After taking refuge in the Three Jewels, lay Buddhists must live according to the rules that the Buddha invented, in order to advance on the Way. That rule is the Five Precepts. Confucianists cannot follow the Three Ganges and abandon the Five Precepts, nor can a Buddhist follow the Three Refuges without observing the Five Precepts. Those who make the mind to take refuge in the Three Jewels have already stepped on the ladder of liberation, but if they do not keep the five precepts, they will only take the first step and then stop, unable to progress to true liberation. These five precepts not only lead strong people on the path to liberation, but also bring order, happiness and peace to the family, country, and society. individuals and groups, it is the teacher who prevents us from doing wrong things in the Dharma-ending age. So, Shakyamuni Buddha made the following urgent testament before he entered Nirvana: “After my extinction, practitioners must respect the precepts as teachers; Even if I am still in this world to teach you thousands of generations, I will add nothing but the precepts.” The precepts that the Buddha invented are very many, because they need to be applied to many types of practitioners: Bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, novices, novices. As for lay Buddhists, there are only five precepts. But if you keep those five precepts, the benefits for yourself and others are unspeakable. B. MAIN TOPIC I. DEFINITION The Five Precepts are the five prohibitions that the Buddha invented to prevent evil thoughts, bad speech, and unrighteous actions. The five commandments are: Do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not lie, and do not drink alcohol. Five things *y based on compassion, equality in terms of eliminating individual sins and bringing order and happiness to society. The Buddha did not force us to strictly obey, nor did he threaten to punish us if we did not comply. Whether or not we keep the precepts is entirely up to us. Buddhism differs from other religions in that the Buddha is not a supreme judge with the power to reward and punish. A thought, a word, a good or bad action has brought with it a seed of reward and punishment. The Buddha was just a very compassionate and very wise guide. He shows us which path is the light path and which is the dangerous path not to take. But if we do not follow the bright path but want to go down the dangerous path, then of course we will encounter natural disaster, Buddha did not create disaster to punish us. The Court is the Law of Cause and Effect. If we do evil, we get bad results; If we do good, we get good results. The five precepts are the five strongholds that prevent us from going astray, the five barriers that prevent us from falling into the abyss, while we walk the path of liberation. II. THE YEARS 1. Do not kill The first commandment that the Buddha advises us is not to kill life, from humans to animals. Life has a precious value, especially human life; Killing another life to make up for this life is an evil and unreasonable thing. Buddhism forbids killing for many reasons a) Respect for fairness. We regard our life as precious, an absolute treasure. If someone plots harm, we will fight back to protect our lives. I have learned to value my life, Why do you want to trample people's lives? Broadly speaking, animals also know how to value their lives. Like when a cow or a pig is about to be hit on the head, poked with blood, we see their fierce resistance, their extreme pain, by their screams, their struggles to escape death! According to justice, what we do not want anyone to do to us, do not do to other people or to another species. Buddha said: "Everyone is afraid of the sword, everyone is afraid of death. Therefore, think in your own heart, don't kill, don't tell to kill!". b) Respect for equal Buddha-nature. Sentient beings each have a different body shape, but still have the same Buddha nature. If Buddha-nature is equal, there can be no reason to say that Buddha-nature is more valuable in people than in things, in this class, this skin color is more valuable than in that class, that skin color. To kill a living being is to kill Buddha nature. c) Cultivate compassion. The Buddha's compassion considers all beings as his children, so he does not agree to allow his disciples to kill living things, in any case. Because killing the life with the mind is a cruel heart that has reached its peak, the mind of compassion is strangled. Killing an animal without reason is as cruel as killing a human. To ruthlessly make another person or thing struggle, groan, writhe in blood, in hot tears before taking his last breath, is to kill one's own compassion, is to smother the very seed of love. precious in our souls. Thus, it is difficult to practice to achieve the right result. Confucius once said: "Van Qi Qing is impatient to see the truth, sees the birth period, and is impatient to see the death." (Listen to the animal's cry, can't bear to eat it; see it alive, can't bear to see it dead). So, People with compassion or benevolence are not willing to kill people or things. d) Avoid cause and effect of revenge. When we kill a person or an animal, their resentment is so overwhelming that it is difficult to quell. They were killed because of her, because of their weakness. Meanwhile, they hold their hatred, waiting for the opportunity to take revenge. Just like that, every day we sow hatred for people and things, accumulated for a long time, that unjust