are therefore not fertilised, so they are not considered to >possess life. > >c) Around the house > >Pests are, undoubtedly, major problems to the household. BUT before >spraying toxic-pest mixtures all over the place, we should first make some >other important considerations. We ought to ask: Why do pests come? Where >do they abound in? > >Firstly, pests are animals - they are also living beings like us who need >food to survive, and who fear death as much as we do. They come to >scavenge for food, the necessity for life. Secondly, they abound in >filthy, untidy places where it is safe to move around without being easily >noticed and harmed by others (e.g. human beings and predators). > >Knowing this then, it is obvious that if we succeed in removing the >conditions, which are conducive for them to thrive in, we would have >eradicated them without having to kill them. This is what the 5 Preceptor >should be encouraged to do. > >Food should be properly stored. The kitchen should always be kept clean >and tidy. Disposal bins should be regularly emptied and cleared. > >d) Hobbies If gardening involves the destruction of masses of snails, >worms, ant and other insects, we should think again about continuing the >hobby and seriously consider to slowly give it up, and to take up >something else less harmful. Otherwise, like planting useful fruit trees, >etc. But then again, a REMINDER here: preventive rather than destructive >measures should be taken to control garden pests. > >Fishing, which appears to be quite a harmless sport should be >avoided. Here, not only do we KILL fishes, but we do so with >intention, out of desire and with pleasure. Any form of hunting as a sport >should not be indulged in too. > >If we constantly remind ourselves that all of us fear death, and we desire >to continue living, and so too do ALL other beings fear death and desire >to continue living, we may perhaps develop compassion for them and so >better restrain ourselves from killing in this habitual way. > >THE 2ND PRECEPTS: > >"I undertake to observe the precept to refrain from taking what is not given." > >The Precept is broken whether the stealing is done personally or through >another person acting on one's instructions. The following 5 conditions >must be present for the stealing to be grave enough to give rise to the >possibility that the breaker of the precept may be led to the Woeful >States after death: >1. The object, which belongs to an owner > >2. Knowledge that the object belongs to an owner; > >3. The volition intending to steal; > >4. The effort made to steal; > >5. The object taken away through the effort. > >Being largely conditioned by the materialistic society which we live in, >it is not surprising that many of us are obsessed with the mentality of >anytime we can get things free, better get `em fast'. > >a) At the Office > >To illustrate this, ask ourselves: how many times have we >intentionally flicked home from the office things like erasers, carbon >papers, typing papers and other stuff, without even the >slightest tinkle of guilt, when we are fully aware that these things >belong to the office/company and are NOT for the taking? >Keeping this precept means that we must try our best to check such >seemingly trivial, but surely very bad habits, and to refrain from taking >things which have not been given, nor meant for us. After all, these >little things are not too expensive for us to afford, surely. So, in >whatever place that we are working in, WE should exercise restraint and >overcome the temptation and greed of taking, for our own, things, which do >not rightfully belong to us. > > >b) Occupation and Business Deals We should also be wary that our >occupations do not involve us committing the act of stealing. Taking away >positions of our greed, for power or higher wages, by unjust means, for >example, is considered to be a form of stealing. So is taking off office >time for no good reasons, e.g. to chit chat, to deliberately do things slowly >to avoid being given additional work, to make excuses in order to shirk >getting work which should rightfully be given, etc. > >Cheating is also another form of stealing. Examples are numerous but let >us consider a few: shopkeepers who use faulty measuring instruments, or >who deliberately mix products to result in selling inferior quality goods >at standard quality prices are breaking the precept. For big time >businessmen, the diverting of houses, farms, estates, etc. of others to >become one's own by means of lawsuits and allied methods is also >considered an act of stealing once the rightful owner loses hope. > >c) Be a Good Borrower Some people have the bad habit of borrowing things >for long stretches of time. Eventually, the original owner is forgotten >and the borrower assumed possession of the property. Such cases, as well >as the outright