One problem that I have with religion is that every religion comes with a bunch of rules. Thou shall not do this and thou should not do that. Muslims have to pray at least five times a day, Christians have to follow the commandments. As a deluded free spirit, I would not want to bounded by constraints.
Like other religions, Buddhism also has a set of rules, called precepts. As a starting point, there are five basic precepts that a practioner observes. These precepts serve the purpose of purifying once's moral conduct. If deed is moral and purified, one doesn't feel the guilt of wrong doing. It is said that when Lord Buddha was a Boddhisatva, he kept the precepts for many lives prior to being born as Siddharth Goutama.
There are couple of differences that I noticed between precepts and rules. Firstly that precepts are always asked by the follower and never enforced by the teachings. So if one would have to approach and request, unlike a command that needs to be followed.
Secondly and most importantly, there is a clear rationale for every precept:
By keeping the first precept "not to take life", one respects the right to life for every living being. It intends to eradicate fear of being harmed or killed in the hearts of many.
By keeping the precept of "not to speak lie", one commits to honesty. If one is honest in one's relationship and conduct, it becomes easy for others around to trust and share.
By keeping the precept "not to engage in sexual misconduct", one keeps out unwholesome temptations and wrong desires arising within the mind. One commits himself to honesty and faith in one's relationship. This in turns promotes peace and harmony in relationships.
By keeping the precept "not to steal", one respects the right of other beings to their belongings .
By keeping the precept "not to consume intoxicants", one doesn't commit wrong doing while not being in control of one's senses.
I make an attempt to keep the precepts but the two tough cookies are the first two. I noticed a few cockroaches in my kitchen and feeling disgusted, left them alone. The thing with roaches is that they multiply pretty fast. They keep popping up everywhere and fuel the hate that I have within for these creatures. Everytime I used to enter the kitchen, I would wonder that roaches would have walked over these utensils so I then would wash the washed utensils before using them. The inner hate eventually grew so strong that I eventually took the insectide in my hands and decimated their population. I still wonder what made me felt such hatred against them "their presence" or "the perception that they need to be destroyed so that I can live peacefully"? One thing for certain, I need to reduce my "hate" quotient to attain peace, something that can't be acheived by killing.
One would argue in today's fast paced life, how could one survive without telling lies? Be it a work related scenario or making an excuse with a friend, we normally find it casual and cool to say a bit of lie, what's the harm in it?
Keeping this precept is difficult however my motivation comes from "When Lord Buddha was a Boddhisatva and keeping the precepts, he could have broken other precepts but not this one. The commitment to honesty and truth is foremost."
Like other religions, Buddhism also has a set of rules, called precepts. As a starting point, there are five basic precepts that a practioner observes. These precepts serve the purpose of purifying once's moral conduct. If deed is moral and purified, one doesn't feel the guilt of wrong doing. It is said that when Lord Buddha was a Boddhisatva, he kept the precepts for many lives prior to being born as Siddharth Goutama.
There are couple of differences that I noticed between precepts and rules. Firstly that precepts are always asked by the follower and never enforced by the teachings. So if one would have to approach and request, unlike a command that needs to be followed.
Secondly and most importantly, there is a clear rationale for every precept:
By keeping the first precept "not to take life", one respects the right to life for every living being. It intends to eradicate fear of being harmed or killed in the hearts of many.
By keeping the precept of "not to speak lie", one commits to honesty. If one is honest in one's relationship and conduct, it becomes easy for others around to trust and share.
By keeping the precept "not to engage in sexual misconduct", one keeps out unwholesome temptations and wrong desires arising within the mind. One commits himself to honesty and faith in one's relationship. This in turns promotes peace and harmony in relationships.
By keeping the precept "not to steal", one respects the right of other beings to their belongings .
By keeping the precept "not to consume intoxicants", one doesn't commit wrong doing while not being in control of one's senses.
I make an attempt to keep the precepts but the two tough cookies are the first two. I noticed a few cockroaches in my kitchen and feeling disgusted, left them alone. The thing with roaches is that they multiply pretty fast. They keep popping up everywhere and fuel the hate that I have within for these creatures. Everytime I used to enter the kitchen, I would wonder that roaches would have walked over these utensils so I then would wash the washed utensils before using them. The inner hate eventually grew so strong that I eventually took the insectide in my hands and decimated their population. I still wonder what made me felt such hatred against them "their presence" or "the perception that they need to be destroyed so that I can live peacefully"? One thing for certain, I need to reduce my "hate" quotient to attain peace, something that can't be acheived by killing.
One would argue in today's fast paced life, how could one survive without telling lies? Be it a work related scenario or making an excuse with a friend, we normally find it casual and cool to say a bit of lie, what's the harm in it?
Keeping this precept is difficult however my motivation comes from "When Lord Buddha was a Boddhisatva and keeping the precepts, he could have broken other precepts but not this one. The commitment to honesty and truth is foremost."
