5 things Buddhists should avoid. For lay Buddhists, the five precepts are the five basic learnings to create an ethical, good and healthy lifestyle. Not only in Buddhism, but these five ethical principles are also five conditions for creating a peaceful, orderly and sustainable society. People who live virtuously, always live in kusala, diligently keep the precepts, cultivate virtue, and conduct themselves, of course, never feel the burden of fear and shame. On the contrary, this burden rests on the minds of the wicked, who break the five precepts day and night, causing them to not eat well and sleep well. During his 45 years of teaching, the Buddha spent a lot of time talking directly with homeowners who live at home, have wives, children, and many properties. For such people, the Buddha always advised them to live virtuously, to live well, to keep the five precepts. So, We need to find out how the five precepts that the Buddha advised in practical life should be properly applied to the spirit of Buddhism. 1. Stay away from killing At the top is the precept not to kill, asking people not to kill themselves or tell others to kill. Protecting and respecting the value of life is a central concept of Buddhist ethics. The great dedication of Buddhism is to respect the lives of all living beings, not just human lives. The Buddha condemned all forms of destruction of life, he once condemned the Brahmin practice of sacrifice for killing hundreds of goats, sheep and cows to make offerings to the gods. 2. Stay away from theft Talking about the world of thieves, it is not only thieves but also acts such as smuggling, corruption, fraud, flipping in the trade to gain illicit profits, abuse or appropriation of public property… Avoiding theft is teaching yourself an honest lifestyle, not being greedy for others and knowing enough with what you have. Live honestly, honestly, absolutely do not infringe on the property and property of others, even if it is a needle or thread. Live well enough, be content with your property, get it through your own work, don't think of ways to get richer by deceitful, unwarranted, unethical ways. The Minor Sutras say: King Bimbisāra dreamed in a dream that he heard scary and unsettling sounds. The king came and told the Blessed One about this matter. The Buddha explained that: those were the king's relatives in the past, because of the bad karma of stealing food, they had to be reborn as a suffering hungry ghost. Thanks to King Bimbisāra developing the heart to set up the offering of food bowls, Donate clothes to the Blessed One and the Sangha for a week at the palace to dedicate blessings to relatives who are suffering in the suffering realm. Because of that dedication, relatives are freed from the life of hungry ghosts and born as gods under the control of the Four Great Heavenly Kings. 3. Stay away from adultery Those who commit evil, unrighteous acts in love relationships but are not each other's wives or husbands, those people violate fine customs and traditions, and are uplifted by society. but also violates this third precept. Modern people, if they do not abstain from abstinence, will have consequences such as: broken families, high divorce rates, leading to situations where children live alone, lacking affection, without education, and teenagers. crime more and more. Not enough for his wife/ To be seen among prostitutes/ To be seen with his wife/ The entrance to the dead. In the time of Buddha Kassapa, There were four young men who had no work to do, only knew how to drink and spend money to bribe people's wives for entertainment. Just like that, they committed adultery, at the end of their lives they fell into the hell of Abhi, suffered painful tortures in the period between the two Buddhas born. Because their negative karma has not yet dissipated, they are reborn in the sixty-mile great Iron Hell. Everyone wanted to recite a verse, but only uttered the first syllable, and then fell into the Iron Hell. 4. Stay away from lies Lying is harmful in many ways, especially negatively affecting personal reputation and social stability. People can only live peacefully together in an atmosphere of mutual trust, everyone tells the truth. If everyone lies, it is a sign of the collapse of a society. A person who has lived untruth with others and with himself will never find the truth, don't say realize the truth. In the same way, Rahula, to anyone who knows a lie and has no evil qualities, I say that he has no evil deeds that he should not do. During the time of Buddha Kassapa, there were two brothers, the elder named Sodhana, the younger named Kapila. Both of them have pure faith in the Three Jewels, apply for ordination to become bhikkhus. When ordained, Bhikkhu Sodhana meditated and attained Arahantship. The bhikkhu Kapila, on the other hand, was well-versed in the sutras, had many followers, and received many benefits. Intoxicated with his knowledge and possessed by the ghost of greed, Kapila became conceited. When people say right, Kapila says it's wrong, when people say wrong, Kapila says it's right, guilt Kapila says is innocent, innocence is said to be guilty, etc... Later on, Kapila with such an attitude to Av ngụcci prison. Kapila suffered in the Avīci prison for countless eons that passed in the time between the two Buddhas. Due to the consequences of bad karma, later reborn as a fish in the Aciravatī river with golden color but extremely bad breath. 5. Stay away from alcohol and intoxicating substances The harm of addiction is well known, the rate of traffic accidents, crimes, countless diseases caused by intoxication has increased to an alarming level. O householder, there are six dangers to being infatuated with alcohol: loss of present property, growth of struggle, impending disease, damage to honor, revealing of the hidden (body nakedness), and the sixth is damaged mind. O householder, infatuation with wines has six such dangers. An ordinary person does not dare to do evil, but once he drinks alcohol and intoxicating substances, he loses control, becomes aggressive, reckless, dare to do all evil deeds such as killing, stealing, adultery, cursing. It is said that in the city of Bārāṇasī at that time, on the monthly precept day, people did not kill, so the cook had to buy more meat before the precept day, to save a portion for the next day. Due to negligence, he did not store the meat carefully, so it was eaten by the dog. He tried to make delicious and delicious dishes, but did not dare to offer them to the king. He went to the queen and was told: the king loves the prince very much, let him sit with the king, the king will not notice. According to the plan, the prince was placed on the king's lap. However, when the king was in good condition, in a fit of drunkenness and craving for meat, the king killed the prince and ordered a dish to be made for the king to enjoy. The next morning when he woke up, he was drunk, and the king wanted to see the prince, so he asked to know the truth. When he realized the terrible crime arising from alcohol, the king clasped his hands to his forehead and made a vow: "From this life onward, I will never drink alcohol again, so that I will not see you again. self-harm and the suffering of loved ones". As a layperson living at home, there are things that society still considers good and honest behavior (such as drinking wine to celebrate at a party), but in terms of Buddhist ethics or karmic cause and effect, these things He can still cause evil karma leading to painful results. Therefore, a lay person should have a heart of shame and aversion to sin, in order to practice keeping the precepts well. When there is shame and fear of sin, voluntarily observe the precepts, without compulsion. Above are the five precepts for lay Buddhists, considered as the five ethical lifestyles, helping to perfect the personality to build a healthy lifestyle.END=NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.27/6/2021.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.