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ethics are at the forefront of the Buddhist path. this is sometimes forgotten w/ so much emphasis on meditation & the mindfulness movement, but ethics are a cornerstone to practice & the path which is ultimately about embodying love & reducing/ending suffering. Buddhists often take vows in this regard. for non-monastics, the Five Precepts, are the focus. these aren’t commandments as much as guidelines for living an ethical life & they include: abstaining from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct or harm, lying or false speech, & intoxication (mindlessness).

these can sound like a strict moral code, but ultimately they are about living our lives in a way that doesn’t harm others or ourselves & are flexible to interpretation to a degree. they are considered training, a form of practice & are even called “the five rules of training”. Zen Master, Vietnamese Buddhist & peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh refers to them as “The Five Mindfulness Trainings” & has written his own interpretation/commentary on them. his approach is much more nuanced & comprehensive, tackling in the First Precept, for instance, what does it mean to “kill” and extending the meaning to include harming.

~j
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here’s his interpretation/commentary:

THE FIRST MINDFULNESS TRAININGS

“Reverence for Life”

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.
~
Thich Nhat Hanh

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