THE FIVE PRECEPTS
As Buddhists, we know that the first Five Precepts we must observe are: refrain from killing; refrain from stealing; refrain from sexual misconduct; refrain from untruthful speech; and refrain from liquors or intoxicants.Whenever I talk about the Five Precepts, you probably chuckle to yourself, as I was a drinker myself. (laughter) Let me tell everyone: I have quit drinking! (audience laughter) This is for real. Many people, including Mrs. Lu, were surprised at what a clean break I made with liquor. In the past I said, “In all years of my practice of the Buddhadharma, I have not had any indulgences. If I have to quit drinking, what is there worth living for?” I used to savor a little liquor everyday. Oh! It was so nice to have a nightcap at bedtime; it produced a good night’s sleep! (audience laughter) But strangely, I could quit just like that! When I said I would quit, I quit! This is possible when one is centered and has a strong will power. It has been a long time since I had my last sip. The last time was when I was in Los Angeles for a Dharma Ceremony. Since then I have not had a drop of liquor! Well, how come there is no applause? (audience laughter and applause) This is quite a feat! (audience laughter) It is very difficult to have an alcoholic quit cold turkey! (audience laughter) Really, I have become a teetotaler! So, in the future, you only need to make offerings to the Yellow Jambhala and Red Jambhala, you don’t have to offer me anymore wine! (audience laughter) No more XO, no more herbal liquors!
Regarding “refraining from untruthful speech” – what a difficult precept that it! I know that this is not an easy precept to abide by. Honestly, it is so easy to make an untruthful speech if one is not careful; even I am afraid of it! (audience laughter) But people who are practicing the Buddhadharma must not speak untruthfully. I remember once reading the personal column of a newspaper or magazine wherein someone has written a particular article. I am afraid many people will be hurt if I say it aloud. The headlines began with “Born Liars” in large print. (I am scared to go on) (laughter) This refers to the opposite of men. (audience laughter) Now, I have not really made any statement! (audience laughter) So, remember, do not speak untruthfully, even though this is not east to carry out. Men as well as women can speak untruthfully, especially those who are in businesses. A merchant will claim that his goods are very fresh even though they are almost rotten. If he said they were rotten, would anyone buy from him? Therefore, he lies. Even if it is obvious that his goods are heftily marked up in price, a businessman still claims that they are a bargain. It is so easy for someone in business to break this precept. Business people talk only about their strong points, remaining silent about their shortcomings. A real estate agent will not disclose the flaws of a house but will rave about the merits of a property. Isn’t this so? Take Master Chao for example. He is in the real estate business. (laughter) I have never heard him say anything bad about his properties! He only talks about the good points. That is why, when I ran into him, I had to buy from him. (audience laughter) Don't misunderstand me, i have not purchased any real estate property for myself! I was referring to the Bodhi Lei Tsang Temple in Vancouver and the land on which the building to house the True Buddha News will be built. Master Chao only says good things about his properties, as no one would buy from him if he pointed out their shortcomings.
To refrain from lust or sexual misconduct is also one of the five precepts. We know that, as Confucius said, “food” and “sex” are the two basic human drives. Many people can’t help falling into this trap. As for myself, I have walked on the edge of this trap, but I have not fallen into it! Although one of my feet was in descent, (audience laughter) I was able to withdraw it quickly and nothing happened! There once was a student of mine who told me the following. When she returned from her visit to Mainland China, she told me that she had done many good deeds. I asked her what kind of good deeds has she done? She said she had performed many acts of charity and much almsgiving. How were these performed? She proceeded to tell me that she had gone to bed with many men, including a certain Mr. Ho, a certain Mr. Wu, her brother-in-law and someone whom she could not name or even describe. Well, I asked here why she was doing that. She retorted, “Didn’t you ask me to do more charity?” (laughter) I asked her why she considered it charity. She replied, “Don’t the Four Immeasurable Vows say that one must give happiness to the sentient beings? (audience laughter) Doesn’t the first vow of Benevolence ask us to bring happiness to sentient beings?” For a moment I was speechless! I opened my mouth and, for a moment, could not say anything! She claimed that her activities were really acts of charity that brought others happiness!
Fortunately I practice the Buddhadharma and, to be able to give a discourse on An Overview of the Buddhadharma, I have to understand the tenets of the Buddhadharma. I told her, “That was wrong!” The Buddha has said that there are certain things one should refrain from giving to others. They include things that can increase others’ desires, harm others, or ruin others’ pursuit of Enlightenment. By engaging in such sexual activities, she was fanning others’ desires. There are certain things one should not give to others as presents: things that enhance others’ desire, poisons, or weapons such as knives and guns. Therefore, I reminded her of the words spoken by the Buddha. Whether she truly heard them or not, I do not know. Such activities are a transgression of the precept. As monogamy is what is legally accepted nowadays, householders have to observe monogamy. People who have taken the ordination vows must transform their sexual desire. There are practices which one can do to transmute such desire and lust.
