Sāleyyaka-sutta (MN): Ten Wholesome Courses of Moral Action
Wong Weng Hon
Purport:
Gotama Buddha expounds that a Buddhist who cultivates and practises the Ten Wholesome Courses of Moral Action (Dasasīla) is called the Dhamma farer and en even farer. A Dhamma farer is one who lives according to the Dhamma; an even farer is one who does not transgress the Five Precepts (Pañcasīla).The Exalted One expands the Five Precepts into Ten Wholesome Courses of Action enumerated as follows:
- Restraint from Destruction of Living Beings
- Restraint from What Taking What is not Given or Theft
- Restraint from Improper Sexual Relationship
- Restraint from Lying Speech
- Restraint from Slanderous Speech
- Restraint from Harsh Speech
- Restraint from Frivolous Chatter
- Restraint from Greed
- Restraint from Hatred
- Restraint from Delusion
The aforementioned Ten Precepts are the ten moral injunctions recommended by Gotama Buddha for a Buddhist preceptee to restrain himself or herself morally to avoid committing evils. A Buddhist preceptee adheres to the Precepts without transgressing them. The sole objective is to avoid committing evils or to be morally self-restrained. Obviously, these ten moral values are universally applicable to all members of civil, ethical human society. They are the communal normative ethics for all virtuous human beings. The precepts are not confined to the Buddhist preceptee only. They are the universal moral guide.
When a Buddhist preceptee observes the first precept of restraining from destruction of lives, he or she is scrupulous, heedful, merciful, benevolent and compassionate towards all living beings. All living beings include human beings, animals and plants. The observation of the first precept prevents the arising of greed and hatred which motivate the agitated, unrestrained men to harm or kill others. Destruction of human lives are usually related to these two poisons of greed and hatred rooted in delusion. This non-killing precept also protects our natural environment from human destruction because the preceptee is more friendly towards the natural environment. For instance, deforestation leads to the destruction of wild lives in the forests due to the breach of the first precept.
When a Buddhist preceptee is restrained from the second precept, he or she does not take any thing without prior permission of its owner. In other words, he or she does not commit the criminal acts of theft. The acts of Theft may include immoral or corrupt acts of stealings, cheatings, frauds, deceptions, criminal breach of trusts (CBTs), misappropriation of funds, briberies and so forth. This precept helps the adherents to respect the properties or wealth of others.
When a Buddhist preceptee safeguards the third precept of restraining from sexual misconduct, the virtuous one avoids committing sexual misconduct, such as sex abuse, adultery, or rape. If this precept is kept, the incidents of rapes and HIV or AIDS cases which are rampant in our modern human society, will be reduced considerably. Rapes are usually followed by murders of victims to destroy identifications of offenders or criminals.
HIV or AIDS is a killer and pandemic. Over 30 million victims are currently afflicted with HIV/AIDS. About 2 million victims have been killed by AIDS so far. HIV/AIDS disease retards national economic growth and human capital. This is evident in the African countries whose economies have been severely eroded by the national problem of HIV/AIDS. Without annual international humanitarian aids to African countries by the United Nations Organization and the affluent donor countries of the west, the problem of HIV/AIDS is a major catastrophe which threatens the continuous survival of these countries. These victim countries are also plagued by the problems of shortage of food or famine and the soaring prices of oil and foods.
When a Buddhist preceptee protects the fourth precept, he or she is sincere, truthful and honest. Consequently, he or she avoids telling lies or the untruths. This fourth precept is related to the second percept of not taking what is not given. The protection of the fourth precept leads to the non-transgression of the second precept. Telling lies is tantamount to killing the Dhamma. Therefore, it is a grave offence.
When a Buddhist preceptee adheres to the fifth precept of not being slanderous, the virtuous one restrains himself or herself from causing disagreement, disputation, or discord among people. He or she does not sow discord among those who are in harmony. He does not forment and instigate those who are at disagreement or in disputation. Instead, he or she is a reconciler or peace-maker of those are at conflict. Furthermore, he or she is a combiner or harmonizer of those who are friends. Concord is his pleasure, delight, joy and motive of his or her speech. He is a pacifier and not a destroyer of harmony. He or she unites people and does not divide people.
When a Buddhist preceptee venerates the sixth precept of abandoning harsh speech, he or she is morally restrained from rough, hard, severe and abusive speech. Harsh speech injures the emotions of others. The precept keeper’s speech is gentle, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, going to the heart, urbane (polite or polished), pleasant to the multitude (a large number of people). His speech is not tainted with anger.
When a Buddhist preceptee keeps the seventh precept of abandoning the frivolous chatter, he or she is morally restrained from gossipings. He or she speaks at the right time. He or she speaks in accordance with facts. He or she speaks about worthy goal. He or she speaks about the Truths of the Dhamma. He or she speaks about the Buddhist Discipline or precepts. He or she utters speech worth treasuring, with smiles at the right time, purposeful and connected with the goal.
When a Buddhist preceptee safeguards the eight precept of non-greed, he or she is mentally not greedy or not covetous. He does not covet the properties or belongings of others. The most excellent way to overcome greed is the mind and action of generous giving or sharing one’s wealth with others. The arising of greed is caused by self-centric ego caused by delusion rooted in false vision of the empirical or phenomenal world. When the self-centric ego has been annihilated by the wisdom of insight into the Insubstantiality of human personality and the empirical world, greed does not arise. What arises and substitutes the emotion of greed is the spirit of generosity or charity. Succinctly put, right view of the human personality or the empirical world conditions right thought. Right thought obliterates self-centric ego superimposed by wrong view of the empirical world. The obliteration of self-centric ego consummates human character formation.
When a Buddhist preceptee does not breach the ninth precept, he or she is not malevolent towards those who are unfriendly, abusive or critical. He is patient, cool and composed. For those who practise the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna), hatred can be suppressed easily. For those who have developed wisdom of insight into the insubstantiality of a human personality or its five aggregates, the hatred is totally annihilated because his or her self-centric ego has been obliterated.
Strictly put, the tenth precept of non-delusion can not be protected or kept if and only if the wisdom (paññā) of insight into the five aggregates of the human personality or its five aggregates has been developed by intuitive penetration into the Insubstantiality of the human personality and the phenomenal world. The goal of all esoteric religions is to develop the wisdom of insight into the Insubstantiality (Anattā), illusiveness or unreality of the phenomenal world. Whoever has developed this wisdom of discerning the ultimate Reality of the human personality and the empirical world is said to have eliminated delusion. This is how the ten precepts are to be safeguarded. The mind of a tenth preceptor is said to be non-deluded if and only if his mind is not deluded by wrong view or is not corrupt of wrong view. The right view refers to the first item of the Noble Eight- Fold Path. When the tenth precept is consummated, the entire Ten wholesome Courses of Action will be consummated. The right view (sammādiṭṭhi) is that all phenomena including the human personality or its five aggregates are insubstantial or selfless. Human self-centric ego is superimposed by ignorance of the right view which deludes human thought. |
