In the Heart of the Lotus

Learn to open yourself up in the right way.
Like a flower - blossoming.
Hold your pain, your suffering, your trauma like a precious jewel in an outstretched hand.
Watch it blow away like a dandelion
In a warm summer breeze.
The hand is empty
Yet you remain.
Life is a flower garden
And you are there to enjoy it.

Putting the Five Precepts into Practice

The Five Precepts are the basic guide to Buddhist ethics. Unlike comparable lists, like the Ten Commandments, the Five Precepts aren’t a list that once broken may never be repaired. Buddhist thought on these issues are along the lines that these ideas are generally good, but empathetic compassion is at the core of these ideas - if following one of the Five Precepts would break that, then compassion in the face of minimising or eliminating suffering comes first. That being said, there are very few examples of where this list will steer your wrong - not bad for a 2500-year-old teaching from someone who thought to articulate them while sitting under a fig tree!

The Five Precepts (via Master Yin-Shun) are:

1. "Do not kill." (Unintentional killing is considered less offensive)
2. "Do not steal." (Including misappropriating someone's property)
3. "Do not engage in improper sexual conduct." (such as sexual contact not sanctioned by secular laws as well as gaining the enthusiastic consent of participants)
4. "Do not make false statements." (Also includes pretending to know something one doesn't)
5. "Do not drink alcohol." (In my view this also extends to all forms of mental intoxicants, or from the pali: things “that causes heedlessness”)

[NB. Sections of the above list are based on the variable sources from wikipedia]

To train yourself to follow the precepts there are some standard methods.

Such as:

• Follow the precepts
• Don’t encourage others to break the precepts
• Encourage others to uphold the precepts
• Share the fruits of your life from upholding the precepts and you may encourage more to uphold the precepts.

Or in a slightly different form:

• Do it!
• Don’t encourage others not to do it.
• Encourage others to do it.
• Display how awesome one can be while doing it, they may do it too.

[The above was was aided by thoughts shaped by Shia Labeouf]

There are probably more, but that is a fairly solid list to work from for the moment

So…

To follow the first precept don’t kill.

Don’t encourage others to kill on your behalf. (There is usually a discussion about pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles at this point - but I will save that for another time.)

Encourage others to not kill.

Another version is to encourage others to live a full life, to enjoy it and to display that enjoyment around others so they are more aware of the joys of life and become grateful for them.

To follow the second precept don’t steal.

Don’t encourage others to steal on your behalf.

Encourage others to not steal.

Another idea is to encourage others to give themselves, their time and their resources generously.

(Some versions of this precept are translated as: don’t “take what is not given” and that can lead to a discussion about taking offence where there is none intended, or weird places when you think of picking up litter that left by others.)

To follow the third precept don’t engage in sexual misconduct or sexual harassment.

(This also raises questions about what is “sexual misconduct” - for example, for a monastic it is usually any sexual activity, however for a lay person what does it mean? I think a safe way of navigating through these emotionally charged issues that many are not comfortable discussing at length would be: play it safe with the ideas of thoughtful, ethical informed consent of all people present and possible people it could affect. In issues as complicated as this, I can almost appreciate the celibate path the Buddha himself walked!)

Don’t encourage others to partake in sexual misconduct or sexual harassment for your benefit.

Encourage others to not increase another’s overall suffering (Warning! It can get complex here as some physical things may encourage a pleasant mental state or vice versa.)

Encourage others to interact in a conscious, respectful and informed manner at all times.

To follow the fourth precept don’t lie.

Don’t encourage others to lie on your behalf.

Encourage others to not lie.

Again, another idea is to encourage others to speak the empowering and helpful truth. Display how the truth can be a powerful force in one’s life and can be used to quickly remove the shadows of doubt and confusion.

(Some versions of this precept involve terms like “unskillful”, ”unuseful” or “unnecessary” speech to include things such as angered speech, slander, gossip and idle chit-chat depending on the personal, retreatant or monastic context.)

To follow the fifth precept don’t partake in things that cause heedlessness.

Don’t encourage others to interact with foods, drinks, drugs, people, actions, situations or even emotional or mental states that cloud the mind.

Encourage others to cast aside these things.

