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The Precepts of Morality
Sila
There are two steps that are prerequisites to the practice of Buddhism
The precepts of morality are the rules of conduct that spiritual disciples accept and vow to embrace (promise to keep). Disciples are given the precepts because the ingrained habits of evil karmas are difficult to break. These evil karmas prevent the attainment of higher spiritual realms. These precepts enable disciples to attain purity of conduct in the thinking mind, the mouth, and the body (thought, word and deed) - the three ‘karmas’ or creators of spiritual destiny.
The precepts were usually characterized as prohibitions - they told one what not to do, much like the Biblical commandments and our laws today. The precepts for lay people normally included five:
These five precepts provide ordinary people and society with a moral compass that enables them to purify themselves from emotional distress (klesas) and the three evil paths. By doing so, it also enables them to master their basic emotions and desires, bestows them the serenity needed to pursue meditation and helps them attain birth in the spiritual realm of heaven.
For those that could accept more observance of moral discipline, there were special observances such as an annual three month abstention from eating meat and six days of fasting during each lunar month (the Posada).
Although the precepts differed among the various Buddhist groups, those for the ordained were invariably stricter than those for lay people. The following list of ten precepts was frequently used for general conduct:
|
Karma |
Abstention from: |
|
Deeds of the Body |
1. Killing |
|
Words of the Mouth |
4. Lying |
|
Thoughts of the Mind |
8. Jealousy |
The Flower Garland (Avatamsaka) Sutra beautifully expresses these ten precepts of morality.
Being able to continuously maintain these abstentions helps builds up spiritual endurance (Ksanti) and diligence (Virya). This fortifies one’s spiritual capacity and facilitates mental concentration (Dhyana) and spiritual insight (Prajna). These qualities are called good spiritual roots because with them one becomes well grounded in the fundamentals that enable the enlightened mind to grow and bear fruit.
Chih-I further explains the precepts in terms of ten levels of understanding in volume four of The Great Calm-Observation (C. Mo-Ho Chih-Kuan, J. Maka Shikan).
Additionally, the livelihood of a disciple is considered an important element in the living of a moral life. One’s livelihood should help support the embracing of the precepts, and not compel one to break them. Ideally, one would give up everything (‘leave home’) as did the Buddha and devote one’s whole life to the Three Treasures. Monks (Bhiksus) and Nuns (Bhiksunis) customarily accept more and stricter precepts (Sila) as well as a code of rules (Vinaya) that gives structure to their conduct, speech and livelihood as members of the Buddhisr order. For example, The Sutra on Brahma’s Net (Brahmajala Sutra) describes 48 precepts that should be observed by ordained members of the Mahayana Buddhist order. These 48 precepts were used by Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) in establishing the Bodhisattva Sangha of the Tendai school in Japan.
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Since July 9, 2001