The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.
They are the three physical evils of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; the four verbal evils of lying, flattery or indiscriminate and irresponsible speech, defamation, and duplicity; and the three mental evils of greed, anger, and foolishness or the holding of mistaken views.
Do not place images or statues of Buddha as if they were furniture or decorative objects. Don't place a Buddha statue in the middle of a table. Don't place a Buddha statue in the toilet. Don't place Buddha statues in bars or restaurants.
The basic causes of suffering are known as the Three Poisons : greed, ignorance and hatred. These are often represented as a rooster (greed), a pig (ignorance) and a snake (hatred).
The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
Traditionally in Buddhism, forgiveness is done through the practice of repeating phrases of forgiveness toward oneself, toward those who have harmed us, and toward those whom we have harmed. Forgiving ourselves can often be the most difficult.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided.
The four pārājikas (lit. "defeats") are rules entailing expulsion from the sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically "defeated" in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. He is not allowed to become a monk again in his lifetime.
Monks are forbidden to divine either good fortune or future tragedy by observing heavenly omens, thereby deceiving both the tennō and the people. They are also forbidden to possess and study military tracts; to commit murder, rape, robbery or other crimes; and to feign enlightenment.
Some Buddhist monks don't count cocoa as food so can eat dark chocolate even when they're fasting. Buddhists often don't drink alcohol.
Yes, Buddhists can and do eat eggs. There is a very prevelant stereotype that Buddhist are exclusively vegetarian. That's simply not true. The decision to be or not be vegetarian is left up to the individual, in many schools of Buddhism.
The three poisons are: greed (raga, also translated as lust), hatred (dvesha, or anger), and delusion (moha, or ignorance). The three poisons are opposed by three wholesome, or positive attitudes essential to liberation: generosity (dana), lovingkindness (maitri, Pali: metta), and wisdom (prajna).
Music can act as an offering to the Buddha, as a means of memorizing Buddhist texts, and as a form of personal cultivation or meditation.
A Buddhist diet follows a primarily plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and beans which provides important compounds, such as antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and fibre and also benefit your waistline.
Any person can be a Buddhist. One does not have to be "born" into Buddhism, nor do one's parents have to be Buddhists. One can be of any race, country, socio-economic background, gender, etc. People wishing to identify themselves as Buddhists typically participate in a ceremony known as taking refuge in the Triple Gem.
The focus of Buddhist worship is not God, but the Buddha. The word usually used to describe this worship is puja. Puja helps Buddhists to develop positive attitudes such as determination and joy, which make practicing the Dhamma (way of life) easier.
Ethical behavior both leads to and flows from an enlightened mind. In the Five Precepts Buddha advises abstinence from: (1) harming living beings, (2) taking things not freely given, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) false speech, and (5) intoxicating drinks and drugs causing heedlessness (Knierim).
Buddhism and punishment
As far as punishment in this world is concerned, Buddhism has strong views: inhumane treatment of an offender does not solve their misdeeds or those of humanity in general - the best approach to an offender is reformatory rather than punitive.
Buddhists try to cultivate good karma and avoid bad. However, the aim of Buddhism is to escape the cycle of rebirth altogether, not simply to acquire good karma and so to be born into a more pleasant state.
(Skt.; Pāli, akusala-mūla). Collective name for the three roots of evil, being the three unwholesome mental states of greed (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), and delusion (moha). All negative states of consciousness are seen as ultimately grounded in one or more of these three.