Download The Buddhist Moral Code of the 5 Precepts

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The Buddhist Moral Code of the 5 Precepts-The Panchasila
What are Precepts?
All Buddhists take ‘precepts’. These are like vows or promises made to the Buddha
not to do certain things. There are many different levels of precepts: there are more
than 200 that a Buddhist monk takes for example, and some nuns keep as many as
360. But there are five precepts that all Buddhists keep.
The five precepts-the Panchasila
‘Pancha’ is a Pali word meaning ‘five’. ‘Sila’ (pronounced ‘Sheila’) means ‘moral
discipline’. Nowadays this is usually translated as the five precepts.
The five precepts are:
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Not killing or harming any living being.
Not stealing.
Not lying.
Not committing sexual misconduct-this means not being unfaithful to your
partner.
Not taking intoxicants-this includes both illegal and legal drugs.
Breaking the 5 precepts-the results in future lives
It is believed that these actions have serious consequences in future lives: committing
sexual misconduct is said to result in rebirth as a wandering spirit for example, and
taking intoxicants results in rebirth as an animal. More than this, Buddhists believe
that, even when these rebirths are finished and beings come back to the human level,
they still experience problems similar to the actions that they did in the past. So, if
you committed sexual misconduct, you will have a partner who is unfaithful, and if
you took intoxicants, you might come back as a drug addict.
Breaking the 5 precepts-the results in this life
However, there is another reason why followers of the Buddha choose not to do these
actions, a reason that has to do with this present life rather than any future ones.
Buddhists believe that actions like killing have such a negative effect on the mind that
it makes it impossible to make any progress in meditation. So they take precepts
because they want their meditation to work properly.
What actually makes a Buddhist?
Just saying ‘I am a Buddhist’ doesn’t make you a Buddhist any more than saying ‘I
am the King of the Universe’ makes you a universal king. Two things make someone
a Buddhist. The first is having faith in the Three Jewels of Refuge: Buddha, Dharma,
and Sangha. The second thing is keeping the precepts they have taken. Someone who
doesn’t do this and just says ‘I am a Buddhist’ is a Buddhist in name but not in their
actions.
KS3 Buddhism, lesson 12: 5 Precepts
G Beesley & the Dechen Community
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Key Words
Precept-a rule one vows or promises to keep
Panchasila-the five precepts (literally ‘five moral disciplines’)
Tasks
v What are the Five Precepts?
v What does ‘Panchasila’ mean?
v Buddhists believe that all negative actions result in rebirth as an animal, a hell
being, or a wandering spirit. What kind of rebirths do you think result from:
a) Lying?
b) Stealing?
c) Killing?
v Once you were reborn as a human, what sort of experiences do you think the
above actions would result in?
v Give the two main reasons why Buddhists keep the Five Precepts.
v Why do you think it is that a person who doesn’t keep the Five Precepts can’t
make any progress in meditation? ( Think about the effect that each of the five
might have on the mind.)
v Would you be able to keep these precepts? Which ones do you think you
would find most difficult and why?
v List some actions that go against the Five Precepts but are not against the law.
v Think of five precepts for your school. Design a poster explaining why pupils
should keep them.
v Does deciding not to do certain things make you a better person? Why/why
not?
v Describe what life would be like if everybody just did what they felt like doing
and no one followed rules.
v Do you do the things you do out of choice or habit? Explain your answer.
KS3 Buddhism, lesson 12: 5 Precepts
G Beesley & the Dechen Community