or: Five Simple Precepts for Chan (Zen) Buddhists
We know about the suffering life, about the real causes of suffering.
Buddha taught that life consists of suffering, at least until we have experienced "enlightenment".
The main statements of Buddha are the "four noble truths" and the "noble eightfold path" of Buddha.
But how can these statements be integrated into daily life?
1st precept: I do not harm other beings
"Thou shalt not kill" is well known to us as the fifth commandment from the Bible. The Buddhist commandment goes far beyond this; according to the philosophy of the great teacher, we should also not harm other people, either physically or psychologically.
Many followers of the doctrine also extend this commandment to other living beings, to whom we must not harm, and whom we therefore should not kill. But where is the line here? Are we allowed to eat plants just because they do not "feel" pain? Are we allowed to eat animals that we have not killed ourselves?
Here Buddha himself did not leave any specific instructions, we have to decide for ourselves where this limit is for us personally.
2nd commandment: I take only what is offered to me
This is the Buddhist version of the seventh commandment of the Bible: "You shall not steal.
So we are not supposed to take anything, but we can politely ask if we can have something.
However, I personally see in this also the commandment to share willingly with others.
Why should one share?
Sharing means to generously "make available" to others the hard work we have put in to acquire money or objects, to let them "share" in it.
3rd Commandment: I do not abuse sex
Sex is the most natural thing in the world; there is no reason to be ashamed of one's sexuality. As long as sexuality is practiced with mutual consent it is good and important.
However, we should not "use" sex to achieve something, such as leverage, or as a means to an end.
4th Commandment: Right Speech, True and Sincere
In the Bible, the eighth commandment is "You shall not lie."
Lying is human, and yet it is a cause of much suffering, as it can hurt the feelings of fellow human beings. Many criminal acts are also based on lies (grandson trick),
Even the German poet Wilhelm Busch said, "Whoever tells you he has never lied, don't trust him, my son!"
Lying is human - and yet it is so harmful.
The thing to remember here is that truth is subjective; what one person believes to be true is false and untrue to another.
Don't bend the truth, don't manipulate; better not say anything if you are not sure.
Practice the art of truth and right speech!
5th Commandment: Do not abuse intoxicating substances
Whether alcohol, medicines, stimulants, or drugs, the effects of substances do not affect everyone the same. Some people can tolerate an unbelievable amount of alcoholic beverages, others are groggy after one glass.
Mostly, however, the use of such substances is followed by a clouding of the senses, the boundaries become blurred, things are done that would never have happened "sober".
A good glass of wine with dinner is not abuse, a few cigarettes a week is not yet addiction. Standing in front of a liquor store, trembling with desire, waiting for it to open, that is self-imposed ruin.

A people that does not respect the Ten Commandments is a lost people.
- Theodore Roosevelt - US American politician and 26th President of the USA

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