That woman student was very good at distorting the truth. She could twist ideas in a way that was hard to take. My earlier statement about withdrawing my foot after a close call was a reference to this student. I did not go to her bedroom, but I clearly recall that is was she who came (in her nightgown and unannounced) to my bedroom. Well, the amazing thing was that I was completely in control of my elements and did not fall into her trap. I listened to her stories and, when she finished, I saw her out the door. That was all that happened. My clothes were tidily in order without a single button undone. (audience laughter) One comes across such things in life. This is why, when Buddha Shakyamuni was alive, defamatory stories were in wide circulation. There were incidents where various women made false accusations against the Buddha. Why? They found monks and spiritual cultivators to be easy targets. This is also why “refraining from sexual misconduct” is included in the Five Precepts.
Another precept is “to refrain from stealing.” I feel that Western educational systems are somewhat deficient in emphasizing the importance of integrity in the building of moral character. In the Orient there is more attention given to the moral education of children. Especially in Japan, there is a very strict sanction against stealing. Children are taught from an early age that, “Things that don’t belong to one are not one’s. One is not qualified to be a human being when one steals from others.” Stealing is a very transgression in the Buddhist precepts.
Next is the precept “to refrain from killing.” Buddhists do not kill. The True Buddha School advocates not killing, as well as animal release. Whether one has to be a vegetarian or not is a different matter. The most important point is that one does not kill. These are the Five Precepts that govern exterior behavior and conduct.
In our True Buddha School, the True Buddha Tantric Dharma that we practice falls under the domain of Inner Study, whose goal is to purify the mind and consciousness. In this study, we practice the Great Homage, Mandala Offering, Armor Protection, and Vajrasattva Practice; we hold mudras and enter into Samadhi. All these train one’s mind to become pure. The purification of the mind is extremely important. The Buddha teaches, “One is practicing Buddhism when one refrains from all evil actions, enacts all benevolent deeds, and enters into a state of pure mind.” The first two qualifications pertain to exterior behavior, while the last phrase refers to Inner Study and actual practice. Where else can one find a practice that offers the same elements as does the True Buddha Tantric Dharma? Today one can read the published liturgy for group practice of the Scriptural schools and will note that they revolve around “chanting, walking around the Buddha statues, bowing, and sitting in meditation.” These are the same four steps practiced even in the Zen schools. The True Buddha Tantric Dharma is a practice that enables one to penetrate more deeply into the expansive and more subtle levels of consciousness where there is a stronger experience of “Dharma Taste.” Where else can one find a system of practice with all these elements? Most Dharma masters now are teachers who espouse “Faith” and “Comprehension”; there are very few who teach others how to do “Practice” and achieve “Realization.” Therefore, the True Buddha School is extraordinary in that it teaches everyone how to do “Practice.”
In the beginning when Buddha Shakyamuni taught us, the Arhats, there were only a few precepts. The additional precepts came as a result of increasing numbers of followers breaking the precepts and making transgressions. At the very beginning, the Buddha only gave us four rules. Listen carefully to these four rules. If one could carry out all of them, one would be quite amazing. The first one is: Make no contact with the worldly people, but remain cloistered alone in an enclosed area such as in the mountains. For example, if one is staying at the Rainbow Villa, one should remain cloistered alone within the enclosing wall and not go outside. This is living a “mountain life.” That was the way it was with the Dharma Master Hui Yuen, the founder of the Pure Land Sect. He did not travel beyond a certain nearby brook. Many spiritual cultivators lived such cloistered lives in remote areas, remaining thirty, forty, or fifty years. Such a life affords tranquility. That is why the Buddha asked us to live in the mountains as an assembly of monks and to travel in a group, accepting alms from others. Everyone filed along, straight as a troop of soldiers, and was forbidden to gaze around, as such activity caused too much distraction. Therefore, by living a “mountain life,” one’s mind is able to remain in the mountain.
The second rule was, “No seeing,” in the same sense as Confucius’ ethical code of, “Not seeing anything that transgresses propriety.” One was asked not to look at the opposite sex. That was why Buddha Shakyamuni had, at the beginning, not allowed women to join the order of renunciants. Among the disciples, Ananda was more partial to women and asked the Buddha to change the rule. Three other disciples, Mahakashyapa, Shariputra, and Maudgalyayana, strongly opposed Ananda’s proposal, but to no avail. As a result of women joining the group, Buddhism only flourished in India for five hundred years instead of one thousand years, as the Buddha had originally proclaimed.