family is bigger than our strength, maybe we will be killed by it again. The more you create killing karma, the more you plunge yourself into suffering. Buddha taught: "People often have the mind to kill, the more their karma grows, the more they rotate in birth and death, and there is no day out" (Lang Gia Sutra). Benefits of Non-Killing For these reasons, the Buddha forbade Buddhists to kill. Not killing has the following advantages: a) On a personal level. A person who is not cruel to murder, harm animals, not cruelly shed blood, If you don't skinned, butchered, beheaded, or strangled, your heart will not be troubled or regretful, your body and mind will be light and relaxed, your sleep will be peaceful, your face will be gentle and clear. b) Social aspect. If all humans in this world adhere to the first precept of the Buddha, then there will be no war, and the karma of birth and death will be liberated. Therefore, the ancient ancestors taught: It is imperative that sentient beings do not kill karma, The ten directions of the land of the army, the Gia family, the guardians of the good, Thien ha*a sad and unsatisfactory peace. Meaning: All sentient beings have no karma to kill, There are no warriors in the Ten directions, Every home and every place cultivates good, Worrying that the world will not be at peace. Limitations: Still knowing that killing is a cause of suffering, but people at home still eat salty foods, while doing other jobs, how can they avoid breaking the precept of killing. Here it is not mandatory that we keep it so thorough, just keep the important part of not killing people, and big animals such as: buffalo, cow, horse, dog, pig... There are many small animals, if avoided The more you kill, the more valuable it is. We should go slowly rather than surely. Especially not to kill animals unreasonably, kill to satisfy the desire to kill. While keeping the precept to kill, we should watch out for two things: a) We should not allow ill will to arise. Killing a large animal, either unintentionally or in self-defense, the fruit of it is lighter than killing a dragonfly with a malicious intent to kill for fun. b) Training in killing situations should be avoided: Children aged 3 and 5 go out to the yard to meet dragonflies, butterflies catch and then cut off their wings, tear their heads off, if their parents see them without scolding them; until 12, 13 years old, they buy slingshots, elastic bands to catch birds, until 20, 25 years old, they stab pigs' throats, kill dogs, still uninhibited, later, accustomed to violence, in anger, they can kill people without fear. So not only should we not allow our children to become accustomed to killing animals, but we should also not allow them to witness the killing scenes in the cinema or in the middle of life. 2. Do not steal or steal Everyone knows that stealing is taking things that belong to people, without consent, or forcing people to consent by force or authority. Valuable things such as houses, fields and gardens, money, pearls, ivory, etc., to petty things such as betel leaves, chili peppers, etc.... people don't give, but they try to take them as thieves. Theft takes many forms: Ỷ strong factions snatch people's side is robbery; relying on the power to make money the weak are thieves; stalking people in their time of need to lend heavy loans, selling at a cheap price is stealing; Speculative hoarding to sell at black market prices is robbery. Using the trick of stalking, stealing from people is stealing; underweight, under-measurement, evading strings, contravening taxes, borrowing from others without trying to return them are also theft. It can be summed up in one sentence: any form taken by unrighteous people by greed is theft. If, because of poverty, the wife is sick, the children are sick, there is a shortage of rice, and there is no medicine, so it is forced to cheat, then the crime is still mocked; But if you are rich, dress happily, get on carts and get off horses, but also deceive people to take possessions, rob workers, to live a regal life on the sweat and tears of the poor, the crime is very heavy! Why did Buddha forbid theft? Buddha forbids theft for the following reasons: a) Respect for fairness: We don't want anyone to take ours, Why do I care so much to steal from people? Our personal property rights, we know how to respect, so why do we trample on people's property rights? It is unfair to do so. A society without justice cannot survive for long. b) Respect for equality. Everyone has the same Buddha nature, why would we want to make others suffer so that we can be happy? Why do we want to enjoy unrighteous privileges when we are just a human like so many others? c) Cultivate compassion. Once we unintentionally lose something or some amount of money, we are full of sorrow, we can't eat well, we can't sleep, why would we have the heart to take someone's property so that others have to mourn and suffer for us? People often say: "Money is the lifeline". Thus, the one who robs people is plundering people's blood and bones, killing people's lives. Only people who have no compassion for others, and their conscience do such dark things. As for me, being a Buddhist, trying to cultivate compassion, I cannot steal from anyone. d) Avoid the karma of revenge. In an organized society, respecting justice, theft is always punished. Stealing is brought to the criminal court, robbery is taken to the criminal court. Before being caught, thieves must find hundreds of ways