One of the pillars of a good life. I want to start by saying that if you don’t have a basic ground in moral virtue, it will be harder to meditate.

 

There are stories in the Buddhist scriptures that describe monks with psychic powers. Believe it or not as soon as those monks had unwholesome thoughts, those powers would wane.

 

Of course we are not talking about psychic powers right now but I wanted to stretch the importance of morality.

 

This is also not a warning or a threat, saying that if you are do this and not take this seriously,  you will eternally burn in Hell. There are no such thing in the scriptures.

 

 That being said, we often think of morality as a self-righteous thing or something for goody goodies.

 

 We might see this as a prison. We live in times where the freedom to desire is at its peak, but the freedom to desire is not the same as the freedom from desire. 

 

Discipline is freedom.. that’s a quote from Jocko Willink a former navy seal. It’s interesting to see how rules, regulations and routines can actually give you freedom.

 

Try it out. Try to live a reckless life for a whole week without any rules, discipline or structure. You will go nuts.

 

There are 3 different set of rules for different kind of people within Buddhism

 

5 precepts for laypeople

 

8-10 precepts for meditators

 

227 precepts for monks

 

You might see the first set of rules and already be scared. Seeing the third set, you probably thought to yourself, that being a monk is not for everyone.

 

And you’re right.. You might think that’s way too restricted a life to live but for those of you who have met monks.

 

You have seen that a lot them are the most serene, peaceful and happy beings you will ever encounter.

 

Bruce Lee used to say that it is not about what you can add but what you can subtract and simplify.

 

By following sets of rules you are actually making your life simpler and less burdened by unnecessary unwholesome side effects and byproducts of being "free" to do whatever you want.

 

The five basic precepts are pretty simple and straightforward.

 

1. Not to kill

2. Not to steal

3. Not to lie

4. Not to indulge in sexual misbehaviour

5. Not to indulge in intoxicants

 

Indulging in all any one of those will tend to make your life heavier and restless. It will also be harder to feel peaceful, joyful and fulfilled.

 

The Buddha used to say that one who follows the basic precepts lives a happy life for he lives, in knowing that he is not of harm to himself or others and worst comes to worst, when he dies, he will, at the very least, be reborn in the heavenly realms.

Try it out. Heavens seems like a worthwhile goal. Hahhaha. All jokes aside, give it a go and see if your life is not bettered through that little bit of discipline.

 

Remember one thing, I heard this from a monk once. He said that if 5 precepts are too hard for you, just take 2 precepts.

 

First one is to not harm yourself and the second one is to not harm others.

 

Something to think about.. Listen to the podcast for more.

 

 

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