Siddhartha taught that moral responsibility was an important tool for the prevention of dukkha or suffering. But, says Zachary Bremmer, clinging to the five precepts as law can cause more suffering than it prevents. Instead, we should approach the five precepts as training wheels to guide our practice. On a bright May morning, I made a promise to my 6-year-old self. I was [...]
A Buddhist pot-smoker on quitting weed
Marijhuana use is finding new acceptance across America. So why, after a long love affair with weed, has this Buddhist kicked it to the curb? I’m pretty pro-marijuana. Certainly people can have problems with it—people can have problems with just about anything—but lots of people are able to use pot more or less harmlessly, and have enjoyable, even fruitful experiences doing [...]
Bearing Witness to All of Life
Roshi Bernie Glassman on the three pure precepts — cease from evil, do good, and do good for others — and why they all come down to a single point. Dogen Zenji says of the first pure precept, “Ceasing from evil is the abiding place of laws and rules of all buddhas.” This abiding place is the state of nonduality, of not-knowing and nonseparation. The Sixth Ancestor of Zen [...]
Five Mindfulness Trainings
The five mindfulness trainings are an expression of the five precepts, the core of Buddhist ethics, and offer a down-to-earth method of practicing mindfulness in daily life. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in his book Good Citizens, "The five mindfulness trainings are offered without dogma or religion. Everybody can use them as an ethics for their life without becoming Buddhist or [...]
To Practice Mindfulness Is to Return to Life
Thich Nhat Hanh on mindfulness, harnessing compassion, and cherishing life. To practice mindfulness is to become alive. Life is so precious, yet in our daily lives we are carried away by our forgetfulness, anger and worries. We are often lost in the past, unable to touch life in the present moment. When we are truly alive, everything we touch or do is a miracle. To [...]
Sometimes Full, Sometimes Half Full
All of our actions, however small, can have wondrous effects, says Norman Fischer, but only if we are wholehearted enough in our practice of ethical conduct. Includes a review of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts. In classical Buddhism, as in all religious traditions, the spiritual life is seen as all-encompassing, embracing the whole of a person's life. All our conduct, all [...]
Dharma for Moms and Dads
Ty Phillips looks at the Five Precepts—the ethical code of dedicated Buddhist practitioners—and finds five powerful guidelines every parent could use. As Brynn and I trudged through the metroparks today, I became enraptured within the welcoming silence and beauty of the snow covered forest. As I stood in awe I noticed a shared silence. My three-year-old, usually boisterous [...]
Bear Witness to All of Life
Roshi Bernie Glassman on the three pure precepts—cease from evil, do good, and do good for others— and why they all come down to a single point. Dogen Zenji says of the first pure precept, “ceasing from evil is the abiding place of laws and rules of all buddhas.” This abiding place is the state of nonduality, of not-knowing and nonseparation. The Sixth ancestor of Zen [...]
“I Kinda Vow” author Genine Lentine explains the background to her Half-Moon Ceremony
Genine Lentine wrote a piece for the Winter 2011 issue of Buddhadharma about her murky relationship with the Buddhist precepts, creating a humorous ceremony of vows called the Half-Moon Ceremony. Here, she explains where this idea emerged. This text, the Half-Moon Ceremony, or Ryaku Demi-Fusatsu is inspired by the Full Moon Ceremony, or Ryaku Fusatsu, a monthy renewal of [...]
I Kinda Vow
Genine Lentine has been thinking about her murky relationship to the bodhisattva precepts, which are renewed monthly during the traditional full moon ceremony. The result is her humorous and perhaps more realistic “half moon ceremony.” Click here to read an introduction to the ceremony, provided by the author. Illustrations by André Slob. ALL: Hālf my ancient twisted [...]
