Search results for: "The Five Precepts"

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  2. Pleasing to the Noble Ones
     … What’s pleasing to the noble ones about your observance of the precepts is, one, that they’re not broken—in other words, you abide by the five precepts; and two, they’re conducive to concentration. Part of the reason why they’re conducive to concentration is that if you’re not breaking the precepts, then when you look back on your actions during … 
  3. Songkran Blessing
     … This is one of the reasons why, whenever we have a ceremony like this, we always take the five precepts to remind you that this is where genuine beauty lies. As you get older and you start dressing up, putting on makeup, trying to look like you did when you were young, it gets less and less appropriate. But the beauty of virtue never … 
  4. Virtue, Concentration, Discernment
     … As you’re sitting here, you’re not only observing the five precepts outside, but as you get the mind into concentration you’re observing them inside. You’re not killing your good qualities; you’re not stealing the bad qualities of other people to think about; you’re not engaging in illicit thoughts about sex; you’re not lying to yourself; and you … 
  5. Being a Buddhist
     … This is why nowadays when they have formal ceremonies for people who want to declare themselves Buddhist, after you take the Triple Refuge you take the five precepts, which means that you will not intentionally kill, steal, have illicit sex, take intoxicants, or lie. This sort of virtue is the second quality of becoming a Buddhist, and it makes you a genuine Buddhist. The … 
  6. Restraint Leads to Freedom
     … This is why, when one of the people back East asked Ajaan Suwat about how to carry the practice into daily life, he started with the five precepts and restraint of the senses—because the restraint in not letting the mind wander off into its defilements is what allows it to expand in other ways that are more nourishing, that are better for you … 
  7. The Evening News
     … Imagine what the world would be like if people just stopped breaking the five precepts. There wouldn’t be much news. So that’s the kind of stuff you see when you look outside. It doesn’t change much. But if you look inside, there is the possibility for genuine change. As the Buddha said, if you stick with the path, you get to … 
  8. The Fool & the Wise Person
     … He starts out with the five precepts. Those are just very general and very basic—the lowest common denominator—and he builds on top of that to higher and higher levels of refinement. Look at the rules for the monks. The basic code contains 227 rules, but then the Vinaya as a whole has far more many rules than that. In fact, I don … 
  9. Respect for the Triple Training
     … He didn’t make them up; he observed from his own experience over many, many eons that when people break the five precepts, they create trouble for themselves, trouble for other people. When people engage in wrong speech, some of the forms of which don’t come under the precept against lying, but they certainly fall outside of the path—harsh speech, divisive speech … 
  10. Strength of Conviction: 2
     … This refers to holding to the five precepts. We hold to them all the time, in all circumstances. But at the same time, we don’t glorify ourselves for our precepts. We don’t look down on others who can’t follow the precepts. In other words, we don’t create ourselves or fashion ourselves around our precepts. We do them because we know … 
  11. The Management of Suffering
     … We usually hear about virtue in terms of the five precepts, but it’s also expressed in qualities of the heart, qualities of the character—things like contentment, the willingness to go out of your way to be helpful to other people, the willingness not to be burdensome. Those are all parts of virtue as well. The third quality you look for in an … 
  12. The Four Precepts
     … Ajaan Suwat once pointed out that, as you practice the eight precepts, it’s basically adding restraint of the senses to the five precepts. The precept against eating after noon places some restraints on your tongue. The precept against singing, dancing, going to shows places restraints on your ears and your eyes. The precept against lying on high and luxurious beds places a restraint … 
  13. Precept Meditation
     … The act of taking on the five precepts teaches you very important lessons about skills integral to meditation. To begin with, it focuses your attention on your intentions, because you can break a precept only intentionally. This forces you to ask yourself, “What are your intentions? Why do you act? What’s the motive behind your actions and your choices?” When you’re forced … 
  14. Virtue
     … The same with the five precepts: When certain things are out of bounds, that’s it. Just say, “I’m just not going to follow those ideas,” and you find it a lot easier to live with yourself. These are comfortable rules. They’re like a fence but it’s a comfortable fence. When the mind gets more and more familiar with itself, you … 
  15. From Anxiety to Confidence
     … In other words, we practice the five precepts. We practice the Dhamma. That leads to a bright future. But we have to live in a world where there are people who are determined to go into darkness. Even if you point out the light to them, they don’t want it. And they can be very destructive. As we read about their activities, it … 
  16. Protest Your Virtue & Right View
     … You’ve got the five precepts, the eight, the ten, the 227. These are different ways of describing what it means to be harmless. And, of course, you don’t try to get anybody else to break the precepts either. That’s an important part of virtue. As for right view, that’s more complex. Part of right view, the Buddha says, is goodwill … 
  17. Make the Most of This Breath
     … Years back, when Ajaan Suwat was leading a retreat back in Massachusetts, at the end of the retreat he was asked, “How do we carry the practice into daily life?” He replied, “Follow the five precepts.” Some of the people in the room got upset because they thought he was implying that lay people couldn’t handle meditation in daily life. But that wasn … 
  18. A Friend to the World, A Friend to Yourself
     … The Buddha talks about observing the five precepts and following what we call the ten guidelines. In other words, no killing, no stealing, no illicit sex: That’s physical action. Then there’s verbal action: no lying, no divisive speech, no harsh speech, no idle chatter. And then there’s mental action: no inappropriate greed, no ill-will, and you try to keep your … 
  19. Remembering Ajaan Suwat
     … When you take the five precepts, you’re basically making a promise, you’re making a determination, that you’re not going to harm anybody or anything in any of those five ways. Then you really stick with them. But, of course, you’re going find out that there are times when you feel tempted to snuff out little animals, take a little something … 
  20. A Dhamma Bucket List
     … You want to make sure that your actions are in line with the five precepts, because you don’t want the kind of kamma that comes from having broken the precepts. This involves a certain amount of pride, a certain sense of self-esteem. This is a healthy pride that goes with observing the precepts. And it builds up a momentum. What you have … 
  21. Three Virtues for the Mind
    When we think about the precepts, we tend to think about the five precepts dealing with actions of the body and the words we say, but there’s also a list of precepts for the mind. It involves three things: avoiding excessive greed, avoiding ill will, and developing right view. This is part of what we’re doing as we meditate: developing these virtues … 
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