Another form is to encourage display to others how mental intoxicants don’t need to be present in life to enjoy it. That thoughtfulness instead of mindlessness can gulf any gap that is percieved due to a lack of drugs, alcohol, ideas or people that cloud the mind - even strong emotions that make you react in the moment and ignore what it really happening.

Writing this helped me understand how to take something like the Five Precepts and turn them into things I can do in my everyday life - I hope it helps you too.

Only

Yesterday I attended an anti-Reclaim Australia rally. Reclaim Australia are the local group of xenophobes that are currently attacking refugees and the religion of Islam. Reclaim Australia are (generally) a bunch of hateful people that will attach themselves to the most recent ideas in the news to spread their philosophy of hate, mistrust and “othering” all who are not like them. Little Daleks in human bodies … I think you get the picture.

These people need to be shown that they are wrong and that spreading hate is a nasty and venomous thing to do.

I stood with the people opposing them - I still do from a philosophical standpoint.

We stood and chanted. Firstly words we all agreed with. Then words I agreed with less and less. I just skipped the chanting of the sections I did not agree with and found myself soon silent, not to mention the idea of my usual spiritual practice involving chanting - and watched as it was morphed into something nastier.

The opposition moved to where the Daleks stood. There were many police standing between and on horses, separating the two groups. I could not see anyone to oppose. But just angry people shouting at the unseen threat and calm police.

The police cordon was tight - I asked some officers at the fringes if they knew any details of what was going on, the numbers on both sides, the mood, the intention - the admitted that they didn’t know. If I wanted to know what I was doing that morning, they advised that I watch that evening's news.

If I was there to make a difference, to effect change, to educate or even show a solid resistance - then I couldn’t. There was no place there for that.

I also found it fascinating that both sides had placards with swastikas, bombs and (occasionally) barbed fences on them - to help them express the unreasonableness of the other side.

I consider myself Buddhist and flirt with the ideas of Amitabha Buddha - who is often represented by a swastika. Both sides of this argument were using a symbol I cannot associate with without at least having to explain myself to represent their oppression. One side was openly fighting for a stop to Islamophobia and the other were fighting for “good Christian values”. They were using a symbol that I cannot use in my religious devotion, even though it came from there, as a slight between sides fighting over religious freedom.

The nearest temple for my version of Zen (Soto) - is not that widely known about and has a very small online presence - it is also a mere 700+ km away. If I went to Soto’s place of founding and head temple, I would be quite disadvantaged by not being able to speak fluent Japanese, and knowing some ancient Chinese would be valuable too. This is why it seems a bit rich for me to hear about religious intolerance from both the Pro and Anti Reclaim Australia people.

I felt disenchanted by this - and left.

In the heat of that moment, where emotions were running high and where in the past occasionally physical violence occurs I took a photograph and wrote something on my personal facebook page.

I didn’t share it with the organisers on either side intentionally - as it was me, personally, blowing off a little steam and questioning why it has to be like this.

Big mistake.

While no direct, actionable threats were made either publicly or privately, the air of animosity was great - but I refuse to be drawn into personal attacks in retaliation or attacks of myself and my character. That being said, at the time of this writing, the public ones are still public - I don’t want to delude myself about my actions or my past.

But I am not proud of all the defences I made - and I am sorry if I harmed anyone during this.

What I learnt was:

• Non-violence and non-engagement are some very powerful tools but are very difficult to wield effectively.
• Non-violence and non-engagement may often be mistaken for apathy or ignorance.
• Engaging with those that could learn to use non-violence and non-engagement - defeats the purpose.
• I should think more before I speak or type.
• The questioning of certain views, such as what your are doing and why, is not welcome everywhere.

I have dealt with bigger fires in my life, that have burnt and harmed me more than this did - I am glad I received some of this undercurrent of vitriol, as I could take it, but I now know some of what those that question the ideas of those around them can receive. I have seen what turns them into angry violent people while I was able to withstand it. I can start to understand how their frustrations can build and finally explode in acts that end up shocking entire nations and I personally choose against following those dark paths.

I also believe much more firmly that if I see someone who needs help, that I will try to help them - regardless of political belief, religion, class, caste, sex, gender, sexuality and whatever else I may have missed out in this short list.

When people share things they cannot choose how others react to it - by the same token, those that receive cannot question what is displayed.