Buddha's Five Precepts

The impacts of Buddhist teachings and the worshipping of individuals in the buddhist community, enabled those in society to reflect upon their ethics. This notion is evident through the buddhist ethical teachings that governs our morals, decisions and actions established as a result of the Dalai Lama’s philosophical teachings of peace, which is further supported by the notion of “Puja”, the act of devotional attention and offerings.

As a college student that has lived and grown up in western New York, I do not have too much experience with the other religions of the world. I have grown up a Christian Protestant my whole life, and I am a firm believer in my religion. Soon after reading the chapter on Buddhism in Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions, I came to understand and respect the Buddhist religion. I came to learn who the Buddha as a man really was, and the steps he took in becoming a religious icon. I know understand that Buddhism is not all meditation and relaxing. There is a strict code of the four noble truths and the prescription of getting through them called the eightfold path. Much like Christianity Buddhism also has many different views

According to the website aboutbuddhism.org, the founder of Buddhism was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and taught in India about two and a half thousand years ago, and meditation is at the heart of the Buddhist way of life - it is basically a method for understanding and working on our own mind. From the book, World Religions for Healthcare Professionals, what I learned about Buddhism is that they follow the Four Noble Truths: Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, the path to the cessation of suffering; and as well as the Eight Noble Paths and Buddhists also practice between 5 to 8 precepts. The lay Buddhist would practice the five and while the more devout Buddhist practices 8

Like every single religion since the beginning of time, there is a list of rules. Christianity has the 10 Commandments, Islam has the Five Pillars of Islam, and Buddhism has the Religious Reformations of Buddha. Unlike most religions, Buddhism strays from the focus on an all mighty deity or deities. Buddhism preaches five different logics that deviate from the norm when it comes to religious ideals: first, Strive after enlightenment with due diligence. This means you must put a lot of effort into the job of enlightenment if you wish to achieve it. Second, there will be no metaphysical theorizing. This is the one that seems to throw a wrench into the ideals of every religion before it, there is no God and if you even think that there is a God, you are disgracing the Buddhist way of life. Buddhism is a way of life, it is not a religion with a holy God. Third, there is no tradition, no ritual. The teachings themselves are supposed to lead you, but if you do not know yourself, there is no way that you can know Buddhism and

Benjamin Franklin, American humanists, inventor, and writer during the Age of Reason, wrote in his autobiography that, “[He] knew…what was right and wrong …[and] concluded that the mere speculative conviction that it was [everyone’s] interest to be completely virtuous,” (Franklin 69). Franklin portrays the importance of virtues, and that doing good will help one’s life become a success. Franklin wishes the populous to do good so that everyone’s life will benefit from outstanding accomplishments. People do good deeds everyday to benefit the world around them. Buddhists, for example, believe in practicing the Five Precepts, which are the basic code of ethics: (1) one should not kill another living being, (2) one should not take anything that is not given or offered, (3) one should not commit adultery, (4) one should not tell fibs, and (5) one should not drink alcohol or intoxicate him or herself in any way (“Basic Buddhism Guide”). By practicing these Precepts, Buddhists serve their fellow beings by honoring their rights. Buddhists wish to better the world by undertaking such ambitious duties. Unlike the Puritans, Buddhists do not believe there is a god, so when one sabotages a Precept, he or she must reflect on the misdeed, and analyze how the treachery can be avoided in the future.

How did the invasions, and attempted conquest of Alexander, aid Chandragupta Maurya to build his empire in northern India? How did his grandson Ashoka manage to govern his large and diverse empire?