to escape, living in the dark. When caught, thieves must be bound, interrogated, imprisoned, locked up. My fate was extremely miserable, leaving my family, parents, wife and children also sad, ashamed, and lost all hope in the future. But if the law of the world does not punish, the thief cannot escape the law of cause and effect. Stealing from people will be robbed by thieves, causing hatred and suffering. The Buddha taught: "A person who is attached to beauty and talent who refuses to let go, is like a child who is nostalgic for a bit of honey stuck on a knife blade, sticking out his tongue to lick it, and must be cut off by a disaster" (Sutta Four Twelve Chapters). That is why, because of the greed for money, many people have thrown themselves into the ward and hell. Let's listen to the warning verse of King Tran Thai Tong: Carving the wall through the wall with no damage, Thien bestows a plan, suffering and praying; Kim was born to seek other human beings, Realize the common life of the oxen. Translation: Breaking the wall to see where the wall is, Thousands of plots and hundreds of schemes are in vain to seek; Even if people have this life, they'll always have a horse and buffalo life. For these reasons, the Buddha forbade his disciples to steal. Benefits of not stealing a) On the personal side. People who are not greedy have a peaceful life, are not required, imprisoned, imprisoned, wherever they go, others trust and entrust themselves with important positions. People who are not greedy will enjoy wealth and happiness in the next life, and their descendants will be honored for many generations by inheriting the sound of their grandparents and parents. b) In terms of unions. If one day in society, no one has a mind of greed, theft, then the house does not need to be closed, the property is not preserved, the lost object is not lost, there is nothing happier! People suffer because they don't have possessions, but those who have much still suffer because they have to take care of them. The person who does not steal means that he has silently given others security. Confucianism has a saying: "Non-righteous people do not communicate, unrighteous things do not fight". What if we are Buddhists go and steal? 3. Do not commit adultery Adultery means to talk about illegal sexual immorality. The law teaches that people who leave the home world must completely stop lust, and those who stay at home must not indulge in sexual misconduct. When a husband and wife have a full wedding ceremony, it is called the main ceremony; In addition, sneaking around doing illegal activities is called evil. But if the husband and wife are officially married, but they are not in the right place to eat and drink, and if they are too close to each other, it is also part of adultery. That's to say it's crude. To put it more subtly, all distractions, immoral thoughts, and leisurely play are also part of adultery. Buddha forbids sexual misconduct for the following reasons a) Respect for justice. Everyone wants his family to be warm and happy, his wife and children are righteous, so why would he destroy his family, humiliate his sect, and put his wife and children on the path of lewdness. b) Protect family happiness. Nothing is more painful, darker, when a family where the husband or wife has a private, evil mind. Happiness is no longer, when husband and wife do not trust each other! When a family falls into this situation, the children will be ashamed, neglected, orphaned, relatives do not care about, career ruined, villages denigrate, reputation tarnished. An essential condition for maintaining family happiness is the faithfulness of husband and wife. It is often said: "If you pretend to be obedient to your husband, you will also dry up if you slap the eastern pool". Because of the wickedness of one of the two companions, jealousy, quarrels, and beatings often occur in the family, sometimes leading to murder. Sometimes, in order to take revenge, people often see the scene "he eats cha, she eats spring rolls". If a husband has the heart to spy on his wife, their own wife and children are also trying to break the fence to other people's houses. They destroy the happiness of people's families, the happiness of their families is also broken first. Therefore, forbidding adultery is a necessary condition to build happiness for one's family and another's family. c) Avoid hatred and evil retribution. The Buddha taught: "A person who embraces lust is like one who carries a torch against the wind and is determined to get burned" (Sutta Four Twelve Chapters). Indeed, people have an evil mind indulged in lust, sooner or later they are determined to be harmed: if they do not lose their home and country, they will also break their legs and lose their lives by the point of a gun or a sword. In the past, the dark, catastrophic results caused by infatuation with lust were nothing short of; we just need to unload the piles of history books or daily newspapers, and we will see many in every page, every paragraph. Among the enmities, none is more powerful than the hatred caused by the frivolous deception of love. Murders happen every day, mostly as a result of adultery. Benefits of not committing adultery Therefore, keeping the precept against sexual misconduct has the following benefits: a) On a personal level. The Ten-Fantastic Sutra says: "People in the world who do not engage in wrong conduct will enjoy four benefits as follows: The six senses (ears, eyes, nose, tongue, body, and mind) are perfected. Lifetime is respected. Eliminate all distractions and disturbances. A lifelong love that no one dares to infringe." b) In terms of unions. In a society where no one commits any wrongdoing, the family will be happy, peaceful, and morally wrong, and the scenes of enmity and killing will no longer occur; If children are healthy and nurtured, society will be prosperous. In short, this unclean, suffering Saha world will turn into a pure and happy world. 