at Wat Metta, California, from Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Over the years I have changed the English
translation slightly but I continue to respect them and uphold them to the best of my ability.
See also the General Index to the 227 Patimokkha Monastic Rules.
1. Do not harm living beings The harming animals chapter.
(panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami) The common refrain "veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami" means
"I undertake the training rule" .
2. Do not take things without permission. (adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami).
3. Do not have sexual activity in body or mind. (abhramacariya veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami).
There is an alternate milder form of this precept used by lay Buddhists when they visit a temple on special days,
as part of the more limited Five Precepts, which do not necessarily prohibit thinking.
4. Do not speak untruthfully, harshly, divisively or frivolously.
(musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami). The wrong speech chapter.
5. Do not consume intoxicating drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
(surameraya majjapama datthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami).
The alcoholic drink chapter. Although the tradition refers only to fermented alcohol, the intent is to prohibit intoxicants
of all kinds. Therefore drugs deserve to be on the list. Smoking is not prohibited as such but is so noxious that it could well
fall under the harm to living beings category. It has been added here in the category of prohibited consumable items.
6. Do not eat any solid food after midday or before dawn.
(vikala bhojanaveramani sikkhapadam samadiyami).
The allowable food chapter. The onset of dawn chapter
The traditional Theravada distinction between "bhojana" or "substantial" foods not allowed out of time and allowable
"snacks" is confusing and complicated by modern processed foods. For example, milk is prohibited but cheese was
(formerly) allowed at Wat Metta. I remember once hearing Thanissaro Bhikkhu describe how he was served and ate
an assortment of cheese snacks on a first class flight when an evening meal could not be accepted.
Apart from the problem of determining which snacks are allowable and which are not, the act of snacking on anything
at all stirs up cravings for more food which easily escalate out of control, one bite leading to another. Therefore the
safest practice is total abstention without snacking on any kind of solid food. However, liquid beverages are
traditionally allowed, for example fruit juice without pulp, thin broth, tea, coffee (but without milk), or sugary
soft drinks even if loaded with calories.
The sixth precept steers a middle course between the extremes of indulgence and austerity.
There are 13 additional but optional ascetic practices, five of them concerning food:
* eating only food personally collected on alms round in one's own bowl (not sharing in collective meal offerings)
* not skipping houses on alms round
* eating only once per day
* eating everything in one's bowl and only from one's bowl (not eating from multiple dishes)
(this does not necessarily mean mixing everything together, as wrongly interpreted by some, which is repugnant)
* no further helpings after having refused more food
7. Do not dance, sing, play or listen to music, watch shows, wear garlands, adornments,
scents or cosmetics.
(nacca gita vadita visuka dassana mala gandha vilepana dharana mandana vibhusanatthana veramani
sikkhapadam samadiyami).
In general this rule prohibits entertaining oneself and beautifying the body. Even deodorant is prohibited.
8. Do not use luxurious seats or high beds. (uccasayanamahasayana veramani sikkhapada samadiyami)
Technically, by "high" is meant a leg length greater than 7 inches: Allowable bed leg length.
However, indulgence in sensory pleasure, especially sinking into laziness and drowsiness, matter more than actual height.
If a luxurious first class seat were assigned on a jet flight (not by request), it might not be an offense to accept it, there being
no reasonable alternative and the factor of intent being absent.
Three useful guidelines for making moral judgments about an action:
1. The universality principle: follow the golden rule.
2. The consequential principle: consider the consequences.
3. The instrumental principle: ask if the action helps attain the goal.
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