<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Sila: Buddhist Morality</title> <!-- Template TOP 1 Starts --> <link href="/bline/menue.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <script> <!-- function url(){ window.location.href = document.site.site.options[document.site.site.selectedIndex].value }//--></script><!-- Template TOP 1 Ends --> <meta content="20070414" name="PublicationDate"> <meta content="13-04-2007 21:50:27" name="EXPORTTIME"> <meta content="sila" name="STORYNAME"> <meta content="TR_NEWS" name="DESK"> <meta content="PAGE_01" name="PAGENAME"> <meta content="01" name="PAGENUMBER"> <meta content="tcr" name="AUTHOR"> <meta content="CHEN" name="ZONE"> <meta content="TAN1" name="EDITION"> <meta content="" name="SOURCE"> <meta content="3660" name="SIZE"> <meta content="FRONT PAGE" name="PAGEHEAD"> <meta content="bl14_01_sila" name="COLHEAD"> <meta content="14/082,02/376,98/019" name="CLMAIN"> <meta content="" name="CLSUB"> <meta content="0" name="NUMBEROFIMAGES"> <meta content="4" name="STORYORDER"> <meta content="" name="TOPSTORY"> <meta content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name="GENERATOR"> </head> <body style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <!-- Template TOP 2 Starts --> <table border="0" height="146" width="760"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0" align="left" height="100" valign="top" width="551"><img style="width: 320px; height: 62px;" alt="Sila" src="bline.gif"><br> <font class="leftnavi" color="blue" size="-1">Updated Sporadically from THE BUDDHIST group of publications</font><br> <font class="leftnavi" color="brown">Thursday, April 14, 2007</font> </td> <td border="0" align="right" height="100" valign="top" width="193"><br> </td> </tr> <tr border="0"> <td colspan="2" border="0" height="38" width="750"> <hr color="#336699" noshade="noshade" size="1"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table border="0" height="1302" width="760"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0" bgcolor="#336699" height="1296" valign="top" width="175"><font class="leftnavi" size="2"> <ul> <a class="navi" href="/tharpa/index.html" target="_parent" rel="me">Home </a> <li><br> </li> </ul> </font> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><a href="panatipata.html" rel="me"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>The First Precept (Not-killing)</b></font></a><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"> <ul> <a class="navi" href="../02hdline.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Non-Murder </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="../05hdline.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Non-killing of Animals </li> </font></a> </ul> </font> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>The Second Precept (Not Stealing)</b></font><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a class="navi" href="/iw/index.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Abstaining from Stealing By Your Own Hand </li> </font></a><font color="white"><a class="navi" href="/ew/index.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Through Breaking the Fourth Precept </li> </font></a><br> </font></font> </ul> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>The Third Precept (Abstaining from Sexual Misconduct)</b></font><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a class="navi" href="/businessline/stocks/stocks.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Abstaining from Adultery </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="/businessline/bldiary.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Abstaining from Rape </li> <li>Abstaining from Sex with Those Still Under the Protection of Their Parents </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="/businessline/scoboard/scoreidx.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Abstaining from Sex that &nbsp;Leads to Breaking the First or Fourth Precepts </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="/businessline/stocks/omf.htm"><br> </a></font></font> </ul> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>The Fourth Precept (Not Lying)</b></font><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a class="navi" href="/businessline/shipindx.htm"><font color="white"> <li>The Importance of Truthfulness </li> </font></a><br> <br> </font></font> </ul> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>The Fifth Precept (Abstaining from Fermented and Distilled Beverages)</b></font><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a class="navi" href="/2003/04/13/"><font color="white"> <li>Alcohol </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="/archives.htm"><font