4. Don't tell the truth There are four ways to tell the truth: Lie, talk falsely, speak two-way tongue, speak cruel words. a) Lying or lying, is telling the truth, whether to say no or not to say yes; the right to say the wrong, the left to say the right; what is not heard is not heard, what is not heard is heard; or fake praise in front of him, and criticism behind his back; Or when you like it, it's sweet and fragrant, when you hate it, it's bitter and sour. In short, the meaning of words and deeds before and after are contradictory, different from above and below, inconsistency inside and out, all belong to lies. b) Slanderous talk, which is a little chain for a lot, makes the listeners get angry; is to refine speech, refine a good voice, raise and lower the voice slightly to seduce listeners, make people passionately infected; sometimes it's satirical, slurred, sarcastic, and stingy, making the listener miserable. In short, how many words that are not true and true, add or subtract, until frivolous, glossy literature make the listener confused, birth afflictions, are called all talk. c) Two-way tongue talk, or more roughly, is saying "two-headed sharp shock", that is, when you come to this place, you go to this side to talk bad about the other party, when you come to the other side, go back to that side to talk about it. badmouthing this side, turning close friends against each other, benevolent people oppose, hate each other. d) To speak cruelly, is to speak vulgar, gruff, abusive language, to make the listener suffer, sad, and afraid. Why does Buddha forbid telling the truth? The Buddha forbids telling falsehoods for the following reasons: a) Respecting the truth. Buddhism is a true religion; Buddhist followers must respect the truth. People who are familiar with lies, not necessarily looking for the truth, can hardly prove the results. We are living in delusion, the main job of a monk is to try to break that illusion in order to see the original vow; If you can't do that, but on the contrary, you pile up that illusion with lies and deceit, it is extremely unethical. b) Cultivate compassion. The main motivation of lies is selfishness, cruelty, wanting to harm people to satisfy their dark desires. People who are deceived or deceived must suffer for themselves, sometimes have to be enmity with kings and enemies, sometimes they have to go bankrupt. Cultivators who do this have exhausted their conscience and have already strangled their love. Once compassion no longer exists, which means that the main motivation is lost, the practice is only a lie, deceiving people, and of course never having good results. c) Preserving loyalty in society. In a family, a union, a society where no one believes in anyone, every effort from small to large will fail. In Confucianism, one of the five basic virtues is faith. "Being unfaithful and unfaithful" is the teaching of Confucius. Family and social happiness cannot be found in lies of suspicion and envy. d) Avoid suffering karma. Speech is not a blade, but it is more dangerous than a sword, for it has two points, one that pierces others and the other that pierces the person who wields it. No one has ever forgotten the story of the shepherd boy who wanted to fool his neighbors by shouting “Fire! Fire!”, but it only fooled people once; next time, his house really burned, even though he cried out, no one bothered to come and fix it. See, the liar only brings disaster to himself. Therefore, the Buddha taught: "The magician deals with the government in the middle of the mouth, the reason for the execution of the body is due to the evil language", that is: For everyone in the world, the sharp ax is in the mouth, the reason for cutting yourself is because of the word speak evil. Had to say snooping, saying distort is to harm people, But when you hurt people, people will hurt you back. "Evil retribution for evil" is like that. To avoid enmity, avoid bad karma, we should not lie and lie. The benefits of not lying a) On a personal level. Being respected and trusted by others, no one holds any grudges; Wherever you go, people around you will give you a friendly and warm welcome. In business, honest people have many clients, and are entrusted with many precious responsibilities. b) In terms of unions. Family and society are united in trust. All joint works are promoted with good results. Compatriots love and understand each other more. Limitations: Lying is a great disaster for you and the society. However, there are also some cases when it is advisable to lie. That's when out of compassion you have to lie to save people or things. Lying is a crime in cases where greed and hatred are motivated. On the contrary, if motivated by compassion, one must lie, then there is no sin. 5. Do not drink alcohol All things that have intoxicating yeast or toxic substances are not allowed to drink. I can't drink it myself, but I also can't force others to drink. Forcing and encouraging others to drink, the sin is worse than drinking. When he was seriously