I met with Zhangjia Living Buddha once a week.  He often reminded me, either intentionally or unintentionally, "Precepts are very important."  After he passed away, I stayed by the crematory that was built especially for his cremation for three days.  During those three days and nights, I kept thinking about what he had taught me for the three years that I studied with him.

Suprisingly, what made the deepest impression was "Precepts are very important."  I could not figure out why but thought that there must be a reason for Master Zhangjia to keep telling me to pay attention to precepts.  So I studied precepts.  And then I realized that worldly rules needed to be constantly amended to suit the people of that time period.  Precepts are supramundane rules, not worldly rules.  If you want to transcend this world, the Six Paths, and the Ten Realms, you have to abide by precepts.

​

​

​

Precepts are rules that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas abide by in their cultivation over countless lifetimes.  They are rules for transcending the Six Paths and the Ten Realms, not worldly rules for daily life.  That is why they cannot be changed, the Five Precepts in particular.  Do you think that the Five Precepts can be changed?  Is no killing wrong?  How about no stealing, no sexual misconducts, no lying, and no drinking?  They cannot be changed.  They are major precepts by principle and indeed transcend time and space.

​

​

​

The Five Precepts are no killing, stealing, committing sexual misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants.  The first four offenses are physical transgressions of the true nature.  Whether or not we have taken the precepts, it is wrong to commit these acts.  But for one who has formally taken the Five Precepts, this will be considered as committing a double violation.

Taking intoxicants is different.  A person who has not taken the precepts is not guilty when drinking, however, a person who has taken the precepts and then drinks will have broken this precept.  The purpose of refraining from intoxicants is to prevent us from committing the first four transgressions while under the influence; therefore, intoxicants in themselves are not wrong.  This is an example of why we need to understand the purpose of the Buddha's precept setting, its function, and its benefit.

​

​

​

The Buddha taught the basic Five Precepts and the first of these is the first of the Ten Good Karmas: do not kill.  Continuing to kill is to completely disregard his teachings and is an ultimate act of disrespect.  This disrespect is tantamount to being unfilial to our parents.  Consequently, if we ignore these instructions and kill, we are neither compassionate nor filial.

 

 

 

When we practice adhering to the precepts, the most important point is to follow their fundamental spirit; "Do nothing that is bad: do everything that is good."  Doing nothing bad is a Theravada precept directed toward us and is to be followed conscientiously in order to develop self-discipline.

The Chinese call this "Attending to one's own moral well-being even while alone."  When we practice self-discipline, we need to remain true to the precepts, even when no one is around.  "To do all that is good" is for the benefit of all beings and is a Bodhisattva precept that teaches us how to interact with others.  Precepts are the criteria for distinguishing between good and bad.

​

​

​

Some people have complained that there are too many precepts, that it is too easy to violate them, and thus, they abandon abiding by them.  This is why most people prefer reading or listening to talks about the sutras while avoiding those on precepts.  We need to remember that precepts guide us in our behavior and are the proper conduct of all Buddhas.  If there were no precepts, there would be no Buddhism.  If there were no courtesies, there would be no Confucianism.  Merely reciting the sutras without practicing their teachings will result in our not receiving any of their benefits.

​

​

​

A good illustration [of living a simple life] is my late teacher, Mr. Li Bingnan, who lived a simple yet happy life.  For decades, he only ate one meal a day, but, whenever he was invited out for dinner, he accepted.  On several occasions, he invited me to accompany him.  Since I had been practicing the precept of not eating after noontime for years, I felt very uncomfortable when being invited.

Mr. Li simply said, "Come with me!  Come with me!"  Later he explained: "With this attachment, you will not be able to help people because if you intend to help them, you must help them to be happy.  Eating this dinner is not violating the precepts but lifting them.  They invited you with good intentions.  If you reject their invitations, they will think you are closed to reason.  Then, they will not only reject Buddhism; but will also say that we practitioners are arrogant and look down upon others.  They may also urge others to avoid Buddhists.  So, you could ruin the opportunity of an untold number of people to learn of Buddhism.  This will result in the creation of negative karma for you."

Therefore, he was not violating the precepts but was instead simply lifting them for this meant making others happy, helping them to learn of Buddhism as well as according with conditions . . .  We can see from this that Buddhism is flexible.