Sunday, August 22, 2010

Moral teaching

After a long time i am writing this blog.Many events happened these days,for instance ,i am now living in a new city.Anyway, i start this blog with a small story,Which is very dear to me. After the Buddha was enlightened he was walking down the road in a very happy state. He was supposed to have been quite a handsome prince before going off to be a monk. So here’s this handsome prince now recently enlightened, wearing golden robes and obviously quite happy, and very special from all accounts. And he met some people and they said, “You seem very special. What are you, are some kind of an angel or a deva?” He seemed inhuman in some way. “No.” “Well, are you some kind of a god then?” “No.” “Well, then are you some kind of a wizard or magician?” “No,” he replied. “Well, are you a man?” “No,” he said. “Then what are you?” And he answered, “I am awake.”
And in those three words —“I am awake”— he gave the whole teaching which Buddhism contains. To be a Buddha is to be one who has awakened, awakened to the nature of life and death and the world in which we live, awakened to the body and mind.
I am aware that it needs lots practise and effort to achieve this purified state.We may not achieve this in our whole life.But we can pursue few simple moral training ,so that we get internal harmony and peace.We are aware that without any guiding principle we go astray from our path of life.sometimes we loose hope and get confused.We become victim of internal turmoil.Here i am giving five percepts(five training) which was given by Buddha.The five percepts are condensed form of Buddhist ethical practise.Although there are total ten percepts.The
Buddhist master Thich Nath Hanh has formulated The Five Mindfulness Trainings,which are an adaptation of the first five Buddhist precepts. By virtue of their sensible phrasing and their relevance to modern
lifestyle, these “trainings” provide a valuable foundation of ethics for all of humanity.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings
-First Training-
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating 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 condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.
-Second Training-
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people,animals, plants, and minerals. I am committed to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
-Third Training-
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivate
responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.
-Fourth Training-
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self- confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticise or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however
small.

-Fifth Training-
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practising mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I am committed to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs,
magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practising a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.


with regards