ill, took unhealed drugs, and the physician told him to mix alcohol with the medicine, he was temporarily allowed to use it. But before using it, you must tell them to the Sangha. When the illness is over, do not continue to take the medicine mixed with alcohol. For what reasons did the Buddha forbid drinking alcohol? The Buddha forbade drinking alcohol for the following reasons: a) Preserving the seeds of wisdom. Alcohol is more dangerous than poison. One cup of poison I drink and die instantly, But only one body dies in the present, but drinking alcohol causes loss of wisdom, having to die and be reborn for countless kalpas. Therefore, in order to preserve the precious seed of wisdom, the Buddha forbade drinking alcohol. b) Preventing the causes of sin. Alcohol itself is not a sin such as killing, stealing, or adultery, but it can cause other sins to arise. When drunk and intoxicated, any sin can be mortal. Here is a story to prove it: A farmer was plowing the field in the middle of the field, when suddenly appeared before him a huge, strange evil spirit, threatening to kill him. He was terrified, crying and begging for his life. The evil god said: If you can do any of these three things, I will spare you: either kill your father, or beat your mother, or drink all the wine left on your table. The farmer thought for a moment and replied: Please give me a pint of wine. The evil god listened, seemed satisfied, and then disappeared. At noon that day, the farmer came home and saw a liter of wine that his dear grandfather had bought to treat his guests, because the house was about to have an anniversary, he quickly grabbed it and drank it all down. His father saw his son insolent, grabbed a stick and charged at him. The magic has penetrated, he no longer knows right and wrong, snatched his father's staff, beat him with a good dead tree! The mother ran to hug the mule. He hasn't vented his anger yet, beaten up his mother. The village ran over to arrest him to lead him to the mandarin for killing his father and beating his mother. When he woke up, he knew that drinking was the heaviest of the three things that the evil god made him do. In short, alcohol causes a lot of sin. Here are 10 harmful effects of alcohol that in the scriptures mentioned: Lost wealth; The growth of lust; Intellectual decline; Unsuccessful career; Body and mind much suffering; Body or disease; The mind of anger is impulsive, quarrelsome; Virtue dissipates; Lifespan is reduced; The common net fell to hell. The benefits of alcohol prohibition a) On a personal level. People who don't drink alcohol can avoid the 10 harms mentioned above: no loss of money, less sickness in the body, no evil heart to kill, less anger, increased wisdom, longer life expectancy, etc. b) About collective aspect. The family is happy, the children are less sick, the society is harmonious, the race is strong. C. CONCLUSION 1. Non-Buddhist Buddhists are not Buddhists We have seen the practical and beneficial uses of the five precepts individually and collectively. If the Three Refuges are the foundation, then the Five Precepts are the five steps for lay Buddhists to step up to Sainthood. In the first step, if a Buddhist can make a vow to keep all five precepts, the better; If because of many attachments we can't keep all five precepts, we can keep some of the precepts that we find practicable, such as: not drinking, not lying. Then with diligence and strong bodhicitta, I continue to vow to keep other precepts such as not stealing, not committing adultery... But having made a vow to keep any precept, keep it steadfast, don't take a step forward. , two steps back, using like that forever will never get anywhere. If a Buddhist does not observe any precepts, how can he be called a Buddhist? Ordinary people, not following Buddha, can still maintain proper conduct such as not drinking, not lying, not stealing *rather, let alone a Buddhist? We come to Buddhism because we want to go beyond the ordinary life of the world. If we have entered the religion and still continue with the ordinary life of the world, then we want to corrupt the religion. rather than admiration. Therefore, Buddhists must try to keep the precepts to be worthy of their name, to bring happiness to themselves and all sentient beings. 2. Non-Buddhists should also keep the five precepts mentioned above, nothing is sublime or mysterious. That is a common citizen lesson that any society or country that wants to be prosperous and powerful cannot ignore. So those 5 laws are not only applicable to Buddhists alone, but also to all those who want to live a healthy, happy, respectful and progressive life. Non-Buddhists should also keep the five precepts mentioned above, nothing is sublime or mysterious. That is a common citizen lesson that any society or country that wants to be prosperous and powerful cannot ignore. So those 5 laws are not only applicable to Buddhists alone, but also to all those who want to live a healthy, happy, respectful and progressive life.. Non-Buddhists should also keep the five precepts mentioned above, nothing is sublime or mysterious. That is a common citizen lesson that any society or country that wants to be prosperous and powerful cannot ignore. So those 5 laws are not only applicable to Buddhists alone, but also to all those who want to live a healthy, happy, respectful and progressive life.END=NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.24/6/2021.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.