Use code SUMMERPRACTICE for a 25% discount on all On Demand Courses through August 31.

Search Sangha Live

Precepts as Orientation

With Daigan Gaither recorded on March 27, 2022.

Found our teachings useful? Help us continue our work and support your teachers with a donation. Here’s how.

The 5 precepts often given to lay practitioners are (with positive instructions in parenthesis):

I vow not to kill (Love and support all beings)
I vow not to steal (generosity)
I vow not to misuse sexuality (contentment)
I vow not to lie (compassionate truthfulness)
I vow not to intoxicate self or other (staying mindful)

We can think of precepts as aligning with our deepest intentions, known and unknown. These precepts are not “rules” as much as they are guideposts which can orient our activity in support of our liberation. We can explore them in deeper and deeper ways that encourage us to understand what it means to not kill, not steal, not misuse sexuality, not lie or not intoxicate.  As we practice, our relationship to these goalposts will change, strengthen, and we gain deeper understanding of these vows.

Listen to the audio version below, or click here to download the mp3.

Tags: ethics wisdom

Discussion

Leave a Reply

Discover more from the Dharma Library

  • Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of March 29, 2021

    This week’s theme is: Re-Enchanting Our Practice. As much as anything else our practice of mindfulness and meditation can become a habit, and either turn dull, or come with a sense of obligation, work, or duty. In this week together, we will explore ways to bring imagination, embodiment, and intimacy to our practice. After all, meditation is as much a craft as an artform – a chance to discover inner landscapes, hidden mysteries and fascinating insights.

    As much as anything else our practice of mindfulness and meditation can become a habit and either turn dull or come with a sense of obligation, work or duty. In this week together, we will explore ways to bring imagination, embodiment, and intimacy to our practice. After all, meditation is as much a craft as an art form – a chance to discover inner landscapes, hidden mysteries and fascinating insights.

    Read More

  • Ralph Steele

    Noble Right View

    Recorded : September 22, 2019

    In this session you will gain insight into understanding what makes the Buddhist practice unique. You’ll receive guidance in relation to knowing when you are not on the path of awakening, and gain a deeper appreciation of the skills presented by the Buddha.

    Read More

  •

    A Global Crisis. The Wisdom of Action while Living with Uncertainty

    Recorded : May 31, 2020

    The Mind/Body Crisis provides an opportunity to wake up or live in fear and despair. Are our politicians, billionaires, pharmaceutical industry, food industry, and scientists fit for purpose?Change is required. Inner and Outer. Radical. Unprecedented.Are we fit for purpose?What do we have to offer?

    Read More

  • Anna-Brown Griswold

    Glimpses of Interbeing: An Introduction to Insight Dialogue

    Recorded : March 17, 2024

    Based in the Buddhist tradition, Insight Dialogue harnesses the power of relationship to amplify, refine, and accelerate the development of mindfulness. Consisting of 6 meditative guidelines practiced in dyads or more, the practice supports the wisdom of dharma to enter the heart and mind in an embodied way that is immediately applicable in daily life. Join…

    Read More

  • Brian Dean Williams

    Wild Awake: The Wisdom of Nature

    Recorded : July 1, 2018

    In the story of the Buddha, he awakened in the forest, taught in the forest, died in the forest. Nature played an important role in the Buddha’s awakening. Many Buddhist practice communities have been in close connection with nature. What role might it play in our practice here in the modern world? In this session…

    Read More

  • photo of Martin Aylward smiling

    Not-other: knowing our solidarity with all beings.

    Recorded : April 30, 2017

    Dharma teachings point at the way our experience is not-self. This also means that everyone else is not-other. In this class we explore the ways we isolate and defend ourselves, and reach for and reject others, looking towards a greater inclusion of and intimacy with others as the ground for both better relationships and true…

    Read More

  • Martine Batchelor

    What is this?

    Recorded : October 11, 2015

    In this session Martine leads a guided meditation on the question “What is this?”, and then explores this questioning practice as a means to encounter each moment with awareness and as a means of developing a stable and open heart.

    Read More

  • Miles Kessler

    Daily Meditation Recordings, with Miles Kessler – Week of 28 October, 2024

    We’re grateful to have Miles Kessler leading our Daily Meditation sessions this week. May they support and enrich your practice.

    This week’s theme is: Practicing Insight In Daily Life

    The practice of mindfulness meditation automatically triggers off a series of developmental insights that gradually develop over time. But how do these “insights” appear in your daily life? In this week of daily meditation practice, Miles Kessler will lead you through an exploration of how the path of insight meditation unfolds on the cushion, but also in your daily life. Join Miles in this week of daily meditations and integrating the “Practicing Insight In Daily Life”.

    Read More