Paramita – Ethics 1

Welcome to the second of the Six Paramitas [six perfections, transcendental virtues, or principles of virtuous practice] which is Ethics.

What are Buddhist ethics about? The Buddhist tradition acknowledges that life is complex and throws up many difficulties, and it does not suggest that there is a single course of action that will be right in all circumstances. Indeed, rather than speaking of actions being right or wrong, Buddhism speaks of the being skillful (kusala) or unskillful (akusala). This applies to our thoughts, our speech, and our actions.

To live is to act, and our actions can have either harmful or beneficial consequences for oneself and others. Buddhist ethics is concerned with the principles and practices that help one to act in ways that help rather than harm. The core ethical code of Buddhism is known as the five precepts, and these are the distillation of its ethical principles. The precepts are not rules or commandments, but ‘principles of training’, which are undertaken freely and need to be put into practice with intelligence and sensitivity. They constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics.

The five precepts are intentional training rules, which, if one were to break any of them, one should be aware of the breech and examine how such a breech may be avoided in the future. The resultant of an action (often referred to as Karma) depends on the intention more than the action itself. It entails less feelings of guilt than its Judeo-Christian counterpart. Buddhism places a great emphasis on ‘mind’ and it is mental anguish such as remorse, anxiety, guilt etc. which is to be avoided in order to cultivate a calm and peaceful mind.

I offer two versions of the Five Precepts from Phillip Moffit at dharmawisdom.org, one more traditional and one with more positive phrasing.

The Five Precepts constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics.

The Five Precepts – Traditional Phrasing [with a short commentary after each one]

1. To undertake the training to avoid taking the life of beings.
This precept applies to all living beings not just humans. All beings have a right to their lives and that right should be respected.
2. To undertake the training to avoid taking things not given.
This precept goes further than mere stealing. One should avoid taking anything unless one can be sure that is intended that it is for you.
3. To undertake the training to avoid sensual/sexual misconduct.
This precept is often mistranslated or misinterpreted as relating only to sexual misconduct but it covers any overindulgence in any sensual pleasure such as gluttony as well as misconduct of a sexual nature.
4. To undertake the training to refrain from false speech.
As well as avoiding lying and deceiving, this precept covers slander as well as speech which is not beneficial to the welfare of others.
5. To undertake the training to abstain from substances which cause intoxication and heedlessness.
This precept is in a special category as it does not infer any intrinsic evil in, say, alcohol itself but indulgence in such a substance could be the cause of breaking the other four precepts.

The following is a sample of positively stated and elaborated version of the Precepts.

The Five Precepts – Stated Positively

1. To the best of my ability, I will protect and support life and encourage the fulfillment of potential for love and understanding in others.
   
2. To the best of my ability, I will take only what is freely given and vow to practice gratitude and generosity.
   
3. To the best of my ability, I will respect and support on-going relationships, honor my commitments, and practice discernment between the beauty of Eros as a feeling and the compulsiveness to act it out.
   
4. To the best of my ability, I will say what is true, useful, and timely and practice deep listening such that both my speaking and listening reflects loving-kindness and compassion.
   
5. To the best of my ability, I will maintain a clear and alert mind that is aware of its motivations, moment to moment, such that it can discern between what is the cause of suffering and what is not the cause of suffering.

As we have talked about many times, the way that you think, speak, and act creates a pattern in the mind. These patterns of thinking and acting can be beneficial and bring happiness to ourselves and others or they can be harmful and create more suffering. See if you can be aware of these trainings during the coming week and, to the best of your ability, try to make these alive in your life with the intention of being of benefit to all beings with your actions (i.e. print & post to the fridge).