Some beliefs that are principle to Buddhism include the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Precepts (United Relations Initiative). The first concept is regarded as the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths discuss

The ethical guidelines of Buddhism are not to murder, lie, steal, drink, or participate in unlawful sexual behavior. Buddhists believe in the “Four Noble Truths: 1) human life is full of suffering; 2) suffering stems from cravings for pleasure and avoidance of pain; 3) suffering can be eradicated; 4) the path of freedom from suffering is the path of enlightenment.” (Julia Hardy) They also follow the Noble Eightfold Path in order to achieve the end of suffering. The Eightfold Path consists of: 1) Samma-Ditthi - Right view or understanding, 2) Samma-Sankappa - Right thought or attitude, 3) Samma-Vaca - Right speech, 4) Samma-Kammanta - Right Action, 5)

In Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, the four Noble Truths of Buddhism are revealed throughout the journey of Siddhartha. The Four Noble Truths include: Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, and the path to the cessation of suffering. Siddhartha discovers that in order to reach enlightenment, one must have experiences and struggle through these Noble Truths firsthand.

In class we defined the 5 moral precepts of Buddhism which consists of refraining from: harming living things, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, lying or gossiping, taking intoxicating substances (eg. drugs or drink). To harm a living thing is to be violent, to be violent is to act with a lack self control. If you and a group of friends were hanging out and someone were to walk over and say offensive things to you and your friends to act violent towards the other person would not be a great option, violence only begets more violence and a mass amount of violence equals chaos and in a sense the Buddhist religion is about spreading peace and harmony amongst man. Taking what is not given effects your way of living and the way others will perceive you. If you chose to take something which isn’t yours, you are effectively breaking a bond with the other person this disconnect doesn’t help the idea of union in Buddhism. Sexual misconduct is based around the idea of self control around others of the opposite sex, breaking the massive wall of intercourse with another person creating a strong bond between the two. If one were to misuse that bond, the severing of it will harm the other person making a negative wave in their life and even in yours. Everything you chose to do with another person, that’s responsibility you are accepting to take upon. To maintain union one must be responsible with the way they act towards others. Lying and gossiping tarnishes your character,

While many of the sects differed in some practices and beliefs, the core principles of Buddhism often remained prominent. One core principle from Mahayana Buddhism, one of the main two branches of Buddhism, was the pursuit of becoming a bodhisattva (Andreasen, 4). Bodhisattva was literally a “Being of Wisdom”, which meant one who is close to achieving enlightenment, or Nirvana, but delays enlightenment in order to help others achieve enlightenment (Wangu, 52). Another core principle of Buddhism was the high ethical code that was practiced. This discouraged immoral behavior, such as cheating and stealing, and instead encouraged living a simple and frugal life, devoid of extensive pleasures and self-denial (Bellah, 107). Like Shinto, Buddhists were very tolerant of other religions and were very willing to practice multiple practices.

Growing up in a Buddhist family, I was taught to abide by important values such as respect and kindness. “Morality, self-awareness, act for the benefit of others” are all the things that I learned early on from Buddhism.

I am a Buddhist. What I believe to be right is to follow five precepts of Buddha: abstaining from harming living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. In addition, I will follow rules and regulations made by specified society or countries or organizations. On the other hand, not following the conducts mentioning above will result in wrong doings for me.

Buddha’s ideas are able to help many problems in the United States such as the homeless. Buddha said the way to end suffering is to find out what started it. People who are homeless crave for things that they do not have and get disappointed if they don’t receive pleasure. People who are homeless can solve their problems by meditating, developing the mind and thinking carefully. Being able to solve these problems will lead a person to true happiness, like Buddha.

Buddhism is a religion that is all about finding enlightenment and nirvana. People want to find nirvana, a state of mind in which one is released from fear and desire, so they no longer have to go through reincarnations (Monroe 110). Buddhism is a peaceful religion that doesn't believe in violence. They believe that all live are sacred and deserve to enjoy life whether it be a human or an animal. Buddhists live by a moral code of conduct with a proper control of emotions and thinking. There is a list of the Five Precepts for Right Living. The first one is do not kill, second do not steal, third do not lie, fourth do not consume alcohol, and fifth do not indulge in sexual excesses outside of marriage (Monroe 111). All buddhist search for enlightenment, however deny the existence of an afterlife. They do not believe there is a heaven nor a hell to punish their sins or reward their good deeds (Monroe 108). This means there is no salvation in an afterlife but