You are here:

Buddhists/the five precepts

Advertisement

Expert: - 8/27/2006


Question
what dose this mean in your life is it hard to live up to

Answer
Hi George,

Thank you for asking me, but I hope the question is for you too.

The 5 precepts are universal principles for us to follow in order to lead a harmless and a happy life.  Things that are easy to practise are hard to live with.  Things that are hard to practise are easy to live with.  To be lazy and heedless are very easy but will create problems.  To be diligent, harmless, and righteous need a lot of effort and determination, but will be amply rewarded.  

The 5 precepts are not commandments.  They are a set of universal moral principles acceptable to all fair-minded people. They are standards to be emulated to the best of our abilities with due regards to practical applications.

We can just use our common sense and human intelligence to analyze these precepts.  Anyone knows that killing is bad; that stealing is wrong, that committing sexual misconduct is dangerous; that telling lies is being untruthful, and that taking intoxicating substances is harmful. Do we need any Buddha, Guru, Prophet or God to tell us all these?  We just need to be decent humans to agree with these 5 precepts or call it what you want.  The Buddha taught universal truths which transcend race, nationality, belief, and even time and space.  This is the beauty of the Buddha's teachings.

Smile from justinchoo :-)  

Buddhists

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Justin Choo

Expertise

When in doubt seek it out. All your questions will be answered, and you may not have to agree with the answers. Such is the beauty of Buddhism. You are free to decide. I follow the Theravada tradition, and have been studying Buddhism for more than 40 years. Please view my profile for more details. I have answered more than 1500 questions since joining this category. You may like to give me the honor to answer your question.

Experience

I was brought up in the 50's as a Buddhist. For the past 40 years I have read numerous books on Buddhism and listened to numerous talks on Buddhism by well-respected and learned monks and lay teachers. I conduct Buddhist classes for parents of Sunday School children in a Theravada Buddhist Temple. My teacher was the late Chief Reverend, The Ven. K Sri Dhammananda of The Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can view the relevent website in memory of my revered late teacher @ http://www.ksridhammananda.com

Organizations
I am a life member of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia.

Publications
YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT MY BLOG @ http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/ Published a book called "The Rainbow And The Treasure". It is a compilation of extracts from various sources to introduce Buddhism to beginners. (Currently out of print)

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Commerce And Administration, Victoria University Of Wellington, NZ.(1974)

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.