The third rule was, “Do not touch money.” The Buddha taught us spiritual cultivators to refrain from touching money because money could tarnish the reputation. Nowadays many ascetics also claim that they do not touch money, but they use chopsticks to pick up money tossed to them by almsgivers. (audience laughter) Actually, this is still not acceptable. Even though one does not touch money directly when using the chopsticks, it shows that one still has greed. As long as meals were offered, renunciants did not need any other material things, for they dressed very simply and their living conditions were also very simple. At that time, Mahakashyapa lived under trees and slept between grave sites in the cemetery. He did not live in a beautiful house. This was a teaching of the Buddha himself.
The fourth rule was “No alcohol.” This is because alcohol can unleash inhibitions and alter one’s personality. Sometimes, an ordinary timid person can become quite audacious after consuming alcohol, and will start verbally abusing anyone from the Jade Emperor in Heaven to all his past ancestors. Therefore it is very easy for drunkards to commit many transgressions. As for myself, I never became unruly during my drinking years. In my case, drinking only made me more subdued. (audience laughter) the more I drank, the more silent I would become. In my whole life, there were only three occasions when I actually got drunk. The first time was when I was still studying land surveying. I climbed outside the school wall to go on a binge of Kaoliang (a liquor made of sorgham). The next morning during roll calls, the whole troop reeked of alcohol. The second time was when I got drunk at Luo Yu Ch’in’s house. The third time was during a finger-guessing game between two other people, and I offered to drink for them, no matter what the outcome. (audience laughter) Of course I would get drunk that way. Those are the only three times in my whole life that I have gotten drunk. Ever since then I have kept very calm in my drinking. Anyway, I have now, of course, quit drinking altogether.
In India, there is this legend. A spiritual cultivator lived by himself deep in the mountains. All the nearby villagers knew of him and, since they liked very much to make offerings to cultivators, they would take the initiative and bring food to him. This spiritual cultivator was someone who led a “mountain life,” and he did not want the villagers to get too close to him, so he drew a boundary line about fifty feet away from him. He told the villagers to place their food offerings outside the boundary line. There was one woman who went to make offerings of cow’s milk or goat’s milk. Over time, the cultivator became aware of this woman, who brought him very fresh and delicious milk each time she came. One day, the woman spoke to the cultivator of how much she hoped to have a closer view of him. She had only seen him from a distance. Indeed, she had been making offerings to him for a very long time – almost a year now. The cultivator’s sympathy for her was aroused and he gave her permission to move to a distance ten feet away to have a look at him. Oh, the woman was very beautiful. When she came closer, the cultivator glanced at her and, without saying anything else, he kept on with his practice, entering into a deep meditation. From then on, while everyone else continued to place their offerings fifty feet away, this woman would bring her offerings of milk to only ten feet away. This way, the two would look at each other. From ten feet away, this woman spoke again. She told the cultivator that she had heard that, when yogis focused their energy, they could generate a heat in their palms and that a vapor could emerge from the palms. She wanted to seek a confirmation of this from the yogi. So she asked, “Do you know if a yogi’s palms get very hot? Can I have a look at your palms?” This cultivator decided that, since he had already made the allowance for her to get as close as ten feet away, what difference did it make if he showed her his palms? So he extended his palms to show her. To have a better look though, she had to get even closer. Then she started to feel his palm to see if it was hot! Well, as soon as they touched, they both became electrified. (laughter and audience laughter) First they looked at each other, then their hands touched. What happened next? Next the yogi became a herdsman and a shepherd (laughter and audience laughter) while the shepherdess carried and nursed their children.
That was why the Buddha originally taught that a renunciant should refrain from looking at the opposite sex. While gazing into each other’s eyes can create an invisible electricity, touching hands creates an opportunity for the electricity to be translated into physical contact. As soon as the female and male energies touch each other, it can cause trouble for the cultivator! Unless one is very stabilized, one will be overwhelmed with the desire to give up one’s renunciation and return to a householder’s life. That’s why one has to abide strictly by the Five Precepts of “No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no false speech, and no alcohol.”
The Buddha taught us to live a “cloistered mountain life,” to “not look at the opposite sex,” to “not touch money,” and to “abstain form alcohol.” Of course, these four rules which I talk about today were rules in the past. Perhaps modern men are able to stay more centered and able to better resist distraction, so we do not practice precepts the way cultivators did it in the past. Nonetheless, we still must abide by the Five Precepts that govern our exterior actions.
Amituofo
Lotuschef
Pure Karma
True Buddha School
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