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The benefits of morality are many.
According to the Buddha, the main purpose of morality is non-remorse (AN 11).
Or, there are five benefits, including attainment/guarding of wealth:
“Householder, there are these five benefits
for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue. What five?
Here, householder, one who
is virtuous, possessed of ...
8
Just like a house needs a strong foundation to last a long time, one would need sila as the foundation upon which the entire Path is built:
"Thus in this way, Ananda, skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, freedom from remorse as their reward. Freedom from remorse has joy as its purpose, joy as its reward. Joy has rapture as its ...
7
"So, when I host a party at my place, it becomes obligatory of me to host them with alcohol and non-vegetarian food (bought from a restaurant). "
I don't see how it is obligatory. You could serve delicious vegetarian food and non-alcoholic drinks. If you take your Buddhist precepts you are not supposed break them yourself or encourage others to break them. ...
6
Party is made fun by people sharing their love and life experiences with each other, not by meat and alcohol.
More importantly, in this case, I think you should uphold your spirit and not bend to your friends' opinions. Do not be afraid to show your friends who you really are, your real value system. Living authentic life is better in long-term, than ...
6
Karma works in this life too. If you are kind to people, you create friends, then friends will take care of you. This is called karma - creating conditions for your future, in this life.
When you are driven by emotions, like obsession or negativity - you become kind of blind, so you create bad conditions for yourself. So seeing your mind and developing ...
6
There is a good book about community building; Community Building on the Web : Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities – by Amy Jo Kim.
The most knowledgeable people are those who are able to answer almost any questions. They are extremely valuable but are also quite likely to retire from a community in part because they don't need the community ...
5
It doesn't square well against the notion of Right Action (or Right Conduct) on the Noble Eightfold Path.
The practitioner should train oneself to be morally upright in one's activities, not acting in ways that would be corrupt or bring harm to oneself or to others. (source) (emphasis added)
If going to work while ill could cause others to become ill, ...
5
I found it here for free download:
The Five Precepts :
The Buddhist Golden Rule
By His Royal Highness the late Supreme
Patriarch Prince Vajirananavarorasa
I found it linked from this page: 'The 5 Precepts' at dharmaflower.net.
The quote you're looking for is on page 2:
Contrasted with the negative virtues of precepts, there is also a set of five
...
4
To offer a more personal answer -- about 6 and a half years ago I decided to begin keeping the 5 lay precepts scrupulously, as an experiment. Not that I was in the habit of, say, killing, lying or getting drunk prior to that. But my temperamental tendency was to be flexible and not want to make others uncomfortable socially. Specifically, I adopted a strict ...
4
Sila means ethics, or morality. There are many Suttas that describe how Sila is practiced. The most basic way for a layperson to practice Sila is to keep the five precepts.
Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.
Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the ...
4
Fear is considered an unwholesome state, containing as it does aversion (patigha):
paṭighacittuppādavasena hi bhāyanaṃ
Indeed, fear [arises] due to the arising of a mind accompanied by aversion.
-- Vism-T 21.3 (751)
So no, there should be no connection between morality and fear. ottapa, often translated as "fear of wrongdoing", is a mind state ...
4
Je Tsongkhapa differentiates between (1) karma that is done (2) and karma that is accumulated. Between the two, there are four possibilities.
1. Done, but not accumulated. Tsongkhapa states:
Killing that is karma which you have done but not accumulated is seen
in the following cases: that done unknowingly, that done in a dream,
that not done ...
4
Unwholesome actions are those which are based on the three poisons: greed, anger and delusion. When giving is wholesome it is an act of renunciation and it reduces the three poisons.
Giving becomes unwholesome if it is based on the three poisons. Perhaps you want to be famous for giving money so you are willing to give all your cash to charity; in this case ...
4
The answer comes in the Akkosa Sutta below. Even if someone insults him or speaks to him in a hurtful manner, he doesn't accept it i.e. react to it. And so it goes back to the originator.
However in the case of the Giant Buddha Statue, perhaps they have no choice but to walk on its head in order to clean it. The Buddha statue is not the Buddha himself. It's ...
4
We have giant Buddha statues in Sri Lanka too. But nobody walks on the head to clean them. There are respectful ways to do it if you are smart enough.
I have heard this ridiculous argument many times - "The Buddha wouldn't get upset. Therefore it is ok." The Buddha didn't get upset even when Devadata tried to drop a rock on him. The Buddha didn't get upset ...
4
The forerunner of the path is right view (MN117) and basically this means that you must understand something about Buddhism correctly before starting to practise.
However, the rest of the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path is not sequential. It's rather, iterative.
Here are some metaphors.
When you first learn to drive a car, do you learn how to start ...
4
I recently noticed that perhaps fewer than 10 bugs seem to be in my shower.
The reason many bugs show up in one place is usually due to that place having "things" that attract them, whether it's smell, shed skin cells (as their food source), humidity (their suitable dwelling environment), etc. So, instead of doing it the hard way, try tackling the issue at ...
3
The only way to influence others' behavior is through example. Your question presupposes that your friends have a desire to change. Not everyone wants to change, or wants your help in modifying their behavior. You might consider expanding your friendship base (i.e., find new friends) if your current friends' behavior is not to your liking. We cannot assert ...
3
I am familiar with the term “pārisuddhi-sīla”, but this only relates to monastic practice (restraint according to Vinaya, restraint of senses, purification of livelihood and restraint in use of the four requisites). I have not heard of the "ultimate version of the five precepts"... where are these mentioned?
Your first five bullet points are mentioned in ...
3
I view it as adoption can be nothing but good. you are providing a child with a home, food and most importantly love. if it is done with good intention then it cant be bad.
3
Sila provides protection (from bad outcomes and consequences) according to the Atta-rakkhita Sutta.
Those who engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, & mental
misconduct leave themselves unprotected. Even though a squadron of
elephant troops might protect them, a squadron of cavalry troops, a
squadron of chariot troops, a squadron of ...
3
First of all, keeping precepts will help lead one to a good rebirth because it is good karma. Secondly, having good sila is necessary to provide a basis for success in meditation.
3
Ven.Yuttadhammo bhikkhu has given you proper advice. Being true to monkhood is being rooted and grounded in a Life of celibacy. The benefits of celibacy (sexual abstinence) are obviously not widely understood nor fully appreciated. Even though sex may be a natural, essential part of life, so is being stuck in a physical body along with all its severe ...
3
The major definition of generosity I believe as Gawtama Buddha said was "Willing to give" ,not "try to give".
It comes from combination of not stacking mind on objects as that you own them and sympathy on others.
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When does giving become unwholesome?
When donation is helpful it wouldn't be unwholesome but, Buddha teaches true sacrifice.
I really like this material object and I feel I might want it (definitely don't need it for my survival or anything like that).
Buddha was once asked: “Who is the richest man in the world?” Buddha replied: “He who has much ...
3
This question presents two issues that must be decoupled and the hidden (second) question must be addressed first.
"However , I really like this material object and I feel I might want it ( definitely don't need it for my survival or anything like that) . The thought of giving this object does not make me happy."
While veiled in introspection, the main (...
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