color="white"> <li>Expanding the Fifth Precept </li> </font></a></font></font> </ul> <p> <table bgcolor="#f9eadd" border="0" width="140"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0"><font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2"><b>Tharpa's Sites</b></font><br> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </p> <ul> <font class="leftnavi" size="2"><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a class="navi" href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/"><font color="white"> <li>A Roadside Shrine </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/"><font color="white"> <li>Words of the Enlightened One </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="http://www.sportstaronnet.com/"><font color="white"> <li>Gandhiji </li> </font></a><a class="navi" href="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/"><font color="white"> <li>Resume </li> </font></a></font></font> </ul> </td> <td border="0" bgcolor="white" height="1296" valign="top" width="569"><font class="leftnavi" color="blue" size="2"><a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/index.html" rel="me">Home</a></font>&nbsp;<br> <br> <br> <!-- story begins -->&nbsp;<font class="storyhead" color="blue" size="4"><b>S<span style="font-family: PALIDIC;">I</span>la - Buddhist Morality </b></font> <p>S<span></span>ila -&nbsp;(nt.) a stone; moral practice; code of morality; habit; nature.</p> <p>JAMBUDIPA, ~ 500 B.C. </p> <p>THE ENLIGHTENED ONE, the Buddha, taught morality and good conduct (together known as sila) as a fundamental part of his teachings. Indeed, if one reads the Tipitika (or at least the Suttas and the Vinaya), it appears to be about 75% of his teachings. &nbsp; </p> <p>The basis of Buddhist morality, (indeed, the basic Buddhist practice) is <span style="font-style: italic;">panca sila</span>, or the Five Precepts. &nbsp; </p> These five precepts are abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct (adultery), lying and alcohol (fermented and distilled beverages). <p>There are two types of killing to abstain from: &nbsp;murder (the killing of humans) and the killing of (non-human) animals. &nbsp;At best, lesser religions teach one to abstain from murder, and there are even many exceptions to this. &nbsp;A practicing Buddhist abstains from murder, without exception. Only the greater religions also teach people to abstain from killing animals.</p> <p>Not stealing includes not only direct stealing (such as pick-pocketing, shoplifting, etc.) but stealing through lying.</p> <p>Sexual misconduct primarily means adultery. &nbsp;But there are other types of sexual misconduct as well. &nbsp;Having sex with someone who is betrothed or engaged to someone else. &nbsp;Having sex with someone still under the protection of their parents. &nbsp;Having sex likely to lead to killing or lying.</p> <p>Not lying is&nbsp;straight-forward, but it is a precept often overlooked by non-practicing Buddhists. &nbsp;Many people lie many times a day. &nbsp;Does your word mean anything to you?</p> <p>The fifth precept is literally abstaining from "fermented or distilled beverages" (alcohol). &nbsp;Non-practicing Buddhist teachers will sometimes mistranslate it as "not getting drunk." &nbsp;It is also sometimes paraphrased as "abstaining from drinks and drugs causing heedlessness." &nbsp;Though this last is not a literal translation, it captures the spirit of the fifth precept, just as a vegetarian diet is a necessary component of the spirit of the first precept.</p> <p><!-- Bottom Template Starts --></p> <p><!-- story ends --></p> <p><a href="/cgi-bin/blstord.pl?storyid=2003041401910100.htm&amp;prd=bl&amp;title=SABMiller%20still%20keen%20on%20%20SWC%20%20stake..."><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><br> </font></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table border="0" width="760"> <tbody> <tr border="0"> <td border="0" align="left"><!-- <HR noshade> <IMG src="botbanner.gif" width=468> --> <hr noshade="noshade"> <font class="leftnavi" color="brown" size="2">Tharpa's&nbsp;Sites: </font><font class="leftnavi" size="2"><a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/">A Roadside Shrine</a> | <a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/MN111ESH.html">Words of the Enlightened One</a> | <a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/struggle.html">Gandhiji</a>| <a href="http://mysite.verizon.net/tharpa/resume.htm" rel="me">Resume</a> | </font> <p><font class="leftnavi" size="-1"> <hr noshade="noshade"> </font> </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- Bottom Template Ends --> </body> </html>