5 ETHICAL PRECEPTS INSPIRED BY BUDDHISM
The five precepts are like good and true friends. Engage with them consciously, think about their meaning, their purpose and apply them in action, speech and thought.
It is said that they give the gift of fearlessness, of trust, of self-confidence and social harmony …
To refrain from taking life – "I take up the way of supporting life and of meeting others on equal ground. "
To refrain from taking that which is not given –"I take up the way of taking only what is freely given and giving freely of all that I can. "
To refrain from sexual misconduct – "I take up the way of engaging in sexual intimacy respectfully and with an open heart ."
To refrain from harmful speech – "I take up the way of speaking truthfully, of speaking of others with openness and possibility. I take up the way of letting go of anger. "
To refrain from intoxicants that dull the mind – "I take up the way of cultivating a clear mind."
* the phrase ‘To refrain from’ is the classical formulation – the positive form is as given by Diane Eshin Rizzetto in her book ‘Waking up to what we do’ and is drawn from Zen practice.