1.4 Key Moral Principles - concepts

Question 1

what Theravada ethics are based on

Answer 1

restraint - the teaching of the Buddha is not to commit evil, but to practice all good and to keep the heart pure

Question 2

what Mahayana ethics are based on

Answer 2

emptiness - not strictly following certain teachings if they are not useful, following what is useful to one’s individual journey

Question 3

what Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism) ethics are based on

Answer 3

everything in life - all things both positive and negative are potential tools for transformation and to learn from

Question 4

what is meant by the panca sila (five precepts)

Answer 4

the elements of right action on the 8FP, which all Buddhists try to follow

Question 5

what are the panca sila (five precepts)

Answer 5

I undertake to abstain from…
1- harming
2 - taking anything not freely given
3 - misuse of sex
4 - misuse of speech
5 - taking any substance that clouds the mind

Question 6

what is meant by the dasa sila (ten precepts)

Answer 6

ten precepts a bhikkhu undertakes when ordained - not rules, but promises the bhikkhu makes, ideals they want to live up to

Question 7

what are the dasa sila (ten precepts)

Answer 7

• first five precepts of the panca sila, followed by: to abstain from…
  6 - eating after midday
  7 - dancing or singing
  8 - using perfume or garlands
  9 - sleeping on comfortable beds
  10 - handling money

Question 8

details of first precept ‘i undertake to abstain from harming’

Answer 8

understood in a wide sense - killing or hurting not only physically but mentally and emotionally. the most important precept

Question 9

details of second precept ‘i undertake to abstain from taking anything that is not freely given’

Answer 9

does not only mean stealing, but having a generous attitude towards others and not wasting their time and energy - thoughts reflections and feelings are as much as what one owns as material possessions

Question 10

details of third precept ‘i undertake to abstain from the misuse of sex’

Answer 10

applies to both the self and others - not only abusing sex but not desperately seeking pleasure the whole time, or seeing people not as humans but as potential sex objects

Question 11

monastic celibacy - meaning of ‘brahmacharya’

Answer 11

to live like the gods - to be free from thinking of yourself as a man or a woman, to relate to others without allowing sex to get in the way

Question 12

details of fourth precept ‘i undertake to abstain from the misuse of speech’

Answer 12

applies to lying, gossiping, being argumentative etc. speech should be skilful - should always help others on the path to enlightenment

Question 13

details of fifth precept ‘i undertake to abstain from taking any substance that clouds the mind’

Answer 13

buddhism is about mindfulness and looking unsatisfactoriness straight in the eye, not trying to escape from it which is the aim of substance abuse

Question 14

reasoning behind the sixth and ninth precepts - to abstain from eating after midday, and to abstain from sleeping on a comfortable bed

Answer 14

eating and sleeping are necessities to life, but that is all. should be thought of as fuel, not enjoyable past-times and sources of craving

Question 15

reasoning behind the seventh, eighth, and tenth precepts - to abstain from dancing or singing, to abstain from using perfume or garlands, to abstain from handling money

Answer 15

such things can lead to worldly attachment, no form of which can ultimately improve life / remove dissatisfaction

Question 16

various interpretations of third precept - ‘sensual misconduct’

Answer 16

direct translation means to abstain from misconduct of any sense pleasures, which some monastics adhere to, but it is often explained to mean sexual relations