case of refusing to return borrowed things to the rightful >owner, are also forms of stealing although not normally considered to >be so. Therefore we should try our very best to be mindful on such >occasions and to make it a point to remember the rightful owner and to >return the property to him as soon as we have finished using it. > >d) Evading tax When we go vacationing and touring, and we do a lot of >shopping, especially in other countries where goods are cheaper, it >becomes sort of `instinctive' for us to start thinking of ways and means >of how to evade the Customs officer, to escape duty on all the items that >we desire to bring home with us. But we must guard against such >`instincts', which are the cause of our carelessness in failing to >mindfully keep the precepts. The smuggling of dutiable goods is an act of >evading tax and this include income tax, assessments, quit rent, etc. > >THE 3RD PRECEPT: > >"I undertake to observe the precept to refrain from an immoral act of >sexual intercourse." >Normally, sex does not occur spontaneously or out of the blues, but is the >mutual participation of a man and woman who are already involved in a >developing or developed relationship. Having this in mind; this section >deals not only with the particular conditions concerning the sexual act >itself, but also with the relevant aspects of the man-woman relationship, >which comes before and leads to it. > >This precept can only be broken by oneself and not for others. The >following 4 conditions for the breaking of this precept are: > >1. The Forbidden object* > >2. The mind thinking of committing the sexual act on the >subject; > >3. The effort made in committing the sexual act; > >4. The satisfaction derived in the mutual participation of the sexual act. > >* The forbidden object refers to human beings or animals of the opposite >sex or of the same sex. > >i) Girls or boys who are not up to the age of maturity and >independence, i.e. who are still innocent and do not know what is good or >bad, and who are still dependants, being brought up, fed and cared for by >their guardians (parents, relatives, friends). These make up the group of >the unmarried and the unattached). > >ii) Women or men who are attached or married including those already >engaged, as well as mistresses and prostitutes or gigolo. > >iii) Any types of animals, male or female. > >a) Sex and Morality > >Buddhism does not consider sex as immoral, shameful or dirty for a lay >disciple but as something essential in the world of survival and >procreation. (Not applicable to monks or nuns who made their determination >to renounce the worldly conditions). > >What cause it to be immoral is the circumstances, under which sex is >carried out. Is it by forced or by consensus besides all the above >criteria. The lustful desires to experience or possess the forbidden >objects decide the level of morality of a person in this context. > >b) Polygamy and Monogamy > >Polygamy was widely practised in the olden day, as it is reasonable >accepted by the society. The first wife, instead of feeling hurt and >jealous, might in fact welcome an extra pair of hands to help with the >household chores. > >Today, with monogamy being the rule, society values have changed, thus >reconditioning the expectations and outlook of its members. Thus, when two >people get married, they are expected to be faithful to each other. >c) Marriage Blues > >When a man or a woman commits, or thinks of committing adultery, it is >usually an indication that something has gone wrong somewhere in his/her >matrimonial relationship. The thought of committing adultery is actually a >form of escapism. One conveniently leaves a set of problems, which >desperately needs to be worked out, unsolved and imagines that it will be >solved by escaping from it and by entering into a new (and probably highly >idealised) relationship with another >person. > >This is mainly due to lack of understanding, tolerance and respect for >each other. One forgets about one's responsibility, obligation and sense >of duty to keep the family together. Thus allows the emotion (ego) to >blind oneself instead of solving the problems by forgiving oneself and the >other. > >d) Adultery > >It is in fact sexual lust, which is the very potent force behind many a >person's ruin and dishonour. "Love is Blind." An intense romantic love can >led people to do all sorts of things including murder; thieving and >destroying other's property; seduction and adultery; lying, slandering, >abusive behaviour and taking to the bottle or to drugs. > > > >Thus we see that a person who breaks the 3rd precept is more than likely >to break all the remaining four. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/sTR